Jeopardy! crowns a new champion after another competitive game between this week’s contestants.

It was a close game that boiled down to the final question, which ultimately determined the winner since the three competitors answered the Daily Double correctly. Jeopardy!’s new champion has gained attention online for his impressive game strategy. Coming back for his second game was Steve Hoying, who had a one-day total of $29,403 after beating reigning champ Andrew Hayes. Steve played against Rachel Gray and Liam Starnes on Friday.  Friday’s episode started neck-and-neck between challengers, but Rachel was ahead by the first commercial break.

Although Steve found the first Daily Double of the game, he remained in last place.

“Around 1675 he said: ‘If I have seen further it is by standing on the shoulders of giants,” the Jeopardy! clue read.

It was a nail-biting Jeopardy! game on Friday
Steve answered correctly with “Who was Newton?” he answered correctly, which doubled his earnings up to $3,600.

At the end of round five, there were five Triple Stumpers, but only one question was answered incorrectly by Steve.

“Introduced in the 1920s, this Japanese mayo brand was named for a novelty doll popular around the world,” was the clue read.

“What is Daruma?” he answered; however, it was wrong. Kewpie was the correct answer, so he was out of $600.

When round one was over, Rachel was in first place with $6,200, while Liam had $4,400 and Steve was in third place with $4,200.

During the Double Jeopardy! round, Liam was in the lead after he answered six consecutive questions correctly and located the first DD of the round.

“Grand Rapids, Michigan has a public sculpture by this man — a 42-ton stabile,” was the clue presented. “Who is (Alexander) Calder?” he answered, which was right.

After he wagered $6,000, Liam was now in the lead with $17,600.

Rachel landed second DD.

The clue she got was, “It’s the title of Demi Moore‘s memoir; Bruce Willis & Ashton Kutcher are characters, but not Joy, Anger, Sadness or Bing Bong.”

She replied with, “What is Inside Out?” which was correct. Rachel earned $4,000, but it wasn’t enough to put her in the lead, only giving her $7,800.

The round concluded with two wrong answers, one from both Liam and Steve, along with five Triple Stumpers.

Liam ended up being in the lead with $19,600, Rachel had $16,200, and Steve was in third with $13,800.

Liam ended up defeating Steve and Rachel in Final Jeopardy!

Fans raved over the nail-biting game on Friday’s episode on social media.

“What a game! This was a very well played game all round, congrats to Liam!” a Redditor commented.

“You never know after one game, but I can see Liam sticking around for a few days,” another shared.

“If I had a nickel for everytime this season a college kid from suburban Chicago has gotten a clue about the Sea of Cortez right and used it to propel himself into the lead and win in a FJ about Presidential nomination speeches that two players got right, I’d have two nickels, and the other one was my game!” ex contestant Zoe Grobman wrote.

“One of the best all around games in a long time. Three amazing contestants,” said someone else.