A grad student from El Cerrito, California...

Larissa Kelly

I'm Larissa Kelly, uh, from El Cerrito, California.

How many shows did you win on your first run on Jeopardy!?
I won six shows in the first run.

What is your most memorable moment from your run on Jeopardy!?
Um... probably, um, actually taping the shows and--and actually seeing someplace that you normally only see on a television screen as--as being a real place.

How did you react when you were invited to the tournament?
Uh, I was really happy, um, that it was--it was a really cool experience to be here, and I was really glad to be invited.

What have you learned that will help you in the tournament?
Well, I think that, look--just in terms of how to use the buzzer, um, and, y'know, how to--to try to time the buzzing--hopefully, that'll be--be useful here.

How did you master the dreaded buzzer?
[Laughs] Not really! You just press the button. It's--it's pretty straightforward.

What is the most common question people ask about your time on Jeopardy!?
Uh, usually, "Were you nervous?" Um, and, I usually say, "No", because the--the whole process is just, y'know, such a strange experience that you don't necessarily have time to be nervous while you're doing this.

Place your bets and tune in!

2024 Jeopardy! Invitational Tournament
2019 All-Star Games member of winning Team Brad: a share of $1,000,000 split three ways with Brad Rutter and David Madden.
2014 Battle of the Decades invitee: $5,000.
2009 Tournament of Champions first runner-up: $100,000.
Season 24 6-time champion: $222,597 + $1,000.

Larissa was the first female champion to win more than five games. Her 6-win streak was the longest for a female player until broken by 7-game winner Stephanie Jass in Season 29. Larissa was also, when her run ended, the third-highest regular-play earner. Larissa also held the regular-play winnings record for a female champion until 20-game winner Julia Collins netted $428,100 + $1,000 in Season 30.

Wife of KJL game 70 Jeff Hoppes, and sister of Season 24 player Arianna Kelly.

Jeopardy! Message Board user name: lkkelly

Larissa appeared in the following 4 archived games:
#5657, aired 2009-03-24 Larissa Kelly vs. Aaron Schroeder vs. Dan Pawson 2009 Tournament of Champions final game 2. From Las Vegas.
#5656, aired 2009-03-23 Larissa Kelly vs. Aaron Schroeder vs. Dan Pawson 2009 Tournament of Champions final game 1. From Las Vegas.
#5654, aired 2009-03-19 Larissa Kelly vs. Cora Peck vs. Dave Simpson 2009 Tournament of Champions semifinal game 2. From Las Vegas.
#5649, aired 2009-03-12 Larissa Kelly vs. Matt Kohlstedt vs. Tom Morris 2009 Tournament of Champions quarterfinal game 2. From Las Vegas.
Larissa previously appeared on Jeopardy! as Larissa Kelly in the following 7 archived games:
#5473, aired 2008-05-28 Larissa Kelly vs. Pat Roche vs. Nan Reiner Larissa Kelly game 7.
#5472, aired 2008-05-27 Larissa Kelly vs. Jennifer Goldberg vs. Dan Maggin Larissa Kelly game 6.
#5471, aired 2008-05-26 Larissa Kelly vs. Heather Vance vs. John Owens Larissa Kelly game 5.
#5470, aired 2008-05-23 Larissa Kelly vs. Sara Orel vs. Will Blashka Larissa Kelly game 4.
#5469, aired 2008-05-22 Larissa Kelly vs. Deborah Gronich Tate vs. Judith Koveleskie Larissa Kelly game 3.
#5468, aired 2008-05-21 Larissa Kelly vs. Ruth Doucette vs. Brandon LaMarr Larissa Kelly game 2.
#5467, aired 2008-05-20 Mary Kay Schmidt vs. Ameet Shukla vs. Larissa Kelly Larissa Kelly game 1.
Larissa would later appear on Jeopardy! as Larissa Kelly in the following archived game:
#6808, aired 2014-04-02 Tom Kavanaugh vs. Larissa Kelly vs. Russ Schumacher Battle of the Decades: The 2000s game 3.

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