The battle is over and the
best player won.
This is a hard claim for me
in the aftermath of the Tournament of Champions considering my open hostility
to the man who came out the ultimate victor on tonight’s climatic Jeopardy final.
But if redemption is truly to be obtained on the field of battle, then I can’t
argue that it has come for Yogesh Raut.
In what has been arguably
the most exciting and remarkable Tournament of Champions in my years of
experience, this evening Yogesh Raut managed to win his third victory and gain
the $250,000 grand prize and a spot in the Jeopardy Masters this May.
From practically the
beginning of this tournament to its conclusion tonight, the Tournament of
Champions has been a roller coaster with the brackets being busted from almost
the start, with some of the most remarkable upset and memorable victories. We
were then granted an incredible match between three remarkable Jeopardy champions:
Yogesh Raut, Troy Meyer and Ben Chan. The six games were among the most perfectly
played that I can remember in years with incredible wagers on Daily Doubles, blowout
victories and come from behind wins. It featured some of the toughest Final
Jeopardys in my experience in a Tournament of Champions. I could not get a
single one close to correct and Ben managed to get every single one correct.
That Yogesh ended up coming out ahead is a testament to his skill, there were
occasions in every one of the six games where any could have gone the other way.
The fact that Ben, who finished in third place at the end of Double Jeopardy in
every game managed to win two is a testament to just how much these games shifted.
It is worth noting that
from the beginning of the final Yogesh had begun to grow on me. It turned out
that he and Troy had known each other from trivia competitions in the past and
had in fact played together on various occasions. He also had clearly worked on
making an effort to be more charming as the Tournament proceeded and honestly,
it had won me over by the end of the first game in the finals.
So let’s go to the play-by-play.
GAME 1
Troy would take an early
lead in the Jeopardy round when he found the Daily Double on the fourth clue.
In what would become his pattern, he bet everything on it when he found it and,
as would be the case on all but two occasions turned out to be correct. By the end of the first break, however, Ben
had overtaken Troy $5400 to $4600. However when play resumed Yogesh who had not
answered a single clue until then finally managed to get going. He finished the
round with $3600 to Troy’s $5800 and Ben’s $6000.
In the first third of
Double Jeopardy Yogesh and Ben dominated. However Troy got to the first Daily
Double in PROSE AND CONGRESS and would bet the $9000 he had: “In 2011 this
Senator published his ‘The Speech: A Historic Filibuster on Corporate Greed
& the Decline of Our Middle Class.” Troy knew it was Bernie Sanders and
leapt back into the lead with $18,000.
He held it for the rest of
the round but faltered when he found the other Daily Double in STARTS WITH ‘P’:
“Part of this word for a long, rambling journey nearly spells out a type of
falcon.” He gave the name of the falcon: “What is a peregrine?” instead of
peregrination. It cost him $6000. He finished Double Jeopardy with $22,000 to
Yogesh’s $15,000 and Ben’s $10,000.
The Final Jeopardy category
was WORLD THEATER: “This 1867 play has a reindeer hunt & a king dwelling in
snowy mountains but its title character also spends time in Morocco and Egypt.”
Ben knew the answer: “What is Peer Gynt?” His wager was $5601. Yogesh also knew the
correct answer (he added: “I for one welcome our new Troy overlord) but bet
nothing. Troy, however, thought of the wrong Ibsen play what is Hedda Gabler.
He bet $9201 and Ben had managed to come from behind to notch his first
victory.
Game 2
The Jeopardy round was
close from start to finish. At the break Troy and Ben were tied at $4200 to
Yogesh’s $3400. At the end of the round Troy had the barest of leads with $5800
to Ben’s $5600 and Yogesh’s $4800.
Early In Double Jeopardy
Yogesh seemed to pull off an insurmountable lead when he found the first Daily
Double in 17th CENTURY WRITING: ‘In his 1624 history of Virginia and
New England, he included the famous story of his rescue.” Yogesh was cute:
“Oh, I don’t know, I’ll
just guess a random name. Who is John Smith?”
Ken smiled because that was
the name in question. Yogesh doubled his score to $18,400. It seemed an
insurmountable lead. But no one told Troy that.
He got the next six clues
correct before Ben could interrupt his run. Then Troy got the next one right.
He then found the other Daily Double in OFFICIAL STATE STUFF. He was already in
the lead with $21,800 so everybody took a huge breath when he bet everything:
“Arizona’s state fossil is
this tree product; Arizona is also home to a forest full of it.” Troy knew it
was petrified wood and doubled his score to $43,600. We would learn the next
day that was the largest Daily Double than any player not named James Holzhauer
had ever bet with.
Ben’s third place total of
$10,400 and Yogesh’s $20,400 would have been impressive on any other day. But
Troy finished Double Jeopardy with $46,800. Final Jeopardy was an exercise but
everyone took it seriously.
The category was BOOKS OF
THE BIBLE. “This book is named for a tribe of Israel that carried out judgment
of the idolaters of the Golden Calf.” All three players knew it was Leviticus.
(Some fans of the show were upset that this clue was too easy. I didn’t know
the answer for the record.)
Troy completed his runaway and
got his first match point.
Game 3
Again all three players got
off to a fast start and once again Troy found the Daily Double. This time he
was in third place with $2600 and wagered everything in KHAN YOU DIG IT?
“The Aga Khans hold this
title as leaders of the Shiite Nazari Ismaili sect.” Troy guessed: “What is Khalif?”
when it was actually Imam. He dropped to zero and never got out of third place
for the rest of the Jeopardy round. When it ended Ben was ahead with $5800 to
Yogesh’s $4600 and Troy’s $2800.
In Double Jeopardy Ben got
off to a fast start and by the time Troy got the first Daily Double he was in a
distant third with $5600. Doing anything but betting everything was not an
option so he did in MEMORIALS AND MONUMENTS:
“Dedicated to the memory of
great Frenchmen, it’s the final resting place of women too, including Marie Curie
and Simone Veil.” Troy knew it was the Pantheon and doubled his score.
For much of Double Jeopardy
Yogesh was in a distant third before he went on a run in the category THE NAME
ON THE OSCAR and the first two clues in END IN ‘IX’. He got to the other Daily
Double in that category and bet the $12,200 he had: “This town at the foot of
Mont Blanc hosted the first Winter Olympics in 1924.” Yogesh knew it was
Chamonix and doubled his score to $24,400 taking the lead for the first time.
All three players were incredible
in Double Jeopardy getting every single clue correct. As a result the scores for
all three were incredible: Troy had $15,200, Ben was next with $17,800 and
Yogesh was in the lead with $29,600.
The Final Jeopardy category
was THE UNITED NATIONS. “Of the 9 countries that have produced a U.N. Secretary
General, this nation is the only one from its hemisphere.” All three players
knew the correct country: ‘What is Peru?” (It was the home nation of Javier
Perez de Cuellar, the only U.N. Secretary General from a nation in the Southern
Hemisphere.) Yogesh get $8001, to give $35,601 his first match point, tying the
Tournament at 1 match point apiece.
Game 4
Early in the Jeopardy round
Ben managed to do something he hadn’t done in the first three games: find a
Daily Double. At the time, however, it couldn’t do him must good as he was in
the red. So he bet $1000 in TYPES OF POEMS:
“A villanelle is a 19-line
poem consisting of 5 tercets and a concluding (do the math) one of these.” Ben
actually had to do the math to come up with quatrain to get on the plus side with
$200. He could not, however, get out of a distant third and by the end of the round
he was trailing badly with $1800 to Troy’s $8000 and Yogesh’s $6400.
Things improved for Ben slightly
in Double Jeopardy. He got to the first Daily Double in LOST WORKS with $5000
and again bet everything: “In the lost ancient epic “Aethiopis” the Ethiopian king
Memnon fights for Troy & is killed by this Greek Hero.” It took a bit for
Ben to come up with Achilles and he doubled his score to $10,000 to put him in
second place.
That, however, would be the
high point for him. Not that much longer after that Troy got to the other Daily
Double in MAKING A PASS. Once again he wagered big: $14,000:
“The first major U.S.-German
battle of World War II took place in February 1943 at Kasserine Pass on this continent.
Troy knew it was Africa and was at $28,000. A seemingly insurmountable lead and
while he was not caught, Troy finished with a huge $33,200 to Yogesh’s $20,400
and Ben’s $12,800.
The Final Jeopardy category
was HISTORIC AMERICANS: “Near Kirkbean on Solway Firth, U.S. Vice Admiral
Jerauld Wright presented a memorial plaque honoring this man.”
Ben wrote down: “Who is
John Paul Jones?” Which was correct: Jones was born in Scotland. He bet
everything. Yogesh wrote down Farragut. That cost him $5200. It came down to
Troy, who wrote down Pershing. It cost Troy $7601. Troy’s score dropped to
$25,599 and by a margin of $1, Ben had his second come from behind win. He now
was in the lead with two match points
Game 5
Again all three players got
off to a quick start in the Jeopardy round but this time Yogesh managed to move
into the lead the quickest. By the first break he had $6600; at the end of the
round he had $8800 to Ben’s 44800 and Troy’s $3600. There was a particular charming
moment when in a category where Yogesh got to say: “What is bromance?” he added: “Like the three of us are.” By now the
entire world – myself included – was finding it hard to pick a favorite.
Yet again Troy got to the
first Daily Double in Double Jeopardy and yet again he bet everything in VICE
PRESIDENTIAL QUOTES: “in 1948 Hubert Humphrey said the Democrats must ‘get out
of the shadow of’ these ‘rights’ often used to counter civil rights. Troy knew
it was states’ rights and went up to $10,400.
It was as close as anyone
would get to Yogesh. Not long after he found the other Daily Double in HORRORS!
With $15,200:
“All right, well, I’ve
always wanted to say this ever since I was a child: ‘Alex I’ll make it a true
Daily Double.”
Even I laughed.
“The title of this 1962 Ray
Bradbury novel is a Shakespeare line that rhymes with ‘by the pricking of my
thumbs.” Yogesh had to work it out: “What is Something Wicked this Way
Comes?”
The game was essentially
over by then; Yogesh managed to get 29 correct responses, the most any player
did in any of the finals. He finished the round with $38,800 to Troy’s $16,800
and Ben’s $9200.
The Final Jeopardy category
was EURASIA. (Ken did a quote that would have gone over anyone who didn’t know
their Orwell – which means most viewers got the reference.) “Zvartnots
International Airport serves this capital & has the code EVN, all letters
found in the city’s name.” Both Ben and Troy knew the city: “What is Yerevan?”
(the capital of Armenia) I don’t know if Yogesh knew the correct response because
he chose to make a rueful joke: Can I do
my Game 1 wager over again?” By that point Yogesh knew he had won his second
game.
Game 6
Yet again in the Jeopardy
round Troy got to the Daily Double first. This time wagering everything had to
be done as it was do or die for him. The
category was SPEECHMAKING: “In 1735 attorney Andrew Hamilton spoke in defense
of freedom of the press at this man’s trial.” He knew it was John Peter Zenger
and doubled his score to $5600. Troy held the lead throughout the Jeopardy
round and at the end of it had $9400 to Yogesh’s $5400 and Ben’s $3400.
In the early half of Double
Jeopardy Yogesh and Troy dominated the round. In fact Ben got a $2000 clue
wrong and was in a distant third with
$4200 when he found the first Daily Double in JEOPORTMANTEAU!
“A buffet in Stockholm + a
house of ill repute.”
Ben: “It’s my favorite
place. What is a smorgasbordello
He was not at $8400.
Two clues later he found
the other Daily Double in MIND THE GAP. He was now in position to take the lead
for the first time. In what would be the critical moment in the tournament, he
bet everything:
“Near where Virginia,
Kentucky & Tennessee meet, you’ll find this pass named for a son of George
II.” Ben stumbled and did not understand
the category. It referred to the Cumberland Gap. He dropped to zero.
At the end of Double
Jeopardy Troy had a narrow lead with $19,800 to Yogesh’s $16,600. Ben had
gotten back up to $3200, which meant he was still alive.
The Final Jeopardy category
was THE HUMAN BODY. “This glandular organ that starts to shrink at puberty is
known for being where the cells key to adaptive immunity develop.”
Ben’s response was first: “What
is the thymus?” Ben’s perfect record in Final Jeopardy during the finals was
intact. He doubled his score to $6400. Yogesh wrote down the spleen. He lost
$3301, putting him at $13,399.
It came down to Troy. He
wrote down the pituitary. He lost $13,401 which dropped him to $6399. Had
Yogesh bet more in Final Jeopardy or had Ben not responded incorrectly on the
second Daily Double, Ben would have won the Tournament. Instead Yogesh emerged
the victor in a hard fought battle.
All three players were
magnificent as you can see from their overall records. In 6 games, Yogesh gave 133
correct responses and only gave 6 incorrect responses. In three games he gave
no wrong answers at all. Troy gave 124 correct response and only twelve
incorrect responses. In his last game he did not make a single mistake. Ben
gave 87 correct responses and only gave 9 incorrect responses. In one game he
didn’t make a single incorrect response. I’ve seen Tournament Finals where one
or two players had this impressive a track record over one or two games. Never
have I ever seen a final where three players did this well, certainly not over
this long a period.
Had Ben had a little more
luck or Troy been a little more savvy in his wagers in Final Jeopardy, either
one could have won the Tournament. And I’ve rarely seen so impressive a track
record with Daily Doubles. Troy found the majority by an overwhelming margin.
He managed to get 11 to Ben’s 4 and Yogesh’s 3. There were only three incorrect
Daily Doubles in the Tournament and both were critical to the ultimate results.
Yogesh Raut has done much
to redeem himself in my opinion in this final. He is now the first three game
winner of a Tournament of Champions since Michael Falk did in 2006, and it is
worth noting that the field Michael was of a lower quality and Michael’s play,
even in a two game total point affair was far less dominant. He has managed to
charm me, even entertain me and in my opinion, he has earned the right to face
James Holzhauer, Matt Amodio and Mattea Roach in the Jeopardy Masters in May.
As for Ben and Troy, we will see them returning to the Alex Trebek stage
perhaps as soon as next year.
The last three weeks have
been utterly delightful and there’s more fun ahead for Jeopardy fans. Tomorrow
the long awaited Invitational begins as we see who will earn one of the other
spots in the Masters. I for one can’t wait. Stay tuned for further updates.
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