So often pop culture has championed the underdog, and despite his unthreatening appearance, Chu's intellect and ethnicity have prejudiced audiences against seeing him that way, he said. People are inclined to root for likable, if under-qualified, competitors, hoping that luck or heart will stack their odds in beating a more competent opponent.

Chu cites Seattle Seahawks player Richard Sherman, who was labeled a thug for aggressive comments made in an interview before the Superbowl, as an inspiration.

"It's messed up that people on Twitter keep saying they hope a regular guy will beat me, as if I'm just a soulless machine to be taken down," he said. "But for me, there's a lot of power in being able to control the joke, so when I started seeing angry, demeaning racist tweets, I played into and put on the swagger. People say that I have an extremely punchable face, and you know what? I have been punched in the face, that's absolutely true."

In response to one Twitter user who called him arrogant, he wrote: "The next time you realize you won $37,500, we'll see how humble you are."

Chu, who currently works at Family Heritage Insurance in Broadview Heights, Ohio and does freelance voice-over work, hopes to use a portion of his winnings to visit his family in China, where his parents are from. He was born in New York and has spent time in Taiwan, but has never visited the mainland. As the product of a "Tiger mom-upbringing", his win will be particularly poignant, he told Hyphen Magazine.

"I spent a lot of my life unwilling to take chances and I think that's a common story [for Chinese kids]," he said. "But at this point in my life, I've learned a lot of things will never happen to you if you never take the risk."

If Chu wins his fifth appearance on the show on Feb 24, he'll be eligible to compete in the show's Tournament of Champions.

Contact the writer at kdawson@chinadailyusa.com.

(China Daily USA 02/11/2014 page2)