'Jeopardy' champion has the most helpful advice for those scared to apply for the show: 'I tried the...'

Ken Jennings isn't the only "Jeopardy!" champion who has achieved legendary status with his winning streak before he became the host. Other iconic players have had a good run on the show as well, and they are now helping out aspiring contestants to reach the stage and win big. One such player is Mark Fitzpatrick, who shared valuable advice on how to apply for the show via Reddit.

Fitzpatrick, who had a five-day winning streak during the 41st season, won a total of $107,201 on the show. In a post on the unofficial Reddit forum for "Jeopardy!", Fitzpatrick opened up about his experience on the show, sharing that he was an anxious applicant before he made it to the stage. “Hi Reddit, I’m Mark from the first week of this season. This week is the one-year anniversary of my Getting the Call to be on the show, and I wanted to commemorate that milestone by offering some advice and encouragement to those who may be in a similar boat as I was," he wrote in the post.

The former champion went on to share that he had developed some strategies that helped him cope with anxiety in the run-up to his debut. In the first part, he shared that the only thing that motivated him to take the Anytime Test was the long odds of getting a shot. "But thanks to the long odds, I just viewed it as something to do so that I could say I tried the next time someone said I should be on the show. So if you haven’t taken the Anytime Test because you’re worried about being on stage, I say go for it anyway and just convince yourself you won’t be," he wrote. 

In the second part, Fitzpatrick talked about the audition for the show. He revealed that the auditions are conducted via Zoom, which makes it seem casual for the aspirants. "I first auditioned in October 2020, and it helped thinking of it as just another in a seemingly endless slog of Zoom meetings," Fitzpatrick shared. He reminded the aspirants that it was a numbers game and the majority of them won't make it to this stage, which takes off a lot of pressure. 

In the third part, he discussed "The Call," calling it the most difficult part of the process. "Okay, this is where it gets difficult. If they call you and tell you they want you on the show, it gets a bit harder to convince yourself that you’ll never be on the show. What I personally found helpful was the surreality of it all; I may have had the most toned-down, subdued reaction to getting the news ever, and probably made the producers question why they had picked me in the first place. But I was excited–it just didn’t seem real to me, and that helped a ton," he explained. 

He further recommended that people spend less time studying and more time distracting themselves to cope with anxiety. "I was fortunate enough to have a trip to Italy already planned a few weeks before my tape day, and it was such a blessing to have something like that occupy my mind," Fitzpatrick mentioned.  

For the final 'Tape Day', the former champion confessed that he didn't have much advice to give. "I felt like by worrying so much about making it to tape day, by the time I actually made it into the studio I had less to worry about," he wrote. He shared that the low odds of his win reduced the pressure on his shoulders, and he was able to have fun playing the rounds. Sharing a nugget of information, he wrote, "They don't make you pay the money back if you end up negative, despite what the Simpsons told you," he revealed.

In the end, Fitzpatrick wished everyone good luck. The post was appreciated by many aspiring candidates who expressed that they found the champion's words highly encouraging. "Great advice! As someone who recently took the anytime test, thanks for the helpful words about anxiety!" @Analog_Al wrote.