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This image released by Jeopardy Productions, Inc. shows host Alex Trebek, center left, and Nibir Sarma, center right, a sophomore from Eden Prairie, Minnesota. Sarma has become the first winner of the “Jeopardy!” College Championship. Pictured at left is second place winner Tyler Combs, a senior at Indiana University who won $50,000 and third place winner Xiaoke Ying, a sophomore at the University of Southern California who came in third and took home $25,000. Sarma won the two-week tournament in an episode airing Friday night, earning $100,000 and a berth against regular “Jeopardy!” winners in the annual Tournament of Champions. (Jeopardy Productions Inc. via AP)

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This image released by Jeopardy Productions, Inc. shows host Alex Trebek, left, and Nibir Sarma, a sophomore from Eden Prairie, Minn. Sarma has become the first winner of the “Jeopardy!” College Championship. He won the two-week tournament in an episode airing Friday night, earning $100,000 and a berth against regular “Jeopardy!” winners in the annual Tournament of Champions. (Jeopardy Productions Inc. via AP)

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This image released by Jeopardy Productions, Inc. shows Xiaoke Ying, a sophomore at the University of Southern California who came in third in the “Jeopardy!” College Championship and took home $25,000. Nibir Sarma, a sophomore from Eden Prairie, Minnesota, won the two-week tournament in an episode airing Friday night. (Jeopardy Productions Inc. via AP)

Minnesota sophomore wins "Jeopardy!" College Championship

By Associated Press East Los Angeles

PUBLISHED 7:51 PM ET Apr. 17, 2020

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Nibir Sarma has become the first winner of the “Jeopardy!” College Championship from the University of Minnesota.

Sarma, a sophomore from Eden Prairie, Minnesota, won the two-week tournament in an episode airing Friday night, earning $100,000 and a berth against regular “Jeopardy!” winners in the annual Tournament of Champions.

Sarma beat second-place finisher Tyler Combs, a senior at Indiana University who wins $50,000 and Xiaoke Ying, a sophomore at the University of Southern California who came in third and took home $25,000.

Sarma, a chemical engineering major, became the first winner of the tournament from a public university since 2014.

“I’m so proud and happy to represent the state of Minnesota, and also represent students at large public universities who sort of get viewed in a different way than, say, some private colleges,” Sarma said in a statement. “I really love representing my hometown college and my community.”

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