Lawrenceville boutique owner beats trivia legend, wins big on ABC's 'The Chase'

The dictionary definition of “trivia” is “pieces of information of little importance or value.”

Try telling that to Liz Quesnelle of Lawrenceville.

Her knowledge of facts both great and small recently won her a third of a $660,000 pot on the ABC quiz show “The Chase.”

On the show’s June 20 segment, Quesnelle and two teammates bested trivia giant James Holzhauer, famed for his 2019 32-game winning streak on “Jeopardy!”

The show pits a three-person team against a former “Jeopardy!” champ called “The Chaser” in successive question-and-answer rounds. Each team member builds winnings with correct answers and maneuvers around the Chaser’s attempts to thwart their advancement.

Contestants who complete their individual chases go on to the Final Chase, in which they answer questions as a team and play for an equal share of cash accumulated throughout the episode.

In addition to Holzhauer, Chasers include Ken Jennings and Brad Rutter. Holzhauer was the one Quesnelle said she least wanted to face.

“He’s incredibly good at trivia, and he kind of likes being the villain,” said the 46-year-old licensed esthetician and makeup artist who owns The Gilded Girl Beauty Emporium in Sewickley. “He does a lot of good-natured ribbing and trash talk, and it can get into your head if you let it.”

Quesnelle was able to keep her cool, in part because she was already a game show veteran — having won $20,001 on “Jeopardy!” in 2015.

“I was more nervous the day before (the May 16 taping in Los Angeles),” she said. “The crew keeps the atmosphere fun, and they do a good job of keeping the cameras hidden in the background.

“Trivia is something I’m good at, and I’m competitive,” she added. “I was able to focus on the task at hand, and I got into the zone.”

Rapid-fire format

There was no strategizing with teammates Diva Bole and Greg Peterson beforehand, though the rapid-fire format of the final round doesn’t allow for consultations, anyway.

“There’s no opportunity to talk to your teammates or to find out their strengths,” Quesnelle said. “You go in blind.”

Being a Pennsylvanian gave Quesnelle a boost in the final round.

She knew Philadelphia was the city where residents call the liquid that comes out of the tap “wooder.” Holzhauer guessed Minneapolis.

“There’s nothing I’m not interested in,” she said. “I’m a naturally curious human being. I think people who are best at trivia are curious about the world.

“I also have a quick recall, which you need,” she said. “A lot of people have the knowledge, but it takes them time to get to the answers.”

Quesnelle and her husband moved to Pittsburgh in 2015 from her native Chicago, following her parents and a best friend from college who’d also made the city their home.

Pre-covid, she frequented trivia nights at Spirit, a restaurant/bar/music space in Lawrenceville.

“Angry Dan (at Spirit) is the best quiz master in the city, in my opinion,” she said.

These days, she keeps sharp by participating in online trivia leagues two nights a week. If the right TV game show comes along, she’ll try out for that, too.

Part of her $220,000 winnings will help to bolster her business.

“It really is life-changing, especially for a self-employed retailer like me, coming out of covid,” she said.

Some will go to satisfying more of her curiosity about the world.

“A couple of years ago, my husband and I traveled around the world on a 5-week trip,” she said. “Covid-permitting, we’d like to do that again.”

Destinations on her travel bucket list include Argentina, Southeast Asia, Egypt, Turkey and Scandinavia — “a little bit of everywhere,” she said.