This Is Jeopardy - -Stories From The Teachers Tournament, Conclusion

 

CLASS OF 2016

JASON STERLACCI, 6^th GRADE ENGLISH TEACHER FROM SOMERSET NEW JERSEY

Jason made his Jeopardy debut on May 3^rd 2016 along side Nicole Throckmorton an eleventh grade English and Creative writing teacher from Williamsburg, Virginia and Greg Greenzweig, a high school art teacher from another New Jersey town, Pennsville.

The Jeopardy board had a them I can't resist: WORK WITH KIDS, THE LONG HOURS, THE DEDICATION, GIVING EVERY 'THING', A LIFETIME OF SERVICE, NOW WHAT'S FOR LUNCH.

Jason finished that round in second with $5600 to Nicole's $6000. He managed to pull ahead for good after a run of seven consecutive correct answers in Double Jeopardy, one of which was the first Daily Double in WRITERS ON FILM:

"Catherine Keener in Capote, this Southern author." He knew it was Harper Lee and gained another $2000. He finished Double Jeopardy with $20,000, exactly twice Nicole's second place total of $10,000. Greg finished with $6400.

Final Jeopardy was tricky. U.S. MEMORIALS. "Symbolic bookends, these 2 neighboring memorials mark the beginning and end of U.S. involvement in World War II." Jason knew one of them "What is the Arizona?" but didn't get it finished because he had started writing: the Pearl Harbor memorial.  The Arizona is the ship where the Japanese surrender was signed and the Missouri is the ship that is the memorial for Pearl harbor. No one else knew it and Jason moved on to the semi-finals.

Jason appeared in the third and last semifinal match, which like both the semi-finals and finals was filmed at DAR Constitution Hall in DC. His challengers were Cory Harris, a high school English teacher from Connecticut and Lauren Gilmore, a high school history teacher from Florida. Cory would get off to an early lead in the Jeopardy round though Jason would nearly catch him by the end, finishing with $6200 to Cory's $6600. Lauren was in a distant third with $1400. Jason won in large part because Cory wagered big on a Daily Double late in Double Jeopardy and lost almost everything. As a result Jason's $16,200 were enough to lock it up by the end of the round. It wouldn't have mattered though because he was the only one who got Final Jeopardy correct.

The category was STATE SONGS. "Its state song rhymes 'patriotic gore' with the name of its largest city." Jason knew it was: "What is Maryland?"  (Apparently the author of Maryland, my Maryland rhymed Baltimore with 'patriotic gore'.  It was written during the Civil War.)  Jason moved on to the final against Jill Gilbert, a middle school English Teacher from Des Moines and Kaberi Chakrabarty, an elementary bilingual teacher from Joliet, Illinois.

In the Jeopardy round of Game 1 Jill and Jason would go back and forth for the lead and Jill pulled ahead at the end with $6700 to Jason's $6400 while Kaberi was not that far behind with $4000. The two continued to go back and forth for the first half of Double Jeopardy when Jason found the first Daily Double in AN ENVIRONMENTAL CATEGORY:

"An important feature of tundra, it's a layer of constantly frozen soil underground." Jason knew it was permafrost and got another $3000. When Jill lost $3000 on the other Daily Double Jason would be assured of the lead and finished Double Jeopardy with $19,800 to Jill's $11,300 and Kaberi's $9600.

The Final Jeopardy category was AFRICAN GEOGRAPHY. The clue was tricky: "After the secession of South Sudan from Sudan in 2011, this became the largest country in Africa by area." I'm pretty sure I didn't know the answer so I'm impressed Jason did. "What us Algeria?" He added $2601 to his total, giving him $22,601. Kaberi lost $5000 when he guessed the DNC and Jill lost $1300 when she wrote down Nigeria. Jason had the advantage at the end of Game 1.

Jason was dominant from the start of the Jeopardy round until the end of Double Jeopardy with 25 correct responses and only two incorrect ones. Neither Jill nor Kaberi could match him. By the end of the Double Jeopardy he had locked up the tournament with $20,800 to Kaberi's $8800 and Jill's $1600.

Final Jeopardy was an exercise and Jason didn't take it seriously. That said it was a very tough one and if he didn't know it, I didn't blame him. The category was 20^th CENTURY PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATES. "He was awarded a Distinguished Flying Cross in WWII for a combat mission as pilot of the B-24 bomber he named the 'Dakota Queen'. The only reason I knew the correct answer was because I had read my Theodore White and knew the clue referred to George McGovern who represented South Dakota in the Senate before his doomed 1972 Presidential bid. Both Kaberi and Jill guessed Bob Dole, who did serve in World War II but was from Kansas.

Jason wrote down: "Who is Charles who fixed my tie?" After the laughter Jason said: "Lifesaver." He didn't wager anything and it didn't matter; he had more than enough money to win the 2016 Teachers Tournament.

That year's Teachers Tournament had interrupted Buzzy Cohen's run on Jeopardy; he'd won five games before it started and when play resumed won another four before being defeated. Jason would end up getting acquainted with Buzzy more personally then that at the 2017 Tournament of Champions when it finally happened in a year and a half.

His competition in the quarterfinals was tough enough: he was facing Lilly Chin, winner of that year's College Championship and Tim Aten, a seven game winner with $107,499. In the Jeopardy round Tim and Jason were constantly going back and forth for the lead with Tim pulling ahead in the final stages with $5600 to Jason's $5000. Lilly trailed with $2000. In Double Jeopardy all three players were exceptional but Jason pulled ahead with a Daily Double in KICKING AXIS: "In this June 1942 battle Japan lost all four of its heavy aircraft carriers & with them, pretty much, the Pacific War." He knew it was Midway and gained $3000. Jason gave seventeen correct responses and not a single error, finishing with $18,800. However Lilly and Tim were just as formidable and Tim finished with $14,000 and Lilly $12,800.

It came down to Final Jeopardy which was sufficiently difficult. The category was LANDLOCKED COUNTRIES. "South of the Tropic of Capricorn, this kingdom is the world's southernmost landlocked country." As Alex pointed out: "There are only two continents that come into play here – South America and Africa." Jason was the only one who had the right idea when he wrote down: "What is Lesotho?" which was correct.  (Tim guessed Myanmar; Lilly wrote down Bhutan.) Jason added $4200 to his total, giving him $23,000 and moving him to the semi-finals. (Both Tim and Lilly would have high enough scores for wild card spots.)

Jason had become the first Teachers Tournament winner to advance to the semi-finals in a Tournament of Champions. Waiting for him was Buzzy Choen and six game winner Lisa Schlitt. Jason was not unnerved by either player and spent the entire game giving Buzzy a run for his money. Indeed he took a commanding lead late in the Jeopardy round thanks to finding the Daily Double in SENATOR JOHN:

"This Vietnam vet was Senator from Massachusetts from 1985 to 2013." Jason knew it was John Kerry and gained $3000. He finished the round with $8200 to Buzzy's $5400 and Lisa's $1200.

Jason spent the whole game just as good as Buzzy. He gave 18 correct response and only gave one incorrect one. Buzzy gave 22 correct responses but made four errors. And as a result Buzzy had the thinnest of leads going into Final Jeopardy with $16,200 to Jason's $15,800.

The Final Jeopardy category was THEATRE. "Despite objections from the playwright's estate, a 1991 French production of this 1952 play had a small all-female cast instead of all male." I don't think I had a clue what it was so I was impressed that Buzzy was the only one who came up with the correct play: Waiting for Godot. Jason thought it was Peter Pan and lost everything but a dollar. He had made the future winner of the TOC work for it and had earned the $10,000 he went home with.

 

CLASS OF 2017

DAVID CLEMMONS, 11^th GRADE HISTORY TEACHER from FT. WORTH, TEXAS

Because there was no Tournament of Champions in 2016 there were two seasons worth of Jeopardy between the one in 2015 and 2017. As a result there were two sets of 'special tournament to fill up the bracket' and that meant that in May of 2017 Jeopardy had another Teachers Tournament who would eventually participate in the Tournament of Champions. And like Jason Sterlacci, the winner would get up close and personal with not one but two of the finalists that year-  though as you'll see, it didn't end well for him.

David Clemmons's appeared in the third quarterfinal against Stephanie Mitchell, an eighth grade language arts teacher from Effingham, Illinois and Cody Vest, a high school English teacher from Fayetteville, Arkansas. In the Jeopardy round he went back and forth with Stephanie for the lead finishing with $4800 to her $5200. Early in Double Jeopardy he moved ahead when he found the first Daily Double in COMPOSERS:

"This colorful Johann Strauss Jr. composition made its debut in Vienna in February 1867."  He knew it was the Blue Danube and took the lead with $7200. Unfortunately for David that was about as good as it got as both Cody and Stephanie made his life for the rest of the round. He finished it tied with Cody for the lead with $10,400 apiece while Stephanie was just slightly behind with $8800.

It came down to Final Jeopardy. The category was 20^th CENTURY BOOKS. "I felt his spurs in my side & I heard his battle cry' is a line from this 1982 book that became a stage sensation and later a movie." I'm not sure I knew the correct answer but I know that all three players had the right idea.

Stephanie wrote down: "What is Seabiscuit?" That was incorrect. She lost $4000. Cody wrote down: "What is Equus?" Alex said: "That is one of the two that I thought were logical choices but that is also incorrect." He lost $3600.

It came down to David. He wrote down: "What is War Horse?" That was the correct response. That he added just $400 was irrelevant; he was an automatic semifinalist.

David appeared in the first semi-final match against Sara Holub, a high school teacher from Green Bay and Gail Ansheles, a kindergarten teacher from Santa Fe. It didn't look to be David's day after the Jeopardy round. At the end of it he was at -$800 to Gail's $1800 and Sara's $8000.

Much of Double Jeopardy was not much better as Gail and Sara were in control for most of the round. Then he got hot at the exact right time.  After getting three consecutive clues correct – including back-to-back $2000 clues – he found the first Daily Double in 1917 -100 YEARS AGO.

In a distant third with $6000 he said that classic phrase: "Alex, let's make it a true Daily Double." After the cheers and applause ended, Alex said: "it chokes you up. Let's see how you deal with this:

"This muckraking author's novel King Coal exposed abuses in the U.S. mining industry." David knew it was Upton Sinclar and just like that he had $12,000. He took the lead for the first time two clues later, then got the other Daily Double wrong. But he made up for it by getting four of the last five clues correct and finishing with $17,600 in one of the most incredible comebacks in Jeopardy tournament history. But it guaranteed nothing if he didn't get Final Jeopardy correct: Sara had $13,200 and Gail had $12,600.

The Final Jeopardy category was THE PULITZER PRIZES. "In 1947 a journalist from the Washington Post became the last to win a Pulitzer for national reporting by this means."

Gail wrote down: "What is radio?" A reasonable guess but wrong. It cost her everything. Next came Sara. She wrote down the correct response: "What is telegraph?" That was correct. She gained $12,000 to put her at $25,200.

It came down to David. He wrote down 'telegraph', crossed it out and wrote down telegram. Either response was acceptable. David wagered $10,000 to give him $27,600 to put him in the finals in what was one of the most incredible victories I've seen in my years watching Jeopardy.

David was facing off against Nan Cohen, a high school English Teacher from Van Nuys and Mary Parker a high school French and English Teacher from Rogers, Arkansas. Game 1 seemed like it belonged entirely to Nan. She was in front from the beginning of the Jeopardy round to end finishing with $6800 to David's $3800 and Mary's $2800. By the time David was able to ring in for the first time in Double Jeopardy with a correct answer Nan had found the first Daily Double and had $18,100 in front of her. David did everything humanly possible to close the gap but when he lost $5000 on the other Daily Double he was doomed to finish no better than third. He had $7600 to Mary's $11,600 and Nan's $20,500. It wasn't looking good going into Final Jeopardy.

The category was WOMEN AUTHORS. "A 1936 New York Times review called the debut novel by this author "in all probability, the biggest book of the year: 1,037 pages."

David's response was revealed first: "Who is Margaret Mitchell?" That was correct. He added $2400. Mary wrote down Edith Wharton and it cost her $8000. Nan wrote down Willa Cather and lost $11,500. Just like that David was in the lead at the end of Game 1 with $10,000 to Nan's $9000 and Mary's $3600. But the scores were still so close that it meant nothing going into Game 2.

Game 2 was far closer from start to finish. At the end of the Jeopardy round David was in front with $6600 to Nan's $5400 and Mary's $4800. David played superbly giving 23 correct responses and only making one mistake. So did Mary and Nan. Nan gave 17 correct responses and made no errors while Mary gave seventeen correct responses and was right on all three Daily Doubles. And as a result going into Final Jeopardy in Game 2 the scores couldn't have been closer: David led with $18,200 to Nan's $17,800 and Mary's $17,200. It was the closest finish going into Final Jeopardy of Game 2 in the history of the Teachers Tournament and the Final Jeopardy was just as thrilling.

The category was U.S. CITIES. "In 2015 it returned to the list of the 50 most populous U.S. cities, 10 years after dropping off."

Mary wrote down: "What is Detroit?" That was incorrect. It cost her $2000, leaving her with $15,200. Her two-day total was $18,800.

Nan wrote down the correct city: "What is New Orleans?" (ten years after Katrina). She risked nothing. Her two day total was $26,800.

It came down to David. He'd written down: "What is New Orleans?" He wagered $17,800 (he was playing to beat Nan had she wagered everything) That gave him $36,000. That was already more than what either player had in 2 days so the $10,000 he earned put him at $46,000 and made him a deserved winner in a hard-fought Final.

However when David made his appearance in the Tournament of Champions he had the extreme misfortune of drawing in his quarterfinal match Austin Rogers and Alan Lin. On that day Alan was so good that the best Austin could do was hope for a wild card spot. David found that out early on in the Jeopardy round when he managed to get to the Daily Double ahead of Alan in WORDS FROM NATIVE AMERICAN LANGUAGES. He bet the $1200 he had:

"It's the 9-letter name of the creature who is said to leave behind footprints measuring 24  feet long and 8 feet wide." David said: "What is Bigfoot?" when he should have said sasquatch. David actually finished Double Jeopardy at -$200 and was only able to ring in once in all of Double Jeopardy to finish with $1400.

There was only redemption of a sort for David in Final Jeopardy and unfortunately he could not claim it. The category was 19^th CENTURY POETS: "In 1824 he was refused burial in Westminster Abbey for 'questionable morality', in 1969 he got a memorial stone there." David was the only one who didn't know the correct response of Lord Byron, writing down Longfellow. It cost him everything and he was officially eliminated, leaving with $5000.

 

CLASS OF 2019, FRANCOIS BARCOMB, An 11^TH GRADE PHYSICS TEACHER FROM NEW PALTZ, NEW YORK

 

Francis Barcomb, with the exception of Colby Burnett, is the most successful Jeopardy Teachers Tournament in the postseason. As for why he didn't get further, well, one Tournament at a time.

Francois's first appearance came in the third quarterfinal match of the 2019 Teachers Tournament. His opponents were Alexandra Bicks, a High school ESL teacher from Cambridge, Massachusetts and Vicki Leibeck-Owsey, a high school English Teacher from Columbia, Kentucky. It took awhile for Francois to get started but by the end of the Jeopardy round he had a comfortable lead with $7400 to Alexandra's $3400 and Vicki's $3200. From then on, despite getting both Daily Doubles in Double Jeopardy incorrect he never was threatened for the lead thanks to 29 correct responses. He finished with $20,600 to Alexandra's $7400 and Vicki's $4800.

Final Jeopardy was irrelevant which was good because it was an extremely difficult one for both the contestants and yours truly. The category was WORDS FROM THE COMICS. "Used to describe secrecy during WWII, this 2-word term had its psychological meaning popularized by Charles Schulz." I'm a devoted Peanuts fan but I had no idea this referred to a security blanket. Francois's guess of 'a warm puppy' hardly seemed ridiculous (even though as we all know that's happiness.) It cost Francois nothing and he became an automatic semi-finalist.

His semi-final match was more difficult. Competing against Julia Rosinski Bailey, a tenth grade chemistry teacher from Austin and Benjamin Schwartz, a middle school English Teacher from Stamford, Connecticut the Jeopardy round was a battle where the lead changed constantly. At the end of it Francois was in third with $5600 but just $600 behind Julia and $800 behind the leader Benjamin.

Francois moved into the lead early in Double Jeopardy and then got in his own way when he found the first Daily Double in THE MORE 'C'OMMON WORD. He wagered $3000: "Ectothermic" He guessed: "What is cold?, when it was actually cold-blooded. He dropped to $7600.

A critical moment came when he found the other Daily Double in A PLACE ON THE LAKE. "Abu Simbel is on the shore of this body of water that didn't exist before 1970." He knew it was Lake Nasser and gained another $2000 to put him at $10,600 and back in the lead

He was at $16,600 when the end of round buzzer range with three clues left on the board. As a result while he had a big lead over Julia with $9400 and Benjamin's $8000, it was not a runaway.  It came down to Final Jeopardy.

The category was AMERICAN WOMEN. "In 2006 Arizona State University renamed its college of law in honor of this history-making woman and longtime Arizona resident."

Benjamin's response was: "Who is (Janet) Reno?" That was wrong. It cost him all but $5. Julia came next. She wrote down: "Who is O'Conner?" She was not penalized for misspelling Sandra Day O'Connor's name. She added $9397 to her total, putting her at $18,797.

It was on Francois. "Who is Sandra Day O'Connor?" He added $2201 to his total giving him $18,801 and making him a well-deserved finalist. In the finals he would face off against Sara DelVilliano, a middle school instrumental music teacher from Lanham, Maryland and Conor Quinn, a high school world history teacher from Albany.

In the Jeopardy round of Game Francois got off to a lightning fast start finishing with $7200 to Sara's $2800 and Conor's $2200. When Conor got the first Daily Double incorrect in Double Jeopardy his lead widened by default. Then he got to the other Daily Double in EUROPEAN HISTORY already with a comfortable lead of $10,000:

"This extreme right-wing ideology big in 1930s & 40s Europe gets its name from a Roman bundle of wooden rods." Conor knew it was fascism (for fasces) and went up to $12,000. He finished with $18,800 to Sara's $6800 and Conor's $4600.

The Final Jeopardy category for Game 1 was 20^TH CENTURY BESTSELLING AUTHORS: "He once said, "In all of us there is a hunger, marrow-deep, to know our heritage…who we are and where we have come from." Both Conor and Francois knew the correct response: "Who is Alex Haley?" Sara couldn't come up with anything. Conor bet $800, going to $5600. Sara lost $2000, dropping her to $4800. Francois gained $1600 putting him at $20,400 a considerable lead for him but not an insurmountable one.

Game 2 was much closer from start to finish. Conor and Francois went back and forth for the lead in the Jeopardy round. Francois went ahead on the penultimate clue and found the Daily Double on the last one. He responded correctly and gained $1000 to finish with $7000 to Conor's $5800 with Sara not far behind at $4200.

Double Jeopardy was ever closer between all three players. Francois regained the lead in the category FIRE & ICE and was helped by the second Daily Double in that category: "The patron saint of Mediterranean sailors gave his name to this phenomenon seen on the masts of ships in stormy weather." He knew it was St. Elmo's Fire and gained $3000, giving him $14,200 and a lead he never relinquished. Neither Conor nor Sara played poorly, finishing with $13,400 and $14,800 respectively. But Francois was perfect giving 22 correct responses and not making a single error to finish with $21,200 and locking up the tournament.

Final Jeopardy was an exercise but all three players took it seriously. The category was a new one for Jeopardy: PHOTO SHARING. "Publishing its first photo in 1889, today it has more than 4 billion likes & 100 million followers on Instagram." Now I had no idea what this was referring to so I was impressed all three players knew it was National Geographic. Francois didn't wager anything and he didn't have to; he had won the Teachers Tournament impressively.

But despite that it is a near certainty that most Jeopardy fans were waiting impatiently for the Teachers Tournament to end as quickly as possible. Because in the month leading up to it James Holzhauer had started the streak that would captivate the entire nation as he set records that no one thought possible. The world could only wonder if he would break Ken Jennings' all-time money record like he was casually breaking so many others.

Indeed he would win ten more games and come right up to the cusp of it before Emma Boettcher made history of her own by unseating him on June 3^rd. Francois must have watched at home with no way of knowing  how he would ultimately be entwined with both of them.

Francois appeared in the last of the quarterfinal matches. His opponents were Steven Grade who'd won five games and over $111,000 and Ryan Fenster, who'd won seven games and $156,497. The Jeopardy round was back and forth for the lead between Francois and Steven. Francois was helped when he found the Daily Double in NOVEMBER DATEBOOK:

"On November 9, 1908 a tradition began as hotel guest Archie Bailey ordered 25 of these to put in the rooms." Francois knew they were Gideon Bibles and nearly doubled his score to $5100. Eventually Steven regained to lead to finish with $8400 to Francis $7100 while Ryan trailed with $1000.

In Double Jeopardy Francois went on overdrive. He was already comfortably in the lead with $24,300 when he found the second Daily Double in BODIES OF WATER. "This sea is fairly straight on Italy's shores but dented by coves & islands on the Balkan side." He knew it was the Adriatic and went up to $32,300. He finished with 24 correct responses and not a single mistake to runaway with the game with $34,300 at the end of Double Jeopardy.

Final Jeopardy was an exercise for Francois but Ryan and Steven wanted the wild card spot. The category was LITERARY CHARACTERS: "From an 1894 work, his name literally translates to 'tiger king'. All three players knew it was Shere Khan (from The Jungle Book) and Francois moved on to the semi-finals.

By the time Francois played in his third semi-final match the world knew who the other two semi-finalists were: James Holzhauer and Emma Boettcher. Francois was competing against Gilbert Collins, a five game winner and Lindsey Shultz who'd won $100,000 in four games. It was a tough match from the first clue in the Jeopardy round on. At the end of it Francois was in second with $5200, trailing Lindsey at $6400 and ahead of Gilbert with $4200.

It got no easier in Double Jeopardy. Francois had moved up to $12,000 when he found the second Daily Double in TROPIC OF CAPRICORN. He went pretty big and bet $8000:

"4 countries lie completely south of the tropic: New Zealand, Eswatini, Lesotho & this one in South America." He knew it was Uruguay and went to an even $20,000. His opponents, however, didn't surrender. By the end of Double Jeopardy Francois led with $22,000 to Lindsey's $17,400 and Gibert's $12,600.

It came down to Final Jeopardy. "In a 1644 letter he wrote "We live submerged at the bottom of an ocean of' which is what his invention measures.' Gibert guessed Bernouilli. That was incorrect. But he lost nothing. Lindsey put down Avogadro, which was also wrong. She lost $4601, putting her at $12,799.

Alex: And it takes us to Francois Barcomb, an eleventh grade physics teacher.

(The audience laughed)

Did you get the correct response.

He had written down: "Who is Torricelli?" the inventor of the barometer. His wager of $12,801 was irrelevant: Francois was now the third semi-finalist.

Francois's score was the highest of the three finalist so in both games of the two game final he got to pick first in the Jeopardy round. It didn't count for much in the Jeopardy round of Game 1; he wasn't able to ring in until the twentieth clue. He did decently considering the opposition finishing Game 1 with $7800 to Emma's $13,200 and James' $37,412.

His best chance to put himself in content was in Final Jeopardy. The category was OLD TESTAMENT BOOKS. "By Hebrew word count the longest book bears this name that led to a word for a long complaint or rant." Francois was the only player who couldn't come up with Jeremiah (he wrote down Ruth and lost $6000.) Considering James finished with $49,326 and Emma had $26,400 it was going to take a miracle for him to have a chance to win.

And that miracle didn't happen in Game 2. He was only able to ring in six times the entire game against James and Emma. By the end of Double Jeopardy Emma had a chance to win the Tournament of Champions and all Francois could find was redemption by getting Final Jeopardy correct.

He did. The category was INTERNATIONAL DISPUTES. "A dispute over Etorofu, Habomai, Kunashiri & Shikotan has kept these 2 countries from ever signing a WWII peace treaty." He knew it was Russia and Japan and went home with his $50,000.

 

CLASS OF 2020

BEN HENRI, A 7^TH THROUGH 12^TH GRADE VOCAL MUSIC TEACHER FROM ST. CLAIR SHORES, MICHIGAN

 

To say that the 2020 Teachers Tournament took place at a chaotic time is the definition of an understatement.  For one thing by the time the Teachers Tournament aired in May of 2020 the world was in lockdown because of COVID and teaching was one of those professions that we should have been appreciating more but actually took a harsher attitude towards along with so much else. For another Season 36 of Jeopardy was undergoing so much chaos that the Teachers Tournament would in fact be some of the final shows of Season 36 before it came to a premature end. Add to this the fact of Alex Trebek's diagnosis make it increasingly likely that this might very well be his final season (he would succumb to his illness on November 7 of that year) and its hard to imagine even the most devout Jeopardy fan (which I was) as interesting in the Tournament that year.

Ben's made his quarterfinal appearance on May 28^th against Matt Joyal, a high school history teacher from Hampstead, New Hampshire and Mary Kate Trausch a high school science teacher from Venon Hills, Illinois. Ben got off to a fast start in the Jeopardy round, lost his early lead after he got the Daily Double incorrect, then managed to regain it by the end of the round finishing with $5200 to Matt's $4200 and Mary Kate's $2400.

Ben then started Double Jeopardy by running the category ANCIENT HISTORY and from that point on was never seriously threatened for the lead. He had essentially locked up the game by the time he found the second Daily Double on the penultimate clue of the round but was cautious and only wagered $100 in POEMS:

"Maya Angelous wrote that it 'sings with a fearful trill of things unknown but longed for still'. He knew it was a caged bird and would finish Double Jeopardy with $24,500. It was actually a good thing he did because he didn't know the answer to Final Jeopardy that day, though to be fair only one other contestant did (and I didn't at home)

The category was WORD ORIGINS: "P.T. Barnum, whose traveling shows carried musicians, coined this word that now represents something growing in popularity." Mary Kate was the only one who knew it was bandwagon. Ben wrote down: "What is a fad?" but it only cost him $822 as he became an automatic semi-finalist.

Ben would appeared in the third and last semifinal match against Lauren Scneider Lipton, a high school health teacher from Seattle and Sam Matson, a high school English teacher from Cookeville, Tennessee. This was a tougher match from the start. Ben took over the lead with $8400 at the end of the Jeopardy round to Lauren's $5000 and Sam's $2400. Ben performed brilliantly throughout the game with 27 correct responses and only two incorrect ones to finish with $20,800 but neither Lauren nor Sam let him rest, finishing with $15,000 and $7200 respectively. It came down to Final Jeopardy.

The category was EUROPEAN LANDMARKS. "As described in an 1831 book, it has 'three recessed and pointed doorways…immense central rose window…two dark and massive towers." All three players knew the correct response because as Alex had put it had been "sadly in the news this past year. It was Notre Dame (the fire that did such damage to it came the previous spring) Sam and Lauren did what they had to do and Lauren's wager of everything put her at $30,000. Ben bet $9201 to win by a dollar and move into the finals. He would face off against Meggie Kwait, a middle school humanities teacher from New York and Will Satterwhite, an eighth through 12^th grade ban and choir teacher from Vinton, Virginia.

From the start of Game 1 to the end of it, it was an absolute nailbiter. The lead kept changing back and forth repeatedly in the Jeopardy round with Will taking it on the very last clue. He finished with $5200 to Ben's $4600 and Meggie's $4600. The back and forth continued in Double Jeopardy; Will getting the first three clues in the round correct, Ben getting the next four. Ben didn't find any Daily Doubles and that might have worked to his advantage; Meggie lost $7600 when she found won in Double Jeopardy. He gave 17 correct responses and only one incorrect one and that managed to keep him in a very narrow lead at the end of the round with $15,000 to Meggie's $13,600 and Will's $12,000

The Final Jeopardy category was NOTABLE BRITS. After the music ended Alex said: "Don't tell me we stumped with you this one." Now I knew what the answer was but I don't blame any of the contestants for not knowing it; it's not an obvious one.

On this man's death in a 1935 motorcycle accident, Churchill said, his 'pace of life was faster and more intense then the ordinary." This is not a juxtaposition that would lead one to come up with T.E. Lawrence (of Arabia) so I don't blame none for being close.

Will guessed: Who is Chamberlain?" He lost half his money. Meggie wrote down: "Who was Astin-Marin?" She lost $6000 as well. Ben guessed: "Who is Davidson?" and he lost half his money. At the end of Game 1 it was closer than before. Meggie had $7600 to Ben's $7500 while Will trailed with $6000.

In the Jeopardy round of Game 2 Meggie and Ben fought for the lead early but finding the Daily Double late in the round gave her an edge with $10,400  to Ben's $5400 while Will lagged behind with $1800. In Double Jeopardy Will caught fire and Meggie slowed down. Ben slowly caught and passed Meggie and the turning moment may have come on the $800 clue in WORDS COINED IN THE 1920S:

"We got this word from a 1920 play by Karel Capek about mechanical men & women." Meggie rang in first but said: "What is android?" Then Ben rang in with: "What is robot?" the correct word. This ensured he would get to the last Daily Double in the $2000 clue in front of Meggie and he already had $18,600. He bet $2500:

"Right on 'Q', this designation for a standard keyboard, first developed for the typewriter, came into use in 1929." Ben knew it was QWERTY. He finished Double Jeopardy in the lead with $21,500. But it was still anyone's game: Meggie had $13,200 and Will had $11,200.

It came down to Final Jeopardy. The category was 18^th CENTURY NOVELS. "The title character of this 1726 novel reaches 4 different lands as a result of a shipwreck, a storm at sea, pirates & a mutiny." Will couldn't come up with anything so he lost everything. He was out of it.

Meggie came up with the correct response: "What is Gulliver's Travels?" She wagered $8200, putting her at $21,600. Her two day total was $29,000.

It was all on Ben. He wrote down: "What is Gulliver's Travels?" It came down to his wager. $5001. That put him at $26,501 and his two day total was $34,001 enough to give him a well-earned victory.

Jeopardy was in an entirely different place when Ben appeared in the Tournament of Champions, almost  a year to the day since his first appearance had aired. Jeopardy was still searching for a permanent host and Buzzy Cohen himself a former winner of the Tournament of Champions took the reins that year.

Ben was going up against two formidable champions in the quarterfinals. MacKenzie Jones, an eight game winner with $204,808 in earnings and Kevin Walsh who'd won five games and $111,301 in the course of them. Ben was going to need to be on his A-Game to defeat them. In the Jeopardy round Mackenzie took an early lead but Kevin got the Daily Double very late and used it to jump ahead. At the end of the round Kevin had $7000 to MacKenize's $5000 and Ben's $2600.

Ben's best chance came when he found the first Daily Double in Double Jeopardy. He had $7000 was still in third so he wagered everything in THAT'S MY AIRPORT:

"This Dallas airport is named for a lieutenant killed in a plane crash while practicing for a military aviator test." He paused before guessing: "Who is…worth?" Buzzy told him that it referred to Moss Lee Love and it was Love Field. He dropped  and never got close again. At the end of Double Jeopardy Ben had $2800 to MacKenzie's $9000 and Kevin's $16,000. The Final Jeopardy category was COLONIAL AMERICA and even by the standards of Tournament of Champions Final, it was tough.

"Milestones along the Eastern end of the Mason-Dixon line were marked on either side with the crests of these two men." None of the three players had a clue (neither did I) but the only one who wagered anything was Ben and he lost everything when he wrote down: "Who are George III and Cromwell?" The clue actually referred to why Mason and Dixon were hired. As Buzzy told us: "The descendants of Lord Baltimore and William Penn hired the two of them to survey the disputed border between Maryland and Pennsylvania." Ben was left with nothing and he went home with $5000.

 

Final Notes

It should go without saying I believe that at some point all eight of these Teachers Tournament winners should be invited to come back to play on Jeopardy by the JIT at some point. If I had a preference for who should come back first I believe it should be Jennifer Giles and Francois Barcomb. In the former case almost everyone from the Jeopardy All-Star Games has been invited back in some form including everyone she either played with or against during her tenure as a member of Team Buzzy. In the latter, considering how little attention was paid to Francois when he won the Teachers Tournament or in the Tournament of Champions because of the presence of James Holzhauer, I think he earned a moment in the spotlight on his own.

And I do think, now more than ever, we need the Teachers Tournament back. Not just because they've always been such great players but because we need to pay tribute to them in this way.