"Jeopardy!" host Alex Trebek (left) is shown here with Iowa City native Paul Nelson, who won $54,900 playing "Jeopardy!" in November 2012. Nelson is competing in the game show's Tournament of Champions, which begins airing Feb. 13, 2013. (Jeopardy Productions photo)

By Diana Nollen/ SourceMedia

Iowa City native Paul Nelson came from behind to stage a triumphant, yet conservative, win in today’s “Jeopardy!” Tournament of Champions quarterfinal round. He advances to the semi finals with $15,800 in his victory till.

Nelson, 24, who is now in Officer Candidate School in Newport, R.I., began his “Jeopardy!” odyssey with six episodes that aired in November. His $54,900 earnings qualified him for the tournament, which was taped in mid-January and began airing today (2/13/13). He actually won another $2,000 in November when he placed second to end his winning streak.

Today’s opponents included Stephanie Jass, a history professor from Michigan, who is the show’s all-time highest winning female, at $147,570; and Jason Shore, a medical student from Plano, Texas, $85,200.

Nelson was trailing at the start of today’s Double Jeopardy round, but rebounded at the end with a Daily Double correct question that pushed him ahead with $15,800. His opponents were tied at $13,000.

They all played it safe with their Final Jeopary wagers, hoping to stay in the running for a wild card position if they didn’t win the match. For the first time, Nelson nailed the final answer, but bet $0. Actually, they all nailed the right question (Who is Ramses, in a Rosetta Stone answer), but Jass bet nothing and Shore bet just $1,000, which wasn’t enough to overtake Nelson.

Nelson, former Senate staff aide for Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), is the son of Scott and Tracy Nelson of Iowa City.

“Jeopardy!” airs at 11:30 a.m. weekdays on KWWL (Channel 7) in the Corridor. Quarterfinal action continues tomorrow (2/14/13).