South Jersey ‘Jeopardy!’ champ Cris Pannullo’s historic run comes to an end

Cris Pannullo’s long run on Jeopardy! has finally come to an end.

The South Jersey resident was defeated Tuesday night by Andy Tirrell, a political science and international relations professor from San Diego.

Pannullo, 38, had a slight lead over Tirrell entering the Final Jeopardy round, where they faced the following clue under the “Plays” category:

Pannullo answered incorrectly with “What is The Little Mermaid?,” leaving him with just $1,399. Tirrell got the correct question with “What is The Tempest?,” winning the game and unseating Pannullo with a final score of $15,399.

Pannullo ends his Jeopardy! run with the sixth-most consecutive wins in the show’s history, dating back to 2003 when a five-game cap was lifted. Overall, he’ll take home $749,268 before taxes — $748,268 in winnings, and $1,000 for finishing in third place on Tuesday. Only four players in Jeopardy! history have won more outside of specials or tournaments.

Pannullo grew up in Brick Township in Ocean County, and paid his way through college with money he won playing poker. He’s the oldest of five siblings who relocated to Ocean City after college, where he lives with his longtime girlfriend — who is also his Jeopardy! coach.

“Cris is just on a different level with his intelligence,” his uncle, Mike Glaser, told The Inquirer.

Pannullo’s job title has confused viewers — customer success operations manager — but he explained it to host Ken Jennings during a show last month.

“Basically, I work in operations on behalf of the customer success or account management department, making their jobs easier, putting processes in place so that it allows us to scale up,” Pannullo said.

“Customer success is a fun, Pollyanna way to say account management,” Jennings responded. “I now understand perfectly.”

Pannullo hasn’t done any media interviews during his Jeopardy! run and was not available to speak with The Inquirer, but he did talk about his streak on the show after winning his 20th game on Friday.

“Every single game you have two people just coming for you nonstop and the pressure doesn’t ever seem to stop,” Pannullo said in an interview posted on the Jeopardy! website.

Despite the loss, Pannullo’s Jeopardy! career isn’t over. He’ll return next year for the show’s Tournament of Champions, which is too far out to know many of the contestants. One will be Luidi de Guzman, an attorney from Arlington, Va., who won $140,700 during a five-game winning streak back in September.

Tirrell’s hopes of becoming the next Jeopardy! super champion begin Wednesday night, where he will face off against another New Jersey competitor — Tammy Groner, a legal assistant from Hamilton.

Jeopardy! began its 39th season on Sept. 12, and Jennings — a former champion who won a record 74 straight games in 2004 — is hosting until January. He is once again splitting duties this season with actress Mayim Bialik.

* - does not include specials or tournaments