The Wyckoff native has swept on "Jeopardy!" two nights in a row, pocketing $76,901 so far. He will play again Wednesday evening as the returning champion.
After 12 years of online screen tests, Backes joined the game Monday for the first time (the episode was taped in January), Rutgers University reports.
He says the "hardcore science questions" are his weakness and a strength for his opponents.
The Ramapo High School and Rutgers graduate is no newbie to trivia. In 1999, he won the Cook/Douglass Trivia Bowl in 1999 as part of a three-man team, taking home a $100 gift certificate to the Menlo Park Mall, Rutgers reports.
Backes currently lives in Round Rock, Texas, and works as an attorney and government relations professional. According to Facebook, he is the executive director at Texas Transit Association-TTA.
He will face education consultant Susie Highly and marketing manager Seth Birnbaum Wednesday, Feb. 13.
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