Jeopardy Masters 2025 Quarterfinals Recap: May 21st Games

 

The second night of the quarterfinals was just as thrilling as the first with the second game featuring a come-from-behind victory and the most stunning result so far.

 

Match 1: Victoria Groce vs. Yogesh Raut vs. Matt Amodio

 

This game featured all three former Masters from the previous year. However during all of the previous matched, this exact lineup did not occur once.

In the Jeopardy round Yogesh got off to a fast start, finding the Daily Double early In WORDS FOR TRISKADEKXAPHILES (all of the words had thirteen letter) He wagered the 2400 points he had (after joking he’d bet 1300):

 

In most civil cases, reasonable doubt, reasonable schmout; the standard of prove is this ‘of the evidence’.

Yogesh knew it was: “What is preponderance?” and doubled his score to 4800 points. He maintained his lead throughout the round but by the end of it Victoria managed to make up a fair amount of ground. Matt, who spent most of the round in the red, managed on the final clue to get to 200 points. Yogesh had 8400 points and Victoria had 5400.

Yogesh maintained his lead early in Double Jeopardy. Then Victoria went on a run in HEALTH & MEDICINE, a category she’s done well in during past appearances. She bet the 11,800 points she had:

 

The first word in this 3-word cardiac condition refers to the build-up of fluid in the body; the last means the pump isn’t keeping up.

 

Victoria needed no time at all “What is congestive heart failure?”. She jumped into the lead with 23,600 points.

There was still a Daily Double out there and Matt got to it. In a distant third with 4200 points, he had no choice but to bet everything in LANGUAGES:

 

A glossary of this language appears at the end of some editions of ‘A Clockwork Orange’.

 

Matt had no idea and guessed: “What is Droog?” The invented language of the book was Nadsat, so he dropped to zero and out of contention in this game.

Victoria finished Double Jeopardy with 32,000 points in front of her, the highest score at the end of Double Jeopardy so far in the Masters. But it was far from a runaway: Yogesh was very much in contention with 20,800 points. Matt was still there with 1200.

It came down to Final Jeopardy. The category was PORTMANTEAU WORDS. And it was a doozy.

 

A play on a portmanteau coined in 2012, this 7-letter word is now used to describe a similar U.K. headline from 1973.”

 

Matt wrote down first: “What is Canexit?” He had the right idea about what the portmanteau was referring to, but he was still wrong. It cost him nothing. Yogesh couldn’t come up with anything. It cost him 11,201 points (he was clearly trying to beat Victoria by one) and he dropped to 9599.

It came down to Victoria. She wrote down: “What is Eurexit?” Also wrong. It was a play on Brexit, first coined in 2012 but it referred to when they joined the European Union and was called ‘Brentry’. Victoria lost 9601, leaving her with 22,399 more than enough to win the game and give her 3 match points. Yogesh got 1, Matt zero.

 

 

INTERVIEW NOTES: Matt said one day when he was in a restaurant he thought someone behind him was Wendell Pierce, the brilliant character actor known for  The Wire and most recently Elsbeth. When he turned around to talk to him Pierce actually said: “You’re Matt, right?” Apparently Wendell Pierce was a huge fan of his.

Yogesh discussed while he didn’t play the piano, one year in college his friends were attempting to do a staging for a famous pianists version of Erik Satie’s ‘The Vexation’, which have a cryptic notation that you should play a certain four bars 24 hours in a row.. They were doing it in half-hour shifts and Yogesh apparently asked if any shifts were open. The friend say he could take one of his. Yogesh had no comment on how well he did.

Victoria mentioned how she played Scrabble with her husband and said one of them was a huge bluffer about made up words and the other just used the most obscure words possible for the game. Ken guessed that her husband was the bluffer. He was wrong.

 

 

Game 2: Juveria Zaheer vs Roger Craih vs Isaac Hirsch

 

Whoever won this game was almost certainly guaranteed a spot in the finals.

Roger found the Daily Double in the Jeopardy round very early in the category SAILING THROUGH HISTORY. He wagered the 1000 points he had:

 

‘Bruno’ was a nickname of one of the turrets on this battleship that was sunk in part by the HMS Dorsetshire.” Roger figured it out: “What is the Bismarck?” He doubled his score.

The rest of the round was an up and down for every player, particularly in the category VINTAGE COCKTAIL HOUR which stumped every single player and had led to a lot of wrong responses. They only got the 200 point clue correct (that’s the only one I got right too) The lead was not determined until the last clue in the round which put Juveria ahead with 4200 points to Roger’s 4000. Isaac was not that far out with 2400.

Isaac got off to a fast start in Double Jeopardy in the category THE TONYS. Then Juveria found the first Daily Double in UNGULATES. She had 6200.

 

Juveria: My brother is a veterinarian for ungulates. 6200 points. I gotta do it. True Daily Double

 

Ken: But only because you have an ungulate veterinarian in the family.

 

Juveria: He really loves ungulates.

 

About the size of a domestic hog this ungulate is less aquatic and more solitary then its relative that’s 10 times larger.

 

After all this Juveria had no idea what it was. Ken assured her she could blame her brother because it was unlikely he treated pygmy hippopotamus. Down to zero.

Juveria actually dropped lower immediately afterwards. Juveria had to dig to out of the hole. She managed to get to the other Daily Double in CONTRONYMS but this time she had just 1600. She wagered the 2000 she was allowed to:

 

Meteorologists know that this word can mean to withstand or to wear away. Juveria knew this word was weather and jumped up to 3600. But she never got out of third and the lead was a back and forth between Isaac and Roger.

 That said she was still very much in contention when Double Jeopardy ended: Juveria had 6000 points, Isaac was next with 10,000, Roger in the lead with 10,800. The Final Jeopardy category was THE PRESIDENCY

 

Continuing his tradition for vetoing as mayor and governor, he trails only FDR for most vetoes as President.

 

Now I knew the correct response and so did all three players, though for one it occurred to them moments too late.

 

Juveria’s response was revealed first: “Who is Cleveland?” That was correct. First he was Mayor of Buffalo and then Governor of New York State. She bet everything putting her at 12,000 points and into the lead.

Next came Isaac. He also knew it was Cleveland. He wagered 2001 and points. That put him at 12001 points. He was in the lead.

However Roger had only started to write down: “What is Clev…” The judges couldn’t accept it. Interestingly even if he’d finished it, it wouldn’t have made a difference in the final result. He bet 799 points, which dropped him to 10001. A correct response would still have ended up with him in third.

So Isaac managed a remarkable come from behind win and received three match points. Juveria got 1, Roger zero.

 

 

INTERVIEWS: Isaac discussed his signature look which he considered very much a 1970s TV PI while Ken considered 1970s TV kids show host. He assured everyone that he wore this all the time, except when he went out to eat.

Roger discussed how he and his current wife Julia Collins met. They first met in 2014 and, as fans might suspect, they reconnected during the Jeopardy All-Star Games and have since gotten married. Ken asked if was possible if he would see Julia facing off against Roger in a future Jeopardy masters. The delicate Roger said: “That’s up to her.” Ken mentioned they’ve been extending the invitation multiple times. (I’d like to see Julia back too for the record.)

Juveria mentioned when she was in Ontario and how she’s been recognized everywhere. She went to an Indian restaurant and the waitress said: “I recognize you.” (pause) “You’re in here all time.” And then she named the dish she ordered every time. Good to know that there are people out there keeping Jeopardy Masters humble.

 

LEADERBOARD AFTER MAY 21^ST

VICTORIA GROCE – 10 MAETCH POINTS (clinched semi-finals)

 

YOGESH RAUT – 7 MATCH POINTS

 

ISAAC HIRSCH – 6 MATCH POINTS

 

MATT AMODIO – 5 MATCH POINTS

 

JUVERIA ZAHEER – 5 MATCH POINTS

 

ROGER CRAIG – 4 MATCH POINTS

 

At this point it’s still not entirely clear who will get the final three spots. Isaac, Yogesh and Victoria will face off in the first game next week. If Isaac wins, he will clinch a spot in the semi-finals automatically. And if Yogesh wins or finishes second, he too will gain a spot. But if he finishes third and Isaac finishes second, he will have to wait and see.

 

Similarly Matt, Juveria and Roger are in a holding pattern. If Juveria or Matt win they are guaranteed a spot in the semi-finals. Whoever loses this match will go home, there is no question of that. If Roger wins it will probably be enough to guarantee him enough a spot in the semis. Second or third means he definitely goes home. There’s some wiggle room if Isaac finishes third and Yogesh wins outright . Even if Roger wins then there’s still a chance in a tie breaker for whoever finishes second. We saw that happen in the semifinals of the 2023 Masters and it could very well happen here.

 

Next week’s quarterfinal will determine who goes to the semifinals. I will be back next week to see what happens and will almost certainly be a thrilling climax to the Masters so far.