Vijay Balse is a chemical engineer consulting in renewable energy originally from Bombay, India.
Jeopardy! Run[]
Preparation[]
- Balse applied on the show for six times on the sixth season, came to the Jeopardy! studio, took the test, passed it, but did not get the call. Then the next three times, he went to Atlantic City. It was in Merv Griffin's Resorts. They used to have these ten--or three-minute, ten-question games followed by a 50-question test, so I passed those three times.
- Then, after that, I think it became--they stopped coming to Atlantic City, and I stopped trying out because the odds of getting a lottery drawing in your favor were very slim. But once the online test came along, that really helped my chances, because it took basically ten minutes to take the test, and then whether or not you got the call, but then get the call.
Regular-Season Play[]
| Game No. | Air Date | Final score | Cumulative Winnings | Additional Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | March 4, 2010 | $28,801 | $28,801 | |
| 2 | March 5, 2010 | $27,601 | $56,402 | |
| 3 | March 8, 2010 | $14,399 | $70,801 | |
| 4 | March 9, 2010 | $11,599 | $82,400 | |
| 5 | March 10, 2010 | $4,600 | $84,400 | Lost to Cyd Musni, who went on a 2-game winning streak. |
Tournament of Champions[]
In the fifth quarterfinal match, Balse faced off against Jason Zollinger and Stefan Goodreau. Throughout the first two rounds, he came up with 17/19 correct responses (including 1/2 Daily Doubles). Balse and Goodreau got Final Jeopardy! incorrect, but Balse advanced to the semifinals as he won the game. Goodreau and Zollinger received wildcards as their scores of $13,575 and $11,500, respectively, were enough to advance.
In the third semifinal match, Balse faced off against Andy Srinivasan and Justin Bernbach. Throughout the first two rounds, he came up with 22/22 correct responses (including 1/1 Daily Double). Nobody got Final Jeopardy! correct, but Balse advanced to the finals. Justin and Andy each received $10,000.
In the finals, Balse faced off against Jason Zollinger and Stefan Goodreau. Throughout the finals, he came up with a combined 29/32 (including 1/2 Daily Doubles) correct responses. Balse and Zollinger got 1/2 Final Jeopardy! questions correct. Balse won $250,000 as the winner.
Battle of the Decades[]
In the second game of the 2000s, he faced off against Roger Craig and Stephanie Jass. Throughout the first two rounds, he came up with 15/17 correct responses. Everyone got Final Jeopardy! correct, but after losing to Roger, Balse and Jass received $5,000.
Trivia[]
- Balse is the only contestant who won on his own among those from 3- or 4-time champion from WC System, and this is the third case in which the participants in the group competed in the final.
- Balse is the second tournament winner from outside of North America following Olympic Games Tournament winner Ulf Jensen.
- Like Robin Carroll (S16) and Michael Falk (S22), this is the third case in which a participant of the season won the ToC.