LAFOLLETTE, Tenn. — UPDATE (3/11): Brian Henegar finished his "Jeopardy!" run after coming in second place on March 11.
Henegar fought hard throughout the match, however, at the end of the Jeopardy! round he was in third place with $6,200 compared to second place with $28,400 and first at $18,600. In the Final Jeopardy! round, Henegar answered the deciding question with the written message for home, "I love you Mom, Dad, Katie, Danny and Dave." Henegar finished off the heartfelt note with a smiley face before making a heart gesture with his hands to the camera.
Henegar then finished out the round with $5, sitting in second place after all contestants got the final answer wrong. Henegar ultimately received a take-home sum of $10,000 for his placement in the semi-finals, still bringing home a prize other than a heartfelt note.
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Brian Henegar has his eyes on the prize. The 3-game "Jeopardy!" champion from LaFollette, Tennessee was shocked and elated to learn from us in December that he had been selected to compete in the Jeopardy! Tournament of Champions -- and it appeared he was just as elated after pulling off a big win during Final Jeopardy! in the quarterfinals on Friday.
Henegar's face lit up and he did a few fist pumps after defeating wildcard champion Josh Saak and 8-game champion Stephen Webb.
Webb, who was favored to win in the quarterfinals, came up short after a tough couple of rounds. He ended up in the red at the end of the Double Jeopardy! round after incorrectly answering a few questions and did not advance to Final Jeopardy!
Henegar kept his energetic and animated demeanor throughout the quarterfinals. He definitely looked like he was on a roll and enjoying every minute of it as he kept the lead throughout most of the game into Final Jeopardy!, but Saak was able to gain some steam in the Double Jeopardy! round to make it a closer game.
It was down to the Final Jeopardy! question to determine if Henegar or Saak would advance -- and it was anyone's game at that point. We won't spoil the question for those who still have yet to watch, but consider yourself a global history buff if you managed to get it correct because it was a tough one!
Neither Saak or Henegar answered correctly, but Henegar placed his bets on Saak getting it wrong -- keeping his wager low enough to keep his lead for the win.
Henegar advances to the semifinals, and there are still three games left to play in the quarterfinals to determine who he will face. Those games will air Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday next week on WBIR Channel 10 at 7:30 p.m.