Jeopardy! Champ James Holzhauer Beats Ashland Man By $18

WALTHAM (CBS) – From a die-hard Jeopardy! viewer to a contestant with his hand on the buzzer. "It's almost like an out of body experience," said Adam Levin.

The Ashland father said it was a lifelong dream to compete on his favorite quiz show, Jeopardy! It was made even better, as he captured the lead just minutes into the game. He gave reigning Jeopardy! champion James Holzhauer a run for his money.

"Knowing I could go toe-to-toe with him is a great feeling! It's a once in a lifetime shot," said Levin.

Holzhauer is on a 17-day winning streak – shattering records by racking up more than $1-million on the show.

It all came down to "Final Jeopardy," when the Brandeis University employee was just $18 shy of dethroning Holzhauer and advancing.

Despite the loss, no one had more fun watching the night unfold than Levin's 8-year-old son, Drew, who was in the audience for the taping in February.

"I'm feeling really excited for my dad and I'm proud of him!" said Drew.

Although having nearly $54,000 in the bank would've been nice, Adam told WBZ-TV he's just grateful for the experience.

"Sometimes you give it your best shot and you might not come out on the winning end, but as long as you give it your best and put it all out there – then you've got nothing to be ashamed of, so I'm really proud of how I did."