On the Jeopardy! Substack, Whitcomb-Foss had one last chat with Ding, a bureaucrat and law student, from Lawrenceville, New Jersey. He said that the ending of his reign was “bittersweet,” but he is “lucky that it went as long as it did.”

“I caught some breaks along the way. Every game was a gift,” he said. “If it had to end, I’m glad it ended with a strong player, in a game that I think was fun for everyone.”

Ding was defeated by chess master Greg Shahade, from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on April 27. Ding ended with $885,605, after getting the second-place prize on his last game.

“I remember when Ken’s [Jennings] came to an end, he said he was almost relieved in a way,” Whitcomb-Foss said. “Because for so long you kind of wonder how will it end? How many games? Do you feel any sense of relief like that?”

“Yeah,” Ding replied. “Just having some certainty. Jeopardy! is kind of like baseball, where, in theory, it could go on forever. You could just never ever stop. That would be interesting, but also, eventually, I would assume I would get tired.”

However, he is relieved that he knows he will be back for future tournaments. Ding is guaranteed a spot in the Tournament of Champions, and will most likely earn one in Masters, if it is renewed.

“Knowing I’d be back helped me take the games towards the end of the series more calmly, because it wouldn’t be the end,” he said.

“In the meantime, you don’t know when the call will come, so how much do you allow yourself to relax and how much do you keep in Jeopardy! shape?” Whitcomb-Foss asked.

“I think I would like to relax a little bit,” Ding said. “Just by doing what I normally do, I think I can somewhat keep in Jeopardy! shape because I’m still always learning something new every day.”

“When the next call comes, I think it will be nice to hunker down and do a bit more proper studying,” the game show contestant admitted. Being a part-time student and having a full-time job didn’t leave Ding much room to study. He chalked up his knowledge to his “sticky memory.”

He also shared that he will be “secretly excited” if he is recognized by someone on the street. “I think I did Jersey proud,” he said. Ding ended by saying that everyone on the show and everyone that he knows has been very supportive and great.

Jeopardy!, weekdays, check local listings, stream next day on Hulu and Peacock