One of the more interesting
stories of this year’s Masters is that it continues the narrative of the next
great Jeopardy rivalry: Yogesh Rout and Victoria Groce. Much as Ken Jennings
and Brad Rutter went head to head over a fifteen year period for the number one
player in Jeopardy history, Yogesh and Victoria are engaged in a similar
struggle for Jeopardy Masters supremacy.
Part of this is because of the
absence of James Holzhauer, the only player to date who has been able to defeat
either one. But the two have faced each other constantly throughout the last
two Masters: Victoria and Yogesh each won a game against each other in last
year’s Quarterfinals, did the same in the last year’s semifinals and of course
Victoria ended up winning the whole thing last year. So far Yogesh has been the
only player to pin a defeat on Victoria’s record in the first game of the
knockout round. Victoria managed to defeat Yogesh in all three semi-final games
but he made her sweat in all three.
Now as we entered the semi-finals
with Victoria, Yogesh, Isaac Hirsch and Juveria playing each other in every
conceivable combination, the question was would the pattern that played out in
last year’s semi-final play out this year. Of course last year James Holzhauer
managed to defeat both of them in the final two semifinal games but this year
he was gone. What would happen this year?
Now while the knockout and
quarterfinal rounds had cumulative match points, the semi-finals followed the
same formula as the previous two Masters. All three players started with zero
and only the three highest totals at the end of four games would end up in the
finals.
Wednesday May 28th
Recap
MATCH 1: Victoria Groce vs.
Yogesh Raut vs. Juveria Zaheer.
Note: This was Juveria’s first
time playing against either Victoria or Yogesh during the entire Masters.
Victoria, as is her want, got off
to a fast start in the Jeopardy round, finding the Daily Double on the second
clue SAME FIRST & LAST LETTER PLACES. With just 800, she bet the 1000
points she could:
This city was the eventual
outcome of the wishes of Menelik II’s wife, who wanted a house near some
hot springs. Victoria knew it was Addis Adaba
(the capital of Ethiopia) and went up to 1800 points.
The Jeopardy round was a back and
forth battle between Victoria and Yogesh (Juveria didn’t ring in until the
tenth clue of the round). Victoria maintained her lead throughout the round and
finished with 7800 points to Yogesh’s 5400 and Juveria eventually moved up to
2600 points.
Juveria came out swinging in
Double Jeopardy. She found the Daily Double on the first clue of the round in
REIGN MAN. She bet the 2600 she had:
He suffered loss in the last
years of his reign, including the murders of his wife in 1898 & nephew in
1914.” Juveria
knew this referred to Franz Joseph, the emperor of Austria and doubled her
score.
Victoria built a significant lead
but then Yogesh picked up steam and had 11,000 points before he found the other
Daily Double in SAY IT IN A ROMANCE LANGUAGE. By the standards of the Masters
he was conservative in his wagering betting just 5000 points:
“It’s Italian for ‘hope’, as in
the original of ‘Abandon all hope, ye who enter here.”
Yogesh needed a long time and
before the buzzer rang said: “What is ‘esperanza’?” He was one letter off. It
was ‘Speranza’. He dropped to 6000 points.
Victoria maintained her lead
throughout but by getting the last two clues correct Yogesh kept her honest. He
finished with 10,000 points to her 19,400, Juveria finished with 6000. The
question was: would Yogesh gamble to try and get the win and risk finishing
third or would he lock down second place for the match points?
The Final Jeopardy category was
WORLD CAPITALS. “With a metro area of more than 9 million, this port city
founded in 1576 is the world’s most populous Portuguese-speaking capital.”
Yet again all three Masters were
smarter than yours truly. I couldn’t come up with anything. All three of them
came up with: “What is Luanda?” The capital of Angola. (As Ken put it “It’s
much bigger than both Lisbon, which is much older and Brasilia, which is much
newer.”
Juveria risked 2000 points,
putting her at 8001. Yogesh wagered 2001 points, putting him at 12,001. (He
chose to go for second.) And Victoria wagered 601 points and finished with
20,001 and another win. Victoria got 3 match points, Yogesh 1, Juveria 0.
Game 2: Victoria Groce vs. Yogesh
Raut vs. Isaac Hirsch
Much of what unfolded in Game 2
was a reverse of Game 1 though it didn’t start out that way. Yogesh got off to
a fast start in the Jeopardy round, helped when he found the Daily Double in
MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS. He bet the 2400 points he had:
Used in jazz & classical
music, harmonicas that can be set to play the half steps in a scale are this
‘colorful’ type.
It took him a moment to come up with chromatic and he doubled his score. He
finished the Jeopardy round with a significant lead: 9600 points to Victoria’s
4600 and Isaac’s 3000.
Isaac came out swinging in Double
Jeopardy when he found the Daily Double on his first pick in ANCIENT
LITERATURE. He carefully bet 2000 points: “The Roman epic ‘Pharsalia’
chronicles Julius Caesar’s victory over the general in a 48 B.C. battle.” Isaac struggled before guessing: “Who
is…Hannibal?” I thought it was Hannibal as well rather than Pompey. He dropped
to 1000.
Isaac rebuilt and was at 5800
points when he found the other Daily Double in ECONOMICS. This time he bet
everything he had:
This type of fallacy involves
throwing more time and money at something that is failing because you’ve
invested so much already.
Isaac needed a minute: “What is
the sunk cost fallacy?” He was right and doubled his score.
Ken: Isaac, is it an example
of the sunk cost fallacy to go all-in on a Daily Double after missing the last
one?
Isaac: “Uh, I guess not.”
Ken: “It worked out here.
However for Isaac his 11,600
points would be the high point for him in Double Jeopardy. Yogesh than managed
to pull ahead while Isaac dropped a bit. However when Victoria got the last 400
point clue correct she managed to keep Yogesh honest, finishing with 10,200
points to Yogesh’s 19,600 while Isaac trailed with 8800. Isaac was out of the
running for the win but he still had a chance at second if Victoria went all in
and was wrong in Final Jeopardy.
The category was MEDICAL WORDS.
“Charles Richet coined this term for a bad response to an antigen; the N-A was
a late add to make it better-sounding and harder to spell.
Isaac’s response was revealed
first. He wrote down: “What is rosacea?” That was incorrect. It cost him 1402,
leaving with 7398.
Victoria’s response was revealed
next: “What is anaphylaxis?” That was correct. (I had guessed it.) The word was
originally aphylaxis before the ‘n-a’ was added. Victoria had bet 8601 points.
She was now at 18,801 points.
Yogesh had come up with nothing.
He lost 801 points. That dropped him to 18,799 points. (Victoria always has
been good with calculations.) And by a margin of 2 points Victoria got her
second win of the night.
Note: This match saw the return
of another one of those categories that plagues Jeopardy Masters ‘TRIPLE RHYME
TIME’ As always it did much to annoy and amaze the contestants.
Key example the 2000 point clue:
The method that we came up with
to make the smog weaker.
(After no one rings in)
Ken: Is a pollution dilution
solution.
Victoria: No!
Ken (shrugs) It is! It’s right
here in my script.
LEADERBOARD AFTER MAY 28TH
VICTORIA GROCE – 6 POINTS
(clinched spot in finals)
YOGESH RAUT – 2 POINTS
ISAAC HIRSCH – 0 MATCH POINTS
JUVERIA ZAHEER – 0 MATCH POINTS
Victoria will make it to the
finals for the second straight year. But for Yogesh nothing is guaranteed. If
Isaac and Juveria each managed to win a game and Yogesh comes in last in his
final appearance, he will be eliminated and if he ties but Isaac and Juveria
each win, he will have to wait and see if he qualifies depending on how each
game goes.
Semi-Final
Recap Conclusion
June
4th
MATCH 1: Victoria Groce vs. Isaac
Hirsch vs. Juveria Zaheer
It was the first time these three
players faced off in the Jeopardy Masters. This was the last game Victoria
would play during the semis and it was clear from the start she wasn’t going to
take it easy on her competitors.
Victoria, as is her want, got off
to a fast start in the Jeopardy round helped by finding the Daily Double early
in BOOKS OF THE BIBLE. As is the trend she bet the 3200 points she had:
“If you’re not a seminarian
and you’re reading Deuteronomy 5, it’s probably for these.”
Somehow Victoria knew her scripture:
“What are the 10 commandments?” She doubled her score to 6400. By the end of
the Jeopardy round she had double that score to 12,800 points. Juveria was next
with 3400 points and Isaac trailed with 2000.
In Double Jeopardy Victoria got
to the first Daily Double in CELEBRATIONS. She had 16,000 points but she wasn’t
too comfortable with it and only risked 2000:
The origins of this Ancient Roman
festival are murky but its name might be related to the creature that suckled
Romulus and Remus.
She needed a moment before
guessing: “What is Lupercalia?” (the twins were suckled by a wolf) and went up
to 18,000.
Victoria continued on her merry
way and found the other Daily Double in BOOKS OF THE BIBLE? Understandably dubious
she only bet 1200 of the 31,200 she had amassed.
Encompassing math and logic ‘Principia
Mathematica by Alfred North Whitehead and him is a book of numbers and letters,
too. She knew it
was Bertrand Russell and went all the way up to $32,400.
By this point, it was a question
whether Isaac could catchup enough to contend for second place match points. It
wasn’t even close: Juveria had 7400
points, Isaac 1200, Victoria 33,200.
The Final Jeopardy category was
one of humor, keeping with some of the choices: MEDIEVAL TIMES. There was a
question how seriously all three players would take it when the outcome was
this certain.
“A vassal-lord bond had 2 parts;
in homage the vassal swore to serve, and this other 6-letter word the vassal swore
to be loyal.”
At least Isaac took it seriously.
His response was: “What is fealty?” He wagered just 100 points. Juveria also
came up with fealty. She wagered nothing. Victoria couldn’t come up with a
correct response. She wagered 2600 points, but it didn’t matter. Victoria won
her third straight game. Juveria gained her first match point.
LEADERBOARD AFTER GAME 1
VICTORIA GROCE – 9 MATCH POINTS
(CLINCHED
YOGEH RAUT - 2 MATCH POINTS
JUVERIA ZAHEER – 1 MATCH POINT
ISAAC HIRSCH – 0 MATCH POINTS
Interview segment: Juveria
mentioned her cheering section “My two wonderful daughters, my extraordinary
husband, my brother who is just okay”. And she also thanked her colleagues at
the psychiatric department in Ontario she was a part of him “who made sure
nothing burns down.”
Asked if Isaac thought he was
destined to be a Jeopardy Master he said: “I would never use a word like ‘destined’
but sure. His parents were trained librarians and he had to deal with that at a
dinner table. He also pointed out that when someone makes an allusion he doesn’t
get, it irritates him, so he has to find it out. (I’m like that too, honestly.)
When asked if librarians can do that Isaac assured the audience: “Don’t do
that. It was all voluntary. Don’t mold your children.”
Victoria discussed her long
training to become what she called ‘a level one sommelier’ Ken asked if she
considered playing Jeopardy after a day of tasting wine. She demurred.
MATCH 2:
Yogesh Raut vs. Juveria Zaheer vs
Isaac Hirsch
Yogesh had 2 match points but
that still did not guarantee him a return to the finals. If Isaac won and
Juveria finished second, that would mean Isaac would automatically advance and
Juveria and Yogesh would be tied. We had seen this exact scenario play out in
the semi-finals of the first Jeopardy Masters.
Of course if Yogesh won and Isaac
finished second, he would be tied with Juveria for that last spot and that same
scenario would apply. Anything was possible going into the last game.
For the first time in the Masters
Juveria, Isaac and Yogesh were facing off.
In the Jeopardy round one of the
categories was AROUND INDIA. Yogesh gestured to Juveria modestly and said: “I
think we have to go with AROUND INDIA.” It was in the 1000 point clue.
Before a 2020 visit from President
Trump, the replica tombs of these two lovers were cleaned for the first time in
over 300 years.” It
took even Yogesh a moment: “Who are Shah Jahan and Mufas?” They were in fact
the two people buried in the Taj Mahal. He gained 1000 ‘rupees’ as he had
wagered.
Yogesh maintained his lead for
the entire round. He finished it with 9200 points to Juveria’s 3600. Isaac was
at one point at -1400 but ended up making it back to zero.
Juveria got to the first Daily
Double in Double Jeopardy with 4800 points in READ IT. She was conservative and
bet 1800 points:
Her ‘A Spool of Blue Thread’ is
set in Baltimore, like many of her novels. Juveria knew it was Ann Tyler and moved up 6600.
Two clues later Juveria found the
other Daily Double in FEMALE ACTIVISTS. She bet another 1800 points:
When she died at 108, this ashes
of this 3-named activist were environmentalists were spread over the Everglades
she helped to preserve. She
guessed: “Who was Cullman?” It was Marjorie Stoneman Douglas. The small wager
benefited her; she dropped to 6000 points.
At the end of the long round,
Yogesh was ahead with 18,800 points, Juveria was next with 10,400, Isaac was in
third with 3600. The question was, would Juveria go for the win or would she
make sure she would lock up second place if she was wrong?
The decisive Final Jeopardy
category was: ISLAND COUNTRIES:
The only U.N member state named
for a woman; it’s named for a fourth century Sicilian martyr.”
Isaac’s response came first: “What
is I had a great time? Congrats to the finals? Also St. Lucia?” As Ken pointed
out, he buried the lead. St Lucia was the correct response. He added 615 to put
him at 4215.
Juveria also knew it was St. Lucia.
She did the math and bet nothing.
Yogesh was last. He put down: “Where
is St. Lucia?” (old habits die hard) His wager of 2001 points was irrelevant as
he had won the game, gained three match points and cemented his return to the
finals.
INTERVIEW: Isaac shouted out his cheering
section: his fiancée (who had been through so many Jeopardy games by now) her
father and his 96 year old grandmother. We cut to them into the audience; all
were wearing Team Isaac tee-shirts
Juveria told us that being part
of an emergency room was preparation for Jeopardy that there was a great amount
of chaos but there was always a very real team of support. Asked if Jeopardy
was as stressful as an emergency room Juveria said: “It depends on the shift
and it depends on the game
Yogesh told us of his debut as a
four year old who memorizes all the state capitals and went around high schools
with a blank map recited them. Asked if this annoyed the students or if he was a
hit, he sheepishly said: “I didn’t really ask them.”
FINAL LEADERBOARD FOR SEMI-FINALS
VICTORIA GROCE – 9 MATCH POINTS
YOGESH RAUT – 5 MATCH POINTS
JUVERIA ZAHEER - 2 MATCH POINTS
ISAAC HIRSCH – 0 MATCH POINTS
(ELIMINATED)
Isaac knew the writing was on the
wall and left with another $100,000. Of course he will be returning to the
Jeopardy Invitational next year, along with Roger Craig and Matt Amodio and one
presumes Adriana Harmeyer and Nilesh Vinjamuri.
The rivalry that I spoke of in
the first part of the semi-finals played out as expected as Victoria and Yogesh
returned for a rematch in the 2025 Finals. Victoria won that year. Would she
manage to repeat? Or would Yogesh or Juveria unseat her?
I will be back later this week
with the final results and my reflections of the entire 2025 Masters which have
been rewarding on almost every level.
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