Winnipegger who won thousands on Jeopardy! returning to iconic game show

A Winnipeg librarian who clinched a two-game winning streak on Jeopardy! is set to return to the iconic game show once again.

Emma Hill Kepron will pick up her buzzer again to compete for a wildcard spot in the upcoming Tournament of Champions.

The yearly tourney sees past Jeopardy! champions go head-to-head for cash and bragging rights.

She initially got the call from producers last December that she’d been selected to compete.

She was still basking in the afterglow of her Jeopardy! victories, being recognized by everyone from her pizza delivery guy to construction workers.

“I was still in sort of the come down from my original appearance and the emotional hangover from that,” she said.

“So it felt like it was just weird, like I had just sort of wished it into existence somehow, like I had manifested this, this dream to do it all over again.”

Hill Kepron takes on customer success specialist Jesse Matheny, a one-game champion from Indiana, and Patrick Curran, a Washington-based consultant who enjoyed a two-game winning streak.

The episode was filmed a few weeks ago.

The University of Winnipeg librarian prepared by boning up on American history, like the Civil and Revolutionary wars, and state nicknames.

She was also keen to improve her buzzer time, using an app to track how fast she could ring in to give an answer.

“It’s very nerdy,” she laughed.

While Kepron can’t spoil what transpired on the Culver City set, she did say the experience this time around felt different than her debut.

For starters, she found more camaraderie among her fellow contestants. They all stayed at the same hotel, and COVID protocols that were in place during her first stint were relaxed.

“One person in the group described it as kind of a summer camp experience, where you have this super intense bonding experience with a group of people and then it's just over, and you all go back to your different homes.”

Surprisingly, Hill Kepron says she had more butterflies during her return, as she knew the kind of overwhelming experience she was in store for. She likens her first run on the show to being shot out of a cannon.

“This time I was noticing things more. I had more time to sort of stew about it so yeah, I was more nervous this time, for sure.”

Hill Kepron’s episode airs Friday.