Palo Alto High School math teacher Daniel Nguyen returned to ‘Jeopardy!’ on Thursday evening, and he emerged victorious in his second game with total winnings of $18,000, far ahead of his competitors.

The game’s second-place contestant, standardized test prep expert Charly Keucks, reached $2,801, while the third-place contestant, management consultant Matt Petroff, earned $400. The two walked away with $2,000 and $1,000 respectively, per Jeopardy rules.

Nguyen took an early lead, carefully navigating a series of difficult questions with topics ranging from McDonald’s menu items to the musical “Rent.”

He maintained his first-place position throughout the game, beating out Keucks and Petroff on a challenging question about the Drake Passage near Antarctica towards the end.

Although Nguyen was unable to answer the ‘Daily Double’ question about a beheaded English statesman, he ultimately coasted to victory after correctly answering a difficult question on beatification, which is a recognition offered by the Catholic Church.

In sharp contrast to his $5,801 wager of “What is Sko Vikes?” on Wednesday, Nguyen wagered $0 on his correct final guess of “Australia” during the ‘Final Jeopardy!’ round. Despite this, he still finished in first place, defending his title as ‘Jeopardy!’ winner.

Nguyen also hosted a ‘Jeopardy!’ watch party in the Paly Media Arts Center during lunchtime on Thursday, where students gathered to support their teacher and watch the first episode of his run on the show. He has invited students and faculty back to the MAC for another viewing on Friday.