Liam Starnes: Jeopardy Champion and Academic Prodigy

Liam Starnes was born in 2004 in Barrington, Illinois, a prosperous suburb northwest of Chicago known for its excellent schools and strong academic culture. He grew up in a family that placed tremendous value on education, intellectual curiosity, and academic achievement.

From an early age, Liam demonstrated an exceptional memory and love for learning. His natural curiosity led him to read extensively, solve puzzles, and engage in intellectual discussions that were unusual for someone his age.

Fun Fact: In seventh grade, Liam became the National History Bee Chicago North Regional Champion in April 2016, foreshadowing his future success in competitive trivia. The Barrington Quizbowl team tweeted about his victory, celebrating “Station’s Liam Starnes” as the regional champion.

He attended Barrington High School, where he would achieve his most significant pre-college accomplishment and begin building the skills that would later make him a Jeopardy! sensation.

Quick Bio: Liam Starnes Overview

Liam Starnes Parents: Foundation of Academic Excellence

Liam Starnes’ parents have remained relatively private despite their son’s national television fame. However, sources confirm they played instrumental roles in fostering his intellectual development and supporting his competitive trivia career.

According to multiple reports, the Starnes family created an environment that valued education, critical thinking, and intellectual exploration. Liam’s parents ensured he had access to the best educational resources, encouraged his participation in academic competitions, and supported his involvement in Scholastic Bowl from middle school through high school.

Parental Support: When Liam began competing in Scholastic Bowl in sixth grade, his parents provided the encouragement and logistical support necessary for him to travel to competitions and dedicate time to studying. Their commitment to his academic success created the foundation for his later achievements.

The family’s emphasis on learning wasn’t limited to formal education. Liam’s parents fostered his curiosity through reading, discussions, and exposure to diverse topics—an approach that helped him develop the broad knowledge base essential for trivia competitions.

While their specific names and professions haven’t been publicly disclosed, Liam’s parents clearly prioritized their son’s intellectual growth over publicity, maintaining privacy while celebrating his accomplishments from behind the scenes.

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Liam Starnes Age: Twenty Years of Achievement

Born in July 2004, Liam Starnes is 20 years old as of 2025. Despite his young age, he has already achieved remarkable success in competitive academics and national television.

At just 20, Liam has:

• Won a national championship in high school Scholastic Bowl
• Earned a spot at one of America’s most prestigious universities
• Become a six-game Jeopardy! champion
• Accumulated over $123,000 in prize winnings
• Qualified for the Tournament of Champions
• Maintained a 3.79 GPA while competing nationally

Youth Advantage: Liam’s age actually works in his favor for trivia competitions. Growing up with internet access and modern educational resources, he possesses knowledge spanning traditional subjects and contemporary pop culture (though he admits pop culture is his weakness).

His youth also means he potentially has decades ahead to continue competing in trivia tournaments, building on the foundation he’s established before age 21.

How Old Is Liam Starnes? The Timeline of Success

Liam Starnes is 20 years old, having been born in 2004. His birthday falls in July, as he celebrates annually with family and friends.

Understanding Liam’s age provides context for his achievements:

• Age 12 (2016): Won National History Bee Chicago North Regional as a 7th grader
• Age 14-15 (2018-2019): Competed in International History Olympiads, winning four medals
• Age 16-17 (2020-2021): Served as captain of Barrington High School Scholastic Bowl team, leading them to the 2021 National Championship
• Age 17 (2021): Graduated from Barrington High School
• Age 17-20 (2021-2025): Attended the University of Chicago, serving as Vice President of the College Bowl team
• Age 20 (2025): Won six consecutive Jeopardy! games in April 2025, earning $123,000+ and qualifying for the Tournament of Champions

This timeline demonstrates consistent excellence over eight years of competitive trivia, from middle school through college.

The 2021 National Championship: High School Glory

Liam’s most cherished pre-Jeopardy! An accomplishment occurred during his senior year at Barrington High School. As team captain of the Scholastic Bowl team, he led Barrington to victory at the National Association of Quiz Tournaments’ (NAQT) High School National Championship Tournament in 2021.

This national championship represented the culmination of years of dedication to Scholastic Bowl. Liam had started competing in sixth grade and spent six years honing his skills before captaining the championship team.

Team Achievement: Liam’s teammates included Michael Karpov, Timothy Price, and Charles Young. Together, they defeated teams from across the country to claim the national title, bringing Barrington High School its greatest academic competition victory.

The championship validated Liam’s leadership abilities and demonstrated his capacity to perform under pressure in high-stakes competitions—skills that would prove essential during his Jeopardy! run.

University of Chicago: Academic Excellence Continues

In fall 2021, Liam enrolled at the University of Chicago, one of the world’s most academically rigorous institutions. He pursued a double major in Data Science and Statistics, graduating in June 2025 with a Bachelor of Arts degree.

At the University of Chicago, Liam maintained a 3.79 GPA out of 4.0 while balancing demanding coursework with extracurricular activities. He served as Vice President of the College Bowl team, continuing his competitive trivia career at the collegiate level.

Technical Skills: Liam’s education equipped him with proficiency in Python, R, SQL, and Java programming languages, along with expertise in data analysis, machine learning, and data visualization. These technical skills complement his trivia knowledge, demonstrating intellectual versatility beyond memorization.

The University of Chicago’s Hyde Park campus became Liam’s home for four years. After his Jeopardy! success, he noted being “recognized more and more around Hyde Park, which still feels a bit odd but makes my heart warm every time someone congratulates me on my success.”

Professional Experience: Applying Data Science

Beyond academics and trivia, Liam gained practical professional experience through internships and research positions:

Illinois Broadband Lab (Research Assistant Fellow): Liam assisted in validating over one million pieces of data to help the lab’s mission of connecting unserved communities to high-speed internet. This work demonstrated his ability to handle large-scale data projects with real-world impact.

AlphaROC (Data Science Intern): He utilized tools like Streamlit and Plotly to build software features, significantly reducing the time required for processing, analysis, and visualization of complex data. This experience sharpened his technical skills and exposed him to professional software development practices.

University of Chicago Behavioral Insights and Parenting Lab (Research Assistant): This position allowed Liam to apply data science techniques to social science research, bridging technical skills with understanding human behavior.

These positions demonstrate Liam’s commitment to applying his academic knowledge practically, building a resume that extends beyond trivia accomplishments.

Jeopardy! Journey: From Dream to Reality

Liam’s Jeopardy! The journey began long before his April 2025 debut. He had dreamed of competing on the show since middle school, watching episodes and studying old questions to prepare.

The Long Road: Liam auditioned multiple times, taking the teen test, then the college test, then the regular test before finally receiving the call in 2023. When he got the text message inviting him to Los Angeles, he initially didn’t think much of it—until producers asked, “How would you like to fly out to Los Angeles?” That moment made his dream feel real.

Debut Episode (April 18, 2025): Liam faced returning one-day champion Steven Hoying and fellow newcomer Rachel Gray. He “very nervously stumbled out of the green room onto the stage” and got off to a rough start. However, he found his rhythm, and after nailing a big wager on a Daily Double and getting Presidential Elections (one of his best categories) in Final Jeopardy, he emerged victorious with $32,401 in winnings.

“I was actually a Jeopardy champion!” he wrote on Reddit, capturing the euphoria of achieving his childhood dream.

The Six-Game Winning Streak

Liam’s success continued over the following week. He won six consecutive games from April 18-28, 2025, accumulating total winnings exceeding $123,000. His fifth victory on April 24 was particularly significant, as it guaranteed him a spot in the Tournament of Champions.

Performance Highlights:

• Strong categories: Sports, Geography, History, Presidential Elections
• Weak category: Pop Culture (he admits this isn’t his forte)
• Strategy: Big True Daily Double wagers that excited audiences
• Consistency: Maintained composure across multiple games

Game 6 Ending (April 28, 2025): Liam’s streak ended dramatically. Despite dominating the first half of the game, he answered Final Jeopardy incorrectly while opponent Erin Morin answered correctly and wagered everything, doubling up to swipe the win.

“I guess that’s the irony of Jeopardy: you can be completely outplayed and still pull out a win, but you can also play amazingly and lose,” Liam reflected on Reddit.

The “Real-Life Sheldon Cooper” Phenomenon

From his very first episode, Jeopardy! Fans couldn’t help but notice Liam’s uncanny resemblance to Sheldon Cooper, the genius physicist character played by Jim Parsons in The Big Bang Theory.

Social media exploded with comparisons:

• “Seriously, that’s Sheldon!!!!!!!” wrote one fan on X (formerly Twitter)
• “Liam looks like a real-life Sheldon Cooper.”
• “Big time Sheldon Cooper vibes from Liam”
• “Liam looks like Sheldon Cooper’s little brother.”
• “I never doubted teenage Sheldon for a minute! Congrats Liam”

The Comparison: The resemblance isn’t just physical—Liam’s intellectual prowess, detailed knowledge across multiple subjects, and slightly awkward but endearing on-screen presence all evoked the beloved sitcom character. The Big Bang Theory ran for 12 seasons (2007-2019), with Parsons winning four Emmys and a Golden Globe for portraying Sheldon.

Meta Moment: During Liam’s fifth game, there was actually a Big Bang Theory-related question, though he didn’t buzz in—confirming his weakness in pop culture despite being compared to one of TV’s most famous characters.

Tournament of Champions Qualification

By winning his fifth game on April 24, 2025, Liam secured one of the most coveted prizes in game show history: a spot in the Jeopardy! Tournament of Champions. This tournament brings together the season’s best players to compete for $250,000 in prize money.

TOC Preparation: Liam revealed his secret pre-game ritual: eating at El Torito in Marina Del Rey the night before tapings. “Maybe I shouldn’t hurt my competitive advantage by revealing this secret, but the Mexican food there is amazing,” he joked on Reddit.

The Tournament of Champions represents another chance for Liam to compete against the absolute best trivia minds in the country, with potential winnings that could significantly exceed his already impressive $123,000+ haul.

Reddit Reflections: Opening Up About the Experience

After his streak ended, Liam took to Jeopardy! Reddit forum to share his complete experience. His post revealed vulnerability, self-awareness, and gratitude that endeared him further to fans.

Pre-Game Nerves: Liam admitted significant self-doubt before his first game. He got lucky not being picked for morning rounds, giving him time to “get his head in Jeopardy mode” by watching other contestants.

Confidence Evolution: As his streak continued, Liam felt “as confident as I ever had” by his seventh game. Hearing the crowd gasp after making big True Daily Double wagers became “an incredible feeling.”

Perspective: After initial uncertainty about whether to feel happy about six games or sad it wasn’t longer, watching the episodes back helped Liam realize “there was hardly any reason to feel disappointed about a six-day winning streak.”

Gratitude: He thanked family, friends, and fellow Jeopardy! fans, contestants, and the crew, especially “Mitch, the audio technician who was able to calm me down before each game.”

Academic Honors and Recognition

Beyond trivia competitions, Liam has earned numerous academic honors:

• Northwestern University’s Midwest Academic Talent Search (NUMATS): Recognized for achieving high scores on the ACT and/or SAT exams
• International History Olympiads: Competed in 2016 and 2018, winning four medals
• University of Chicago Dean’s List: Maintaining a 3.79 GPA qualifies him for academic honors
• 2021 NAQT National Champion: The highest achievement in high school quiz bowl

These honors demonstrate that Liam’s talents extend beyond quick recall to deep understanding and analytical thinking.

Social Media Presence and Public Engagement

Unlike many Jeopardy! champions who cultivate large social media followings, Liam maintains a relatively low-key online presence. His primary platform appears to be LinkedIn, where he presents himself professionally as a data science student and researcher.

Social Media Status:

• LinkedIn: Profile shows location as Barrington, Illinois, with 38 connections. List experience at Illinois Broadband Lab and education at the University of Chicago (2021-2025). Professional focus on a data science career.
• Reddit: Active on r/Jeopardy, where he posted a detailed account of his experience after his streak ended. Engages authentically with fans and fellow contestants.
• Instagram/Twitter/TikTok: No verified public accounts with significant followings. Liam appears to prioritize privacy over social media fame, unusual for someone with his national television exposure.

Privacy-First Approach: Liam’s minimal social media presence suggests he values privacy and wants to be known for achievements rather than celebrity. This approach aligns with his academic focus and professional aspirations in data science.

Post-Graduation Plans and Career Aspirations

Graduating from the University of Chicago in June 2025 with a degree in data science and statistics, Liam has expressed interest in working as a researcher. His professional experience and academic background position him well for careers in:

• Data science and analytics
• Statistical research
• Software development
• Academic research
• Technology consulting

Financial Freedom: With over $123,000 in Jeopardy! With winnings (and potentially more from the Tournament of Champions), Liam has financial flexibility to pursue meaningful work rather than simply chasing the highest salary.

He mentioned wanting to use some winnings for research purposes, suggesting commitment to contributing to knowledge rather than purely personal enrichment.

Personal Life and Relationship Status

Liam has kept his personal life undisclosed. There is no publicly available information regarding his dating status, romantic relationships, or significant personal interests beyond trivia and data science.

This privacy is consistent with his overall low-key approach to fame. Despite national television exposure and social media attention comparing him to beloved sitcom characters, Liam has maintained clear boundaries between his public achievements and private life.

The Sheldon Cooper Irony

Perhaps the most amusing aspect of Liam’s Jeopardy! Experience is that while millions compared him to Sheldon Cooper, his pop culture knowledge—the category where The Big Bang Theory falls—is his admitted weakness.

This irony highlights an important truth about trivia expertise: deep knowledge in some areas doesn’t necessarily translate to others. Liam excels in sports, geography, history, and data-driven subjects but struggles with entertainment and pop culture.

Generational Gap: Despite being only 20, Liam’s knowledge skews toward traditional academic subjects rather than contemporary entertainment, suggesting his intellectual interests developed along more classical lines than typical for his generation.

FAQs About Liam Starnes

Who is Liam Starnes?
Liam Starnes is a 20-year-old undergraduate student from Barrington, Illinois, who became a six-game Jeopardy! champion in April 2025. He won over $123,000 and qualified for the Tournament of Champions. He previously captained Barrington High School’s Scholastic Bowl team to the 2021 National Championship and graduated from the University of Chicago in June 2025 with a degree in data science and statistics.

How old is Liam Starnes?
Liam Starnes is 20 years old as of 2025. He was born in July 2004 in Barrington, Illinois. Despite his young age, he has achieved remarkable success in competitive trivia and academics, including winning a national championship in high school and earning over $123,000 on Jeopardy!

What is Liam Starnes’ age?
Liam Starnes’ age is 20 years old. Born in 2004, he celebrates his birthday in July each year with family and friends. At just 20, he has already qualified for the Jeopardy! Tournament of Champions and graduated from one of America’s most prestigious universities.

Who are Liam Starnes’ parents?
Liam Starnes’ parents have maintained privacy despite their son’s national television fame. According to sources, they raised Liam in Barrington, Illinois, and created an environment that valued education and intellectual growth. They supported his participation in competitive trivia from sixth grade through college and fostered his curiosity through access to educational resources and intellectual discussions.

How much did Liam Starnes win on Jeopardy!?
Liam Starnes won over $123,000 during his six-game winning streak on Jeopardy! from April 18-28, 2025. His first victory earned him $32,401, and he accumulated additional winnings over subsequent games. He is now qualified for the Tournament of Champions, where he could potentially win $250,000.

Why do people compare Liam Starnes to Sheldon Cooper?
Jeopardy! fans immediately noticed Liam Starnes’ uncanny physical resemblance to Sheldon Cooper, the genius physicist character played by Jim Parsons in The Big Bang Theory. Beyond appearance, Liam’s intellectual prowess, detailed knowledge across subjects, and slightly awkward but endearing presence all evoke the beloved sitcom character, earning him the nickname “real-life Sheldon Cooper.”

Where does Liam Starnes go to college?
Liam Starnes attended the University of Chicago from fall 2021 to June 2025, earning a Bachelor of Arts degree in Data Science and Statistics with a 3.79 GPA. He served as Vice President of the College Bowl team and gained professional experience through internships at the Illinois Broadband Lab and AlphaROC.

What are Liam Starnes’ strongest Jeopardy! categories?
Liam’s strongest categories on Jeopardy! are sports, geography, history, and presidential elections. He has admitted that pop culture is his weak spot, ironically the category where The Big Bang Theory—the show whose character he’s constantly compared to—would fall.

Will Liam Starnes compete in the Tournament of Champions?
Yes, Liam Starnes qualified for the Jeopardy! Tournament of Champions by winning his fifth game on April 24, 2025. The tournament brings together the season’s best players to compete for $250,000. Liam joked about returning to El Torito in Marina Del Rey for his pre-game meal when he comes back for the TOC.