A native of Queens, New York City, he won the 2019–20 edition of University Challenge as a student at Imperial College London.
[1][2][3] By 2016, Blackwell saw London as "the epicenter" of high-level quizzing and sought to win University Challenge, a television quiz show featuring UK college students.
[2] He briefly left Imperial because he felt the school's selection process for University Challenge did not produce a team well rounded enough to compete seriously.
[2] Blackwell then returned to Imperial and rejoined the quiz team alongside Richard Brooks, Conor McMeel, and captain Caleb Rich for University Challenge 2019–20.
[2] The group practiced once a week for three months; Blackwell suggested a rule that a subject specialist defer to his teammates to float the first guess.