Combing through it! Jeopardy! Invitational Tournament winner Andrew He opened up about why he decided to grow his hair long and how it felt to finally win a tournament.
He, from Concord, California, first appeared on Jeopardy! in November 2021. He won five games and racked up a total of $159,365. The game show contestant then competed in the Tournament of Champions, Jeopardy! Masters, and the 2024 JIT, but he never won any of them.
He finally got the win he was hoping for when he had a runaway game during the third JIT game on February 20, 2026. The stay-at-home dad opened up about his long hair and more on the Inside Jeopardy! podcast on February 22.
Executive producer and podcast cohost Sarah Whitcomb-Foss asked him, “I have to ask about the hair. You said, obviously, it was a bit of good luck or superstition. I just want to know, will we see more of this look? Will you surprise us the next time we see you? What are we thinking?”
“I used to have a buzz cut and it was bad,” He said. “I don’t like the shape of my head.” He shared that he wanted to switch it up.
“The very first time you called me for Jeopardy!, I was starting something like this,” the JIT winner said. “Then, I was at home. Instead of worrying about how do I strategize for the show? I was like, ‘I have to learn how to put bobby pins in my hair, or how to tie it up.’ So, I had cut it back to what I had normally had, and I always regretted that for a while.”
“I got a lot of good feedback here, but back home, I get a lot of mixed reactions. They ask, ‘So, what exactly are you going for?’” the game show contestant said.
Aside from worrying about how to style his hair, He also had to deal with the difficult questions in the Quarterfinals. “This tournament was a rollercoaster,” he shared. “I was on alert, but I barely squeaked by there.”
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He said that he had no confidence going into the finals, playing against Roger Craig and Long Nguyen. But, the champion shared that his brain is very different from when he last competed. “In some ways, it’s good and some ways it’s bad. I’m more easily distracted. It’s harder to focus. You have to work smarter. You can’t work harder. There’s not enough hours, but I’m always a competitor. If you put me in a competitive spot, I will always try,” he said.
He shared that he had never had as much fun on Jeopardy! as he did with this group of people. The contestant said that he shared a bit of guilt because he hasn’t been able to help his nieces and nephews financially, but wants to, now that he won $150,000 as JIT champ.
He’s Jeopardy! journey is not done, though. He has an invitation to the upcoming Jeopardy! Masters tournament, in which he said has a “murderous lineup.” “I was excited to win, but terrified to compete against some of the greats,” he ended.
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