But for a time on Monday it appeared Watson could fall, as a crowd inside a Harvard campus hall roared its approval.

The Harvard and MIT crews appeared to have an advantage with clues involving various types of wordplay. For example, Harvard buzzed in ahead of Watson when asked to provide the equivalent to "George W.'s rumps." The correct answer: "Bush's tushes."

But in an interview prior to the contest, HBS contestant Jonas Akins described his team's preparations in simple terms. "We watched some shows and talked about our relative strengths," Akins said. One of his teammates, Genevieve Sheehan, was able to lend an insider's edge: She once appeared on the real "Jeopardy" show.

The most successful players must master the show's tricky buzzer, which calls for proper timing after the question is asked, rather than simply hitting the buzzer fastest.

"The buzzers don't get activated until Alex is finished reading each question," . "If you buzz in too early, the system actually locks you out for a fifth of a second or so. But if you're too late, the player next to you is going to get in first."