Kyle Marshall has always loved puzzles and lately how much he’s shown the world.
Marshall, branch manager of the Edmonton Public Library, came in second place in the Jeopardy! released on Wednesday night.
“I was really close,” he said. “I’m only $400 short to get into Final Jeopardy.”
Like many librarians, Marshall is curious and loves to learn new things. He signed up for the program on the advice of a few friends, who noticed his impressive performance in adventurer games.
“All my life I’ve always been a fan of trifles,” he said. “I’m just interested in knowledge and absorbing it through various means.”
That hunger for information proved helpful when he was accepted as a contestant with just a stressful month to prepare before filming.
“I was like, ‘Do I really want to do this? “” said Marshall. “It’s going to be a very stressful month before that. What if I do very poorly?
“But then I really realized what a great opportunity it was [and] I really dug my heels.”
Between his full-time job and taking care of a toddler, Marshall took a night out with his partner, focusing on a few core subjects and playing lots of simulation games.
“The tricky part is they can really ask you anything on Jeopardy!, right? So learning is a little bit complicated,” he added. “You can’t learn all the knowledge in one month so I tried my best.”
Marshall was nervous after some bad results at the rehearsals, but in the end it all worked out – minus one or two answers.
“There were some questions that, looking back, are actually a bit embarrassing with what I answered,” he said. “But you know, I did my best under the circumstances.
“It was a high-pressure situation.”
The episode was filmed in March, so Marshall returned home on Wednesday air and threw a viewing party for family and friends.
“It’s great to see them cheering for me along,” he added. “Even though I knew the results, they were completely invested.”
“All told, I’m really pleased with the results and I’m proud to have had this incredible experience.”
Marshall received $2,000 for second place. He said he has no plans for the bounty amount yet.
With files from CTV News Edmonton Miriam Valdes-Carletti
