57°
After years of hoping and trying, the Englewood native will compete on the Wednesday, July 12 episode of "Jeopardy!"
An avid "Jeopardy!" fan himself, Sopher said getting the news was one of the happiest moments of his grandmother's life.
"What more can a grandson wish for?" Sopher said.
For Sopher, appearing on the popular game show is a culmination of a long journey that began when he started watching it as a kid in 2010.
"I immediately tried out the first opportunity I got," said Sopher, who works for a TV station in New Orleans. "I've been trying out every year since then, but never made any progress."
Sopher finally got his big break last year when he received a callback and took part in a series of auditions. He found out he was going to be on the show via text while covering a press conference.
"I was freaking out internally," Sopher said. "It felt like the longest progress conference in my life. But it was really exciting, I had to tell my bosses I was going to miss a few days."
A student of the game, Sopher said he wanted to use the strategy popularized by players like Arthur Chu and James Holzhauer by targeting the highest value clues and hunt for Daily Doubles. He also studied how to use the buzzer and made sure to watch as much as "Jeopardy!" as possible.
"I really wanted to win," Sopher said. "We'll see if that worked out."
While he can't reveal how he did, Sopher said his strengths would be U.S. history, geography, music and movies, while his weakness would be wordplay questions, food and drink. He said it was surreal and terrifying being on the "Jeopardy!" stage.
"I was so nervous," Sopher said. "I've been waiting my whole life for this. It's just incredible I get to be on 'Jeopardy!". But once it got started, it was exciting and so much fun."
The host for Sopher's episode was Ken Jennings, the "Jeopardy! legend who set a record with 74 consecutive wins. Solar said it was great getting to interact with him.
"He's the greatest," Sopher said. "I'm such a big fan of his. During the commercial breaks, we were just chatting about random stuff."
If he wins big on "Jeopardy!", Sopher said he would like to use the money to save for the future while also doing some traveling.
Sopher's episode airs on Wednesday, July 12 at 7 p.m. on WABC Channel 7.
Click here to follow Daily Voice Egg Harbor Township and receive free news updates.
