While Jeopardy
Masters made one difference between last year’s play – there were seven sets of
quarterfinals last year and there were six this year – the set-up for the
semi-finals remained unchanged. The four players who made it to the semis –
James Holzhauer, Yogesh Raut, Victoria Groce and Amy Schneider – would face off
against each other in every possible combination for the three players. The
leaderboard was wiped clean and each of the semi-finalists would play in three
of the four games.
In Friday’s first
semi-final match James, Yogesh and Victoria faced off. James and Victoria were
dominant in the first half of the Jeopardy round, the two of them exchanging
the lead until Victoria found the Daily Double in INTELLIGENCE BRIEFING. She
did what she had been doing and bet her 3600 points:
“This scale was
co-developed by psychologists at a U.S. University and in France.” Victoria knew it was Stanford-Binet doubled
her score and took a lead she would not relinquish for the rest of the Jeopardy
round. Yogesh wasn’t able to ring in until the round was more than half over
but eventually he built up to 2600 points to James’ 3800 and Victoria’s 9600.
Things would
shift dramatically in Double Jeopardy just like the last time all three players
faced off in the quarterfinals. Yogesh began to make his recovery quickly and
was helped when he found the first Daily Double in ANCIENT LIT. In third with
8200, he bet everything:
“Aristophanes’
animal-titled works include The Birds, The Frogs and this one that’s
actually about litigious Athenians.” Yogesh knew it was The Wasps and
took the lead for the first time.
It took a long
time to find the other Daily Double mainly because it was in a category that
even most Jeopardy tournament veterans avoid like the plague: BEFORE, DURING
& AFTER. Yogesh joked about going there with his first selection before
choosing BROADWAY instead; he had no way of knowing how close he had come.
Victoria finally found it in the 1600 point clue.
At that point she
was trailing with 13,800 to Yogesh’s 22,000 but its telling in a period when
everyone was going all in on Daily Doubles and while she was trailing she only
bet 3000 points:
“Carson McCullers
novel about a gonzo journalist who hits the road with bandmates to sing songs
like ‘Hold Me Now.” It took her a moment but she came up with: “What is The
Heart is a Lonely Hunter S. Thompson Twins?” and got 3000 points.
The final scores
were impressive: Yogesh led with 24,400, Victoria was second with 18,000, James
a very respectable third with 13,000.
The Final
Jeopardy category was NATIVE AMERICAN LANGUAGE: “In 1612 John Smith published a
Powhatan word list including these 2 words familiar to us today, one worn in
pairs and one wielded.”
James knew the
correct two words: “What are tomahawk and moccasins?” He was cautious only
betting 98 points. Victoria guessed hatchet and moccasins?” and lost 8001
points, dropping her to 9999. Yogesh had moccasins and tomahawk and wagered
11,601 points.
All three were
trying a different strategy: James was hoping to have enough left behind if
Victoria and Yogesh were both incorrect. Victoria was betting enough to beat
James to beat him by one point, and Yogesh was going for a complete victory. In
any case Yogesh got the first win and 3 match points, James got 1 and for the
first time in the tournament Victoria finished third and got nothing.
In the next
match, Victoria and Yogesh faced off against Amy Schneider. Amy didn’t have a
good day, finishing the Jeopardy round in the red and increasingly giving
incorrect answers. She finished Double Jeopardy at -3000 points and had nothing
at the end of it.
Much of the
Jeopardy round would be dominated by Victoria. She got off to an early lead
with 5000 points and found the Daily Double in I’LL BE BACH. She wagered
everything:
“In 1721 Bach
dipped into the masterpiece bin and dedicated a series of works to the Musgrave
of this.” She knew it was Brandenburg and doubled her score to 10,000 points.
She finished it with 11,200 points to Yogesh’s 4000. Amy was at -200.
Early in Double
Jeopardy Yogesh had his best chance to take out Victoria when he found the
first Daily Double in ONE-WORD MOVIE TITLES. He had 7600 points to Victoria’s
15,200. Wagering everything seemed a given:
“This Sidney
Lumet drama is set at the Union Broadcasting System.” Yogesh knew it was Network
and was tied for the lead.
Immediately
afterwards all three players hit a bad patch. Yogesh lost 3600 points in the
category SAY IT ‘IN’ LATIN and no one could get a correct response for five
clues. By the time Victoria found the other Daily Double in that same category
she had 18,000 points. Victoria again became the human calculator and bet 6000
points:
“This narrative
device is in contrast to beginning a story ‘ab Ovo’ (from the egg). It took her
a moment to come up with: “What is in medias re?” and she went up to 24,000
points. She cruised from there to finish with 27,200 points to Yogesh’s 13,200.
Amy was in the red and as a result could not participate in Final Jeopardy.
Final Jeopardy
was an exercise and it had a very strange category: ALSO SEEN AT THE CIRCUS.
The clue perplexed both players (though for the record, not me at home) “FDR
gets credit for implementing this as a concept in the U.S. and the metaphor was
used by FDR Jr. running for office in 1966.” Victoria could come up with
nothing and Yogesh’s guess: “What is big tent?” was incorrect. The clue
referred to the safety net, which has been part of so much controversy in
government over the years. Victoria got 3 match points and Yogesh got 1.
LEADERBOARD AFTER
FRIDAY’S MATCHES
Yogesh Raut: 4
Match Points
Victoria Groce: 3
Match Points
James Holzhauer:
1 Match Point
Amy Schneider:
Zero.
In the last two
semi-final games, it was as though the James Holzhauer that had been dormant
for much of the quarterfinals revved to life.
While he was not the ‘final boss’ that he had been at any point last
year for the first time in this tournament both Yogesh and Victoria got a real
sample of what the two of them would be facing in the finals that by this point
Yogesh was assured a spot in and Victoria was nearly certain of getting.
Victoria, its
worth noting, could very well have lost had she scored no match points in her
last game while James and Amy managed to get all of the match points in the two
that were left. I believe that calculation was vital to Victoria’s wagering
when it came to Final Jeopardy in her third and last appearance in the
semi-finals.
Victoria was
facing off against James and Amy in the third semi-final match. She found the
Daily Double on the very first clue of the Jeopardy round in SHORT KINGDOMS.
She bet the 1000 points she was allowed to:
“In 1814 this
historic German state was made into a kingdom for a little while, largely
through the influence of England.” Victoria struggled before guessing: “What is
Prussia?” It was actually Hanover (many English Kings came from there).
Victoria dropped to -1000 points. She managed to recover quickly but most of
the round was a back and forth between her and James. Victoria finished the
round ahead of James 5600 points to 5200 but before Double Jeopardy the judges
ruling on a response she’d given in the round was ruled incorrect and she and James
were tied at 5200 points apiece. Amy, who’d spent most of the round in a red,
was at zero.
In yet another
sign this would not be her day Victoria found the first Daily Double on the
second clue of Double Jeopardy and made another blunder. She bet 6000 in ACTUAL
PLACES: “FDR enjoyed summering on this island found in the title of a 1960 film
about him.” Victoria paused and then said: ‘What is Campobasso?” She immediately
realized it was Campobello but it was too late. She had dropped to zero again.
James maintained
his lead the rest of the way and Victoria was treading on his tale when he
found the other Daily Double in MOVIE CHANGE A LETTER. He was leading with
10,400 to her 7600. He did some quick math and wagered 5000 points:
“The Axel Foley
theme goes classical as a legendary soprano fights crime in Southern
California.” He knew that it was Beverly Sills Cop put his lead at 15,400
points.
James finished
the round with 21,400 to Victoria’s 10,800 and Amy’s 1200. It was close to, but
not quite a runaway. Victoria could have wagered everything and played for the
win, but this was her last match. She knew that if she settled for second place
she would clinch her spot in the finals if she got Final Jeopardy wrong and she
also knew she’d been having a lot of bad luck with Final Jeopardy in the Masters
to this point. (She had not given a correct response in her last three games.) If
she was wrong there was a chance that she could end up on the outside looking
in. And I’ve no doubt that affected her wager.
The category was
METALLIC ELEMENTS: “As its rarely found in pure form, one explanation for its
name is that it comes from Greek for ‘not alone’ or ‘not one’.
Amy’s response
was revealed first: “What is astatine?” That was wrong. She wagered nothing.
Victoria’s response
came next: “What is antimony?” That was correct. (“Anti-monos” monos being the
Greek for one.” Victoria, however, gained nothing. James had written down: “What
is bismuth?” However he only lost 1122 points. James clinched his first win and
got 3 match points. With Victoria’s one match point, she, Yogesh and James were
now in a three-way tie for first with four match points apiece. Amy had been eliminated
as she had none.
The final match
between James, Yogesh and Amy could have perfunctory as everyone knew that the
results didn’t matter for the final three. However none of the three competitors
treated it that way and fans were greeting with an absolutely thrilling match
from start to finish.
All three players
were off to a fast start in the Jeopardy round when James got to the Daily
Double in ‘H’ TOWN. He was in the lead with 3200 points to Yogesh’s 2200 and
Amy’s 2000. He bet everything:
“An inscription
at the Rattenfangerhaus in this town describes a supposed 1284 event that
reduced its population.” James knew it was Hamlin and doubled his score. He
maintained his lead with 8400 points to Yogesh’s 6400 and Amy’s 3000. All three
had played superbly in the round, with James giving the rounds sole incorrect
response against thirteen correct ones. Neither Yogesh nor Amy made a mistake.
After James
blundered on a clue that Yogesh got correct Yogesh found the first Daily Double
in Double Jeopardy in MAKE IT FLIRTY. He bet the 12000 points he had to the
gasps of the audience:
“The evolution of
English dropped three letters from an imaginary creature to get this type of
exotic seductress.” Yogesh paused before guessing: “What is a vamp?” (from
vampire). He was now at 24,000 points and a seemingly insurmountable lead.
Then Yogesh made
two mistakes out of three clues. James built up to 14,000 points and then found
the other Daily Double in PEOPLE IN AMERICAN HISTORY. Yet again he bet everything:
“In 1805 a tributary of Montana’s Musselshell River was named in her honor.” It
took a long time and James face made an endless amount of contortions before he
answered: “Who is Sacajawea?” That was correct and he went up 28,000 points to
retake the read.
All three continued
to play at a superb level and the final scores more than reflected it: James
finished with 32,000 points, Yogesh was a brilliant second with 24,800 and Amy
finished with 8200 points.
The Final
Jeopardy category was: 21ST CENTURY LITERARY CHARACTERS: “The last
name adopted by Damon Fields, the title character of this novel, refers to his red
hair.” All three players knew the correct response: “Who is Demon Copperhead?”
James said before his response was revealed: “My wife may or may not be reading
this book right now.”
Amy wagered 8000
to get her to 16,200 points. Yogesh wagered 7201 to go to 32,001 points. And
James wagered 17,601 points to finish with 49,601 points, the highest score any
player amassed in the semifinals to take his second win and three more match
points.
Yet again Amy’s
dreams of getting back to the Masters ended early, albeit better than last year
as she finished in fourth place and received $100,000.
FINAL SEMI-FINAL
LEADERBOARD
James
Holzhauer: 7 Match Points
Yogesh Raut: 5
Match Points
Victoria Groce: 4
Match Points
Amy Schneider:
Zero (Eliminated)
I will be reviewing
the Finals on my blog this Thursday but I would like to add some commentary that
will influence future articles on my blog about Jeopardy.
First of all
James, Victoria and Yogesh will return in next year’s Masters should it end up
being renewed for a third season. I suspect this will be the case because
despite all of the controversy about so many of the choices, this year’s
Masters have proved their worth by not being a repeat of last year’s in
any respect. (As to the Nielsen Ratings which have been slightly lower, there
are factors involved which I’ll get to in my summary for the finals.)
James Holzhauer
was nowhere near at the level of dominance he was in last year’s quarterfinals
or indeed the previous semi-finals. Yes he ended the latter in first place on
the leader board, the same as he did last year. But he finished third in the quarterfinals
this year and a distant one to Victoria who was by far the dominant player in
the quarterfinals. James had only a single runaway in the nine matches he has
played to this point and was flattened by Victoria and Yogesh once in this tournament.
If he does manage to end up duplicating last year’s victory – which if you
remember was not a picnic either - he
will have had to earn it in a way he never really did last year. Somehow the
final boss of Jeopardy spent much of this tournament as the underdog.
Yogesh and Victoria
have more than demonstrated the value of the Masters by showing that new blood is
more than capable of disrupting some of the greatest players of all time. Both
Victoria and Yogesh slaughtered James in two of the quarterfinal appearance and
when the three of them faced off, both managed to eke out a win ahead of him,
albeit a marginal one. Victoria flattened both Matt and Mattea in two different
runaway victories; Yogesh was able to do the same to do so to Matt more than
once. (Mattea, for the record, managed to defeat Yogesh in the first game who
couldn’t score a match point in.)
And whenever the
next Invitational Tournament takes place Matt, Mattea and Amy will, according
to the rules, be invited back to in to try and compete in the next
Masters. (I have some suggestions for
who I would like to see in the next Invitational which I’ll write about in a
future article.) All three were not at
the level of last year (with the exception of Amy who played superbly in
comparison) but in the second half of the quarterfinals all shined brightly.
I should mention
that going into this year’s finals we have a different situation that last
year. Unlike last year where the second place player in the quarterfinals
Andrew He didn’t make it into the semifinals (it was due to a tie breaker with
Mattea Roach) the three players who were one-two-three on this year’s
leaderboard after the quarterfinals are the same ones who made it into the semi-finals
this year. And if James has an advantage that Victoria and Yogesh don’t going
into the final, its that neither of them have ever been in the kind of
situation where they would face a two-game total point affair with the grand
prize at stake. Not only has James been in the position from last year (and his
previous tournaments; neither Yogesh nor Victoria were in that position this
past year) he also has the advantage that he has gotten more Final Jeopardys
correct to this point than either of his challenger: he has responded correctly
on six Final Jeopardys to Yogesh’s 5 and Victoria’s 4.
How will this
play out? I’ll be back tomorrow with the final blow-by-blow. I expect it will
be as thrilling as everything else in the Masters so far.
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