Well after a far
shorter postseason (it only took a month this time) we have arrived at Tournament
of Champions. We have returned to the format of 2022 and we have a far more
balanced lineup of champions than we’ve had in the post Alex Trebek era. And
given just how ridiculously difficult so many of the Final Jeopardys were in
both the Second Chance and Wild Card Tournament – and I speak for myself as much
as I do the contestants – I truly shudder to think what the champions are in
for in the weeks to come.
Looking at the roster
this is a typical lineup for a Tournament of Champions, albeit not the one so
many viewers have become spoiled by in the last three years. As I’ve written
before and will write again Jeopardy has always been a show that is populated
by the Allison Betts kind of champions than
those of Amy Schneiders. That doesn’t make either one less accomplished; it has
always been difficult to win five games on Jeopardy and should be appreciated
as such, because it makes the accomplishments of the Cris Panullo’s and Adriana
Harmeyer’s all the more impressive when they do happen.
And I’d argue that, if
there are upsets in the semi-finals, it will be less of a shock that it was in
2022. There isn’t that much of a difference in skill between someone
like Greg Jolin, who win five games, or Isaac Hirsch’s nine. It will make it
far more difficult to handicap winners when all three super-champions (who have
byes to the finals) then in 2022. (I’ve written about it before, of course.)
So without further ado,
here is a blow-by-blow of the six quarterfinal matches.
Monday January 27th
Allison Betts vs. Will
Wallace vs Risabh Wuppalplati
After going in the red
when she found the Daily Double on the first clue of the Jeopardy round, Alison
recovered nicely by running the category “CH” AS IN CHAMP. However Will managed
to take the lead and by the end of the round had a narrow margin: $3800 to both
Alison and Rishabh’s $2200 apiece.
Will managed to find
the first Daily Double on the third clue of Double Jeopardy but as he didn’t
like the category THAT HAPPENED he bet $2600:
“Anytus, Meletus &
Lycon were the 3 prosecutors in the trial of this man in 399 B.C.” Somehow he
knew it was Socrates and went up to $9200.
Rishabh got the next
clue correct and after two consecutive clues in PUTTING THE CULTURE IN
AGRICULTURE stumped all three players he found the other Daily Double in
LITERARY CHARACTERS. With only $1800 in front of him, he bet the $2000 he
could:
“Shimerda is the last
name of the heroine of this Willa Cather novel.” He knew it was My Antonia and
went up to $3800. He would not respond correctly on another clue until he got
the final four clues of Double Jeopardy correct. Will would maintain his lead
for the remainder of the game but by the end of the round it was still anyone’s
to win: Will had $15,200 to Alison’s $9800 and Rishabh’s $5800.
The Final Jeopardy
category was a traditional one: WORLD CAPITALS. The clue was very tough:
“Home to more than 400,000, it’s the only world capital in the ‘Roaring
Forties’ latitudes. Alison no doubt spoke for so many viewers when she said: “I
don’t know latitude.”
Rishabh wrote down:
“What is Reykjavik?” As Ken told us:
“He’s not in the right hemisphere.” He lost everything. Alison had written
down: “What is Washington DC?” She lost $5401, dropping her to $4399. Will had
also written down Reykjavik. As Ken told us we had to go to the southernmost
world capital and that was Wellington, New Zealand. (I wasn’t much better
at home: I guessed Ottawa.) Will bet $4401, which left him with $10,799. That
was enough for him to advance to the semi-finals in a hard-earned victory.
Tuesday January 28th
Amy Hummel vs. Grant
DeYoung vs David Erb
Upfront this is one of
those games where none of the scores at any point tell the whole story. These
are among some of the most difficult clues I’ve seen in a Jeopardy game in a
Tournament of Champions in a long time.
For starters Amy got
the first clue in the Jeopardy round incorrect, found the Daily Double and then
got that wrong. She had to start digging out of a -$1600 hole. There was quite
bit of this in the round, so it was a credit to all three players that they
were in such good shape at the end of the round: David had $3000, Grant was at
$2800, Amy was at $2200.
David managed to get
off to a good start in Double Jeopardy when he found the first Daily Double in
LET’S KEEP IT ABOVE THE WAIST. He was still in the lead and he wagered $3000:
“Blood that’s depleted of oxygen returns to the heart via this, either superior
or inferior.” He knew it was the vena
cava and went to $8000. He wouldn’t get much higher that the remainder of the
round.
Grant spent a lot of
time struggling: he got 3 consecutive $2000 clues incorrect and at one point
was at -$4400. This is usually a deficit that even the best Jeopardy
players can’t dig themselves out of so it is
a credit to him that he managed to build up and eventually got to $800
when he found the other Daily Double in GEOGRAPHIC NEIGHBORS. Much to his
credit he bet the $2000 he could:
“It’s about a 30-mile
drive on the A4 between these 2 Dutch cities named for their locations along
rivers.” He knew that they were Amsterdam and Rotterdam and went up to $2800.
It is also a credit as
to just how difficult these clues were that Grant nearly tied a dubious record
he commented on his interview. He said that he was the only player in Jeopardy
history to win a game after getting eleven incorrect responses. Today he gave 10
incorrect responses (and sixteen correct ones). Amy and David each gave 14
correct responses and 4 incorrect responses. So at the end of Double Jeopardy
the scores were not that high: David was in the lead with $7200, Amy was next
with $6600, Grant was very much in contention with $3200.
The Final Jeopardy
category was one that I have no memory ever seeing on Jeopardy in any form:
PALINDROMIC DATES. The clue was perhaps even more difficult than the category
assumed: “This 7-digit date saw the premiere of Handel’s Water Music.” Ken said
he saw three very smart contestants with steam coming from their ears.
Grant wrote down: “What
is 1/17/1771?” He was wrong. It cost him $2801. Amy wrote down: “What is
1/17/1717?” She was in the ballpark by far but she was also wrong. She only
wagered $199, dropping her to $6401.
It came down to David,
who couldn’t finish his response. It looked like he was going for: “What is
1/12/1721?” That was incorrect either
way. Amy was the closest – Handel’s Water Music did debut in 1717 but it debuted
on July 17 or 7/17/1717. (For the record I figured it was in July but I wrote
down: “What is 7/21/1727?”) It came down to wagers. David had bet $6001,
dropping him to $1199 and making Amy Hummel the winner in a very difficult
game.
Wednesday January 29th
Greg Jolin vs. Weckiai Rannila vs. Neilesh Vinjamuri
This game was owned
pretty much from beginning to end by Neilesh. He started with a new run of the category
PARTS OF SPEECH and just kept rolling from there. He got to the Daily Double in
the Jeopardy round in ERNEST HEMINGWAY with $4400 in front of him. He merely
bet $1000:
“Ernest was an
ambulance driver in World War I, just like his hero Frederic Henry in this
novel.” Neilesh knew it was A Farewell to Arms and went up to $5400. He
finished the Jeopardy round with an amazing $10,600 done after giving eighteen
correct responses. Ken noted it was the most given by any player in a game so
far this season.
He started Double
Jeopardy by running the category BODIES OF WATER, getting nine of the first ten
clues in Double Jeopardy correct. Poor Weckiai and Greg must have felt that Ken
was playing against them rather than hosting. Neilesh gave an incredible 33 correct
responses with only a single mistake. Greg found both Daily Doubles in the
round but got both wrong. It likely wouldn’t have made a difference as Neilesh
finished Double Jeopardy with an awe-inspiring $28,200 to Weckiai’s $4600 and
Greg’s $800, the first runaway in the Tournament.
The Final Jeopardy
category was ENGLISH LITERATURE. Though it was an exercise all three players
took it seriously. “Part II of this 17th century work says, ‘I see
myself now at the end of my journey; my toilsome days are ended’. For the first
time all three players knew the correct response: “What is Pilgrim’s
Progress? (John Bunyan’s allegory about Christian’s journey to the
Celestial City.” Neilesh bet nothing and he didn’t have to clinch his spot in
the semifinals. He will be formidable going forward. (I did know this one, for
the record.)
Thursday January 30th
Mehal Shah vs. Ryan
Manton vs. Will Stewart
I suspect there will be
controversy about this quarterfinal based on how Final Jeopardy went.
Considering what a nailbiter this was, it’s hard to blame them.
The Jeopardy round was
close from start to finish. Mehal had gone backwards and forwards so when he
found the Daily Double in the category IN THE AIR he had nothing to be so he
wagered $1000:
“These avians can
rotate their wings to generate life while flapping both up & down, enabling
them to hover in the air.” He knew they were hummingbirds and had $1000. He
would finish the round with the barest of leads: $4200 to Ryan’s $4000 and
Will’s $2200.
Much of the early
stages of Double Jeopardy were dominated by Ryan. Then when Will got a clue
correct he found the first Daily Double in COMMUNICATION. In second with $7400,
he bet everything.
“The Baltic-Finnic
languages include Finnish & this national language spoken due south across
the Viro Strait.” Somehow he came up with it: “What is Estonian?” He doubled
his score to $14,800 putting him in the lead for the first time in the game.
Then he found the other
Daily Double on the next clue. In a move that was incredibly logical, he only
get $100 in AUTHORS. You could tell the moment the clue was read out he
regretted it:
“Sinclair Lewis created
this guy, a symbol of materialist conformity; Matthew Broderick played him on
stage is 2024.” Will knew it was Babbitt and went up to $14,900. But he
made some critical mistakes in the final stages and Ryan caught up. At the end
of Double Jeopardy he had $14,900 to Ryan’s $14,400 with Mehal very much alive
with $7400.
It’s worth reminding
everyone before I get to Final Jeopardy that the show doesn’t penalize for
misspelling unless it changes the meaning of the word. In that sense while I
had the right idea, I might not have gotten credit as I’ll explain.
The category was LATIN
PHRASES. “After Camillagate, a fire at Windsor castle & marriage problems
in her family, Queen Elizabeth II dubbed 1992 this.”
Mehal’s response was
revealed first: “What is an annus horriblis?” Ken checked but it was clear they
couldn’t accept it. He lost $7001. Ryan wrote down: “What is annum non grata?”
Also wrong. He lost $501, dropping him to $13,899.
It came down to Will.
He wrote down: “What is anno terribilis?”
The correct term is annus horribilis. By dropping the second
letter ‘I’ Mehal changed the meaning of the word. (For the record I also wrote
down annus horriblis. Great minds apparently don’t remember Latin.) Will bet
$14,000, which dropped to $900 and as a result Ryan advanced to the semi-finals.
Friday January 31st
Mark Fitzpatrick vs. Allison
Gross vs. Kevin Laskowski
Mark would get off to a
very quick start in the Jeopardy round finding the Daily Double on the fourth
clue of the game in WORLD FACTS. He bet the $1800 he had:
“Central Asia is made
up of 5 countries, all former Soviet republics, including these 2 ‘T’ ones.” He
knew they were Tajikistan and Turkmenistan and doubled his score. At the end of
the round he had $7000 to Alison’s $2600 and Kevin’s $2200.
Alison got a chance to
take the lead on the second clue of Double Jeopardy in ETYMOLOGY. She wagered
$3000: “Aristotle believed there was a ‘fifth element’ which gives us this word
for the purest form of something.” Alison struggled and guessed: “What is
platonic?” when it was actually quintessence. (I knew this from an earlier
Jeopardy clue.) She dropped to $2400.
Mark maintained his
lead throughout and got a chance to put it out of reach in WHAT AN ARTIST DIES
IN ME. He wagered $5000:
“If this Northern
Renaissance painter of wild imagery was alive, he’d ask: “A TV cop has my name?
and What’s TV?” Mark knew that it was Bosch (that is who Michael Connelly’s
iconic character is named for) and went up to $16,400. But he couldn’t quite
put away and finished with $16,400 to Alison’s $10,400 and Kevin’s $6200.
The Final Jeopardy
category was U.S. PLACE NAMES. “Before 1867, this city that lends is name to a
type of tree was known as Novo Arkhangelsk.”
Kevin’s response was
revealed first. He wrote down: “What is Juneau?” (So did I.) He was wrong.
(Ditto.) It cost him $6199. Alison tried to write down: “What is Palm Springs?”
and Ken told her even she’d finished it, she was wrong. She lost $2001 leaving
her with $8299.
It came down to Mark.
He guessed: “What is Newport?” Ken told us what both Kevin (and myself)
assumed. The clue did refer to Alaska when it was under Russian control but it
actually referred to Sitka (the namesake of the Sitka spruce.)
It came down, as it has
so often in the quarterfinals, to wagers. Mark lost $4401. That left him with
$11,999 enough for him to advance to the semi-finals.
Monday February 3
Drew Goins vs. Amar Kakirde
vs. Lucas Partridge
During the interview
segment Drew acknowledged he was only present become of the fact that Lisa Ann
Walter’s shooting schedule for Abbott Elementary had prevented her from
participating in the Tournament of Champions. As things he turned out he had
even more reason to be grateful to her by the end of the day.
Even though he didn’t
find the Daily Double in the Jeopardy round Drew still had a small lead over his
opponents at the end of it: $5400 to Amar and Lucas’ $3600 apiece. Quickly in
Double Jeopardy he managed to expand it. After going on a run of four
consecutive correct responses and seven of the eight correct ones in the round
so far he found the first Daily Double in ANAGRAMMED NUCLEAR PHYSICS.
At the time he had
$15,400 he wagered $5400:
“Process of increasing
the proportion of U-235 compared to U-238: NINTH CRÈME.” Drew was pretty good
with word games: “What is ENRICHMENT?” and went up to $20,800.
He then found the other
Daily Double in SUBTITLES OF BOOKS and was more conservative betting $2800. “The
subtitle of Frankenstein was ‘the Modern’ this, no mythtake. He knew it
was Prometheus and went up to $23,600.
He went on to complete
a runaway victory not quite as dominant as Neilesh’s on Wednesday or even some
of his prior wins (he ‘only’ got 25 correct responses) but he still finished
with a runaway victory of $31,200 to Lucas’s $7400 and Amar’s $6600.
Just as with Neilesh’s
all three players did take Final Jeopardy seriously. The category was PLACES OF
DISASTER: “In 1883 an old sailor didn’t know what its name meant but believed
the natives ‘named it from the sound’.
Amar’s response was
revealed first: “What is Krakatoa?” He was correct. (I remember the legendary
volcano, famous east of Java as well.) He wagered everything but a dollar.
Lucas didn’t have an answer and lost 1989. Drew knew it was Krakatoa and added:
“Lisa Ann I will worship you for the rest of my days.” Drew yet again was
gifted by a second chance and ended up becoming the sixth and last semi-finalist.
So going into the
semi-finals we find six different semifinalists who have won. We have two five-game
champions, Amy and Mark; two four-game winners Ryan and Will, one three game
winner Neilesh and a winner of the Second Chance Tournament, who had to win
five games just to come in second in the Wild Card Tournament.
Neilesh and Drew both
won impressive runaway victories and are, by chance, the only two
semi-finalists to respond correct on Final Jeopardy. Will and Mark led every
moment of their games. Alison and Ryan had to come from behind to win.
What does this mean for
them going into the semifinals where a pair of them will end up facing off
against Isaac Hirsch, Drew Basile and Adriana Harmeyer? I…have absolutely no
idea. And that’s part of the fun. We can only expect one thing going into a
Tournament of Champions: the absolutely unexpected. On Friday I’ll have my
official report on the semi-finals.
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