The one thing I didn't like was how rude he was to the host. Though maybe I'd do the same thing if Buzztime was not automated. The downtime between games can get annoying.
As for flipping the characters... I'm not sure. I feel like we would have seen a lot of Lawrence anyway as they definitely wanted a Larry David/Curb Your Enthusiasm angle. The funeral scenes are more than enough proof of that. It would have been odd to follow an ancillary character more than the protagonist.
And in a way it does really make sense to me that someone obsessed over trivia (or obsessed over anything) is sort of trying to fill in other areas of life where they are lacking. Particularly, personal/professional shortcomings. It's obvious, if understated, that Adam is great at trivia (the cook was fired from the team for missing one question even though they won the game). But he has a fulfilled life and can approach it very casually. Attractive people can be into trivia, but it doesn't always make for good TV.