I have over the last year in
particular begun to rethink my opposition to the Jeopardy Second Chance
Tournament. While I admit to having
qualms about it in many ways any tournament that can produce such equally
charming and masterful players as Drew Goins and Juveria Zaheer can't be
considered lacking virtue.
And with each passing year the
producers continue to refine the process. There will be three sets of matches
over the next three weeks with all three winners receiving $35,000 and then
earning a slot in Champions Wildcard.
That means potentially only one of them can earn a spot in the
Tournament of Champions and in order to do so they will have to win four more
games. That means to get in any Second Chance Tournament winner has to win
seven games. And when you consider only three other players in the 2026
Tournament of Champions rosters won at that least many – well, it's hard to say
that they won't have earned it.
We'll start by covering the
semi-finals for this week and those who watched got their moneys work. We saw
three incredibly well fought games on the part of all three contestants, games
that were all decided by Final Jeopardy with come from behind victories in all
three and Final Jeopardys so difficult one almost shudders to think what will
be awaiting those who make it to Champions Wild Card, let alone the ultimate
Tournament of Champions.
Game 1
Eugene Huang vs Erin Li Vs. Erik
Nielsen
This was an exciting game from
start to finish with all three players making the most of their second chances.
Erik got an early advantage in the Jeopardy round when he found the Daily
Double on the second clue of the game. He would hold his lead for the remainder
of the Jeopardy round finishing with $7600 to Erin's $4400 and Eugene's $3400.
In Double Jeopardy it was an even
fight for the first half of the round. Then Eugene got a break when he
responded correctly and his opponents each lost $1600 on a clue in the category
NOT TO BE CONFUSED. He found the first Daily Double on the next clue in SCIENCE
NON-FICTION. With $9000 and now in second he wagered $3000:
"Entangled Life by
Martin Sheldrake is about this kingdom; Mr. Sheldrake says much of the world is
stitched together by its mycelium." Eugene figured it out: "What are
fungus?" and went into the lead for the first time.
Erik and Eugene went back and
forth and Eugene was ahead with $14,000 when he found the other Daily Double in
THE WORLD IS CHANGING. He bet just $2000 this time and he wasn't so lucky.
"As a result of this 1815
meeting, the duchy of Parma & Piacenza was given to Marie-Louise, 2nd
wife of the deposed Napoleon." He could not come up with the Congress of
Vienna and moved into a tie with Erik. The two would go back and forth for the
lead, mostly tying until Erik got the $2000 clue in RELATIVITY correct followed
by the last three clues of the round. He finished the round with $18,800 to
Eugene's $16,000 while Erin was very much alive with $8000.
The Final Jeopardy category was
HIGHER EDUCATION. It was a killer: "Merrimack College is one of 2
Augustinian institutions of higher learning in the U.S.; in the news in 2025,
this is the other." This clearly stumped all three players (and yours
truly at home) Erik and Erin could come up with nothing while Eugene wrote a
vague guess: "What is St. Thomas Aquinas?" It had to do with a famous
recent alumnus. The new pontiff Pope Leo who went to Villanova. It came down to
wagers.
Erin bet $4201 which left her with
$3799. Eugene bet $7999, leaving him with $8001. Erik bet from the lead as he
had to, wagering $13,201 leaving him with $5599 as Eugene managed to survive
and become the first finalist.
Game
2
Ivanna
Lopez vs. Evan Argyle vs Dave Widmayer
Of the three players on this list
Dave had Jeopardy in his blood, literally. His parents Hank and Kathy had both
appeared on Jeopardy, his father in Season 8, his mother in Season 18. Dave,
like his parents, had finished in second when he had lost to Andrew Hayes but
he said he was ahead of them in money won because he had appeared when money
was earned for finishing second.
Dave spent much of the Jeopardy
round in the red but got a chance to redeem himself early in the category
WONDERLAND. (The categories proceeding it were WALKING and WINTER; oh the
writers were having fun.) He bet everything:
"After eating a cake that
makes her grow, Alice using this word that means 'even more peculiar' (&
knows she is not using good English) Dave couldn't come up with curiouser and
curiouser and lost everything. He rebuilt and at the end of the round had $2600
to Evan's $4400 and Ivanna's $4000.
In Double Jeopardy Ivanna took an
early lead but Dave got to the first Daily Double in SCIENCE. Now in third with
$4200, he went all in again and it worked out better for him:
"Maximizing this, the
rotational version of force, is why it's easier to open a door by pushing from
the hinges then next to them." He
knew it was torque and went back into the lead. The game was then a back and
forth between Dave and Ivanna.
Ivanna was narrowly ahead with
$11,200 to Dave's $10,600 when she found the other Daily Double in that old
Jeopardy standard BEFORE & AFTER. She wagered $4200"
"Oscar-winning epic D-Day
film about rescuing Vanna's co-host.'
It took her a moment to get there:
"What is Saving Private Ryan Seacrest?" But she retook the
lead. At the end of Double Jeopardy she still had it with $15,400 to Dave's
$14,000 while Evan was very much in contention with $7600.
The Final Jeopardy category was
INTERNATIONAL GEOGRAPHY. And just like Monday it was another triple stumper –
though I figured it out somehow. (Don't ask how. I don't know.)
"Today a state 309,000
square miles in area, on its founding it occupied half a continent."
Evan's response was revealed
first: "What is Mongolia?" He was wrong. It cost him $5001, leaving
him with $2599.
Next came Dave. He seemed to have
misunderstood the category as he wrote down: "What is California?" It
was incorrect. He wagered just $1401, leaving him with $12,599.
It was all on Ivanna. She didn't
finish her response which looked like What is Vatican City?" The correct
response was New South Wales. One of the states of Australia, according to Ken
it was originally the whole eastern part of the continent. (I figured it had to
do with Australia and honestly this was the only Australian territory I could
remember the name of.)
It came down to Ivanna's wager and
she bet $14,600 and that meant that the child outdid the parents as Dave
Widmayer became the second finalist this week.
Game
3
Pete
Johnson vs Alison Willard vs Chris Turner-Neal
The Jeopardy round leaned into the
theme board for the first time in Season 42: POKER, YOUR 'BET', CHECK, RAISE,
CALL, I FOLD. In the Jeopardy round Chris and Pete were tied at the break when Pete
found the Daily Double in CHECK. To use an appropriate metaphor he went all in:
""A DEXA scan can check
for osteoporosis & is also known as a BMD test; the M stands for mineral,
the B & D are these two words. Pete knew it was bone and density and
doubled his score. The Jeopardy round finished with him at $6000, Chris next with
$4000 and Alison in third with $2600.
Pete got to the first Daily Double
in U.S. CITIES. Already with a comfortable lead at $10,000 he wagered $3000:
"The seat of Delaware's Kent county, it was named for a town in Kent, England."
He knew it was Dover and went to $13,000. Pete built up his lead but then Chris
got moving in the category CLASSIC NOVEL ADD A LETTER. He found the other Daily
Double in that clue. He went big with $6000:
"Westley dons the mask of the
Dread Pirate Roberts to find some equine gear with which he can harness
Buttercup. Chris figured it out: "What is The Princess Bridle?". (Well,
William Goldman's book is a classic by anyone's standard.) He moved into the
lead.
In what has been the pattern for
the entire week Chris and Pete went back and forth for the lead but Chris held
on with $19,200 to Pete's $17,800 and Alison's $6200. It came down to Final
Jeopardy yet again and the category was ART & ARTIST.
For the third consecutive day it
was a triple stumper and yet again I was as stumped as the contestants, so
don't judge. "He once said, "A hole can have just as much meaning as
a solid mass." All of them were thinking in the wrong medium as you'll
see.
Alison guessed: "Who is
Jackson Pollack?" She lost $5000, leaving her with $1200. Next game Pete.
He guessed: "Who is Rothko?" He lost $5000, leaving him with $12,800.
It came down to Chris. He guessed:
"Who is Duchamp?" They were all thinking of painters. I figured out
it was a sculptor but I could only think of Rodin. It actually Henry Moore, a
sculptor know for his use of holes.
It's clear that both Chris and
Pete were gambling that they had to bet enough that, if they were incorrect,
they needed to have more money left than Alison if she bet everything was
correct. Chris wagered $6500, leaving him with $12,700. That was $100 less than.
Pete and for the third consecutive day the semi-final was won by a contestant
who came from behind.
Just so you know Eugene defeat
came at the hands of Josh Weikert in what was his third victory. Dave lost in
Andrew Hayes' first defense of his title. And Pete Johnson is one of the many
players who was defeated in Scott Riccardi's incredible run; in this case Game
8.
Which of these players will move
on to get a chance at Champions Wild Card and a chance to settle the score?
I'll be back on Friday with the results of the finals.
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