In November, Peter and Sue Cho revealed that their grandson, Tim, had made it onto Jeopardy: Teen Tournament.
Now, the results are in.
The episodes aired on ABC November 12 and 13, in which Tim competed in the semi and quarterfinals.
How was it for Peter and Sue to see their grandson on the silver screen?
“It was exciting and wonderful,” said Peter. “We are both so happy.”
Tim Cho (second from left) here with his support team for the Jeopardy. (Photo provided)
The two episodes on which Tim competed were a rollercoaster of emotions as the contestants’ ranking changed with each set of questions.
“In the first game, I was getting really nervous inside onstage. Things were sort of getting to me. During the first commercial break, it really calmed me down,” said Tim, who eventually snagged the lead after the first episode.
Although it might seem obvious what to do when you know the correct answer, Tim revealed that timing is everything when hitting the buzzer.
“If you go too fast, you can buzz in before the system unlocks. It’s a human-operated system, and if you buzz in before the person unlocks the system, you get a quarter second penalty in which you’re locked out. And that can make all the difference,” he explained.
While Tim felt stronger heading into round two, that episode was riddled with an extended commercial break for a judging decision, an overly easy final question (according to Tim), and an eventual loss by a margin of one dollar.
After the show aired on TV, Peter, Sue, and the Cho family watched the episodes together, and Tim also had a small “viewing party” with his friends.
Tim credits his Jeopardy success to his family.
“They are very supportive of me,” he said. “They are always picking me up whenever I am down on myself.”
In all, Tim considered the tournament a winning experience.
“It ended up being really fun. I was able to come back from being a nervous wreck. I was able to walk in and pull through,” he said.
