Jeopardy! ‘s Champions Wildcard run has officially come to an end as finalists Mehal Shah, Drew Goins, and Will Yancey went head-to-head for the grand prize of $100,000 and a coveted spot in the Tournament of Champions.

My excitement as a daily viewer hit a fever pitch with the January 22 Champions Wildcard match, which saw an absolute shootout between two standout players in the current era of Jeopardy!. Don’t believe me?

A Jeopardy! champ revealed behind-the-scenes details from his Wildcard Tournament episode, including Ken Jennings calling out a final clue.

On Thursday’s (January 23) new episode of Jeopardy! three recently-crowned champions faced off for the opportunity to advance to the Tournament of Champions — namely, Will Yancey, Drew Goins, and Mehal Shah — in a Wildcard Finals match that was surprisingly marked with some near-miss answers and big backslides.

As fans may know, players in the Wildcard Tournament win when they obtain the highest cumulative dollar amount. This means losing points throughout the game can be detrimental to their overall succcess. However, according to Jeopardy! 's website, "the top four non-winners with the highest money totals will advance to the semifinals as wildcards."