When Anish Maddipoti competed in the first episode of the 2018 Jeopardy Teen Tournament, he said he hoped to leave the competition with a large cash prize. However, while he enjoyed his time at the podium, he felt his competitiveness overshadowed much of the experience.

“It was such a lifelong dream, and all I was focused on was winning,” said Maddipoti, a public health and Plan II junior. “I was like, ‘Damn, if I could do this over again, I would most definitely try to focus on enjoying it.’”

Four years later, he received an email inviting former teen contestants back to the show for a reunion tournament, which began airing Feb. 20 and continues airing until Thursday. 

“I wasn’t allowed to tell anyone for so long, so I was just super excited,” Maddipoti said. “Getting the second chance, all I could think about was that I’m really going to make the most of the opportunity this time.”

This year, Maddipoti returned to the show for the Jeopardy High School Reunion Tournament alongside 26 other current college students who competed as high schoolers in the 2018 and 2019 Jeopardy Teen Tournaments, including two fellow UT students, Rohan Kapileshwari and Alison Purcell. With three Longhorns competing, UT had more students in the tournament than any other school.

“Who else would show up but the best?” mechanical engineering senior Kapileshwari said. “Obviously, the Longhorns are going to be dominating the pack.”

Maddipoti and Kapileshwari became friends while they competed in the 2018 Jeopardy Teen Tournament. Kapileshwari made it to the semifinals while Maddipoti lost in the first round.

“That email, that there might be a reunion tournament, did not feel real,” Kapileshwari said. “Reunions are almost becoming a cliche nowadays. There’s a reunion for this show or that show, so then, when it was actually happening to us, it was absolutely crazy and super exciting.”

Purcell, a biology and Plan II senior, said she also lost in the first round of her 2019 Jeopardy Teen Tournament, disappointed that she couldn’t get the timing of the buzzer right. The reunion tournament offered a chance for redemption.

“It was so much fun to see everyone again, be back on set and relive this super cool part of my life,” Purcell said. “I’m really proud of how I played. I felt like I held my own.”

While the reunion included many familiar faces from the teen tournaments, Kapileshwari said competing alongside Maddipoti and Purcell added another layer of community. 

“Every time the camera comes to me I’m smiling because this time I really just enjoyed getting to play,” Maddipoti said. “Every time I got an answer right, I was so happy.”

Purcell said the three contestants hoped for an all-UT final game. While they all lost in the quarterfinals, Purcell said they rooted for each other along the way.

“We met all of these contestants four years ago, so these are all my friends that I’ve gotten to know and cherish,” Maddipoti said. “With that in mind, I wasn’t too bummed about losing.”

So many people audition over and over again in hopes of competing on Jeopardy, Purcell said, so she felt beyond fortunate for the opportunity to compete twice on the show.

“Obviously, I would have loved to move on (to the next round),” Kapileshwari said. “All I can say is, to the Jeopardy producers if they’re listening, hopefully that wasn’t my last game.”