We are closing in on to the start
of the 2026 Tournament of Champions. Next Friday the final spot will have been
determined with the winner of Champions Wildcard.
For those who need reminders
Champions Wildcard is an old style Jeopardy tournament. This week we will deal
with five quarterfinal games. The winners will automatically move on to the
semifinals but there are four spots for high scores – wild card spots for a
Wildcard tournament.
So this article will deal with
the recap of the quarterfinal matches.
January
5th
Dargan
Ware vs. Bill McKinney vs. Stella Trout
The Jeopardy round had a lot of
incorrect responses and much of it spent with Stella and Bill in the red.
Stella managed to get to $1400 and found the Daily Double in THE BEST & THE
BRIGHTEST with half of Dargan's total at the time. She bet everything:
"Founded in 1946 as a motel
chain, this now-international hotel brand is appropriately headquartered in
Arizona."
It would have helped to remember
the category and Stella couldn't (nor could I) It was Best Western. Back
to zero she went
She rebounded and by the end of
the Jeopardy everyone was on the side of positive. Dargan led with $5400 to
Bill's $2000 and Stella's $1400.
Stella turned the tables in
Double Jeopardy almost immediately finding both Daily Doubles. The first was on
the first clue she picked in THE VIKINGS. She wagered the $2000 she could:
"The first evidence of
European presence in America is an 11th century Viking settlement at
L'Anse aux Meadows on this island." She figured out it was Newfoundland
and went into second place. Dargan then lost $1200 in the A FLUVIAL CATEGORY
and then on the next clue she picked she found the other Daily Double in
LITERARY BEGINNINGS. For the third time she bet everything she could and again
it worked:
"Jorge Louis Borges' story
collection 'A Universal History of Infamy' has been called the first book in
this literary genre.' It took her a moment and she came up with magical
realism. This put her at $6800 and in the lead for the first time.
Dargan then began to struggle in Double
Jeopardy: he gave just four correct responses and five incorrect ones in that
round, finishing with $2600. Stella
finished Double Jeopardy with a total of 20 correct responses and five
incorrect ones (only two in the Double Jeopardy round) to finish in the lead
with $16,000. Bill finished with $13,200.
The Final Jeopardy category was
SCIENCE. "Important in developing
vaccines against TB, they were domesticated as a food source in the Andes
region around 5000 B.C."
Dargan wrote down: "What are
llamas?" That was incorrect but he lost just $400, leaving him with $2200.
Bill wrote down: "What are
guinea pigs?" and then crossed it out. (He joked with Ken: "I was
trying to underline it.) He only lost $1000, leaving him with $12,200.
That left Stella. She wrote down:
"What are guinea pigs?" and did not cross it out, which was good
because that was the correct response. She was already in the lead and her
wager of $10,401 put her at $26,401 as she became an automatic semifinalist.
Bill will have to see if his
$12,200 will be good enough for a wild card spot. Dargan is not looking in
great shape.
Personal note: This was not a
great game for me. At one point in the Jeopardy round I was at -$2400 and I was
lucky to be at $3600 by the time the round ended. I finished with $14,600 but I
completely misread Final Jeopardy. I wrote down: "What is nicotine?"
which doesn't make a lick of sense compared to the actual response.
January
6th
Geoff Barnes vs Dave Bond vs Michelle Tsai
Michelle, freshly minted a Second
Chance Winner, managed to get off to a fast start when she found the Daily
Double in the Jeopardy round in SHAKESPEARE GOES WILD. Already in the lead with
$2000 she bet everything:
"This king's horses 'turned
wild in nature, broke their stalls…'tis said they eat each other' after his
murder by MacBeth." She knew it was Duncan and doubled her score to $4000.
She maintained her lead throughout the Jeopardy round though Dave never let her
rest. She finished with $7200 to his $6200 with Geoff trailing with $1600.
In Double Jeopardy both Geoff and
Dave made a couple of moves. Michelle got to the first Daily Double with
$10,000 but she was now trailing Dave. She bet $2000 to try and get the lead
back in DISEASES:
"2025 saw and outbreak in
New York of this form of pneumonia first identified in 1976." Michelle
said she was glad she only bet $2000 as she had no idea it was Legionnaire's
disease. She dropped to $8000.
She got up to $10,800 and found
the other Daily Double in LINGUISTICS. For the third straight time she bet
$2000 but it didn't go better than the last one though this was even tougher than
the previous one.
"If you see 'PIE' as part of
the etymology of a word, it stands for this reconstructed parent
language." She had no idea that it was Proto-Indo-European (I'm not sure
I'd ever heard of that term.)
She rebuilt yet again and by the
end of Double Jeopardy was in the lead with $16,000 having given 23 correct
response and four incorrect ones (two of them were the Daily Doubles in Double
Jeopardy) Both Dave and Geoff had played superbly and finished with impressive
scores themselves: $11,800 for Dave, $8800 for Geoff.
The Final Jeopardy category is
one I have no memory of being used before: TYPOGRAPHY. The clue was similarly
baffling:
Inspired by Port Authority bus
terminal signage, it was adopted as a font by NYU & the Tribeca Film
Festival.
Geoff's response was revealed
first. "What is Helvetica?" It was incorrect. He went big and wagered
$8000, leaving him with $800.
Next was Dave. "What is
Arial?" That was also incorrect. He was conservative in his betting
wagering only $1800. This left him with $10,000.
Michelle couldn't come up with
anything. The correct response was: "What is Gotham?" (I got it right
but it was a pure guess; I wasn't even sure it was a font.) Michelle also bet
carefully, wagering $1602. That left her with $14,398 and that was enough to
make her an automatic semifinalist. Dave's $10,000 might well be enough for a
wild card spot; he's now second on the list of high scores.
January
7th
Jason
Singer vs Harvey Silkowitz vs Cameron Berry
Cameron got off to a fast start
in the Jeopardy round and had a considerable lead by the time Jason found the
Daily Double in ITS GOVERNMENT POLICY. He wagered $1500 of his $2000:
"This U.S. policy of using
implied forced in foreign relations is also known as the Roosevelt Corollary to
the Monroe Doctrine." Jason struggled before guessing: "What is
strength through peace?" It was the Big Stick policy, based on Teddy
Roosevelt's famous maxim. Cameron finished the round with $8200 to Harvey's
$3000 and Jason's $1500.
Cameron got to the first Daily
Double in Double Jeopardy early in THEIR OWN MUSEUM. However he cautiously bet
just $1000 a decision he instantly regretted:
"Museums in Toledo, Spain
and on Crete celebrate the works of this famous artist." He knew it was El
Greco and moved up to $10,800.
Harvey got the next clue right.
Both of the next clues he selected were not answered which meant he found the
other Daily Double in MEMOIRS. With $3800 to risk, he bet $2000:
"Presumably rejected 'Olaf
Me," actor Josh's memoir has this title, punning on our national
motto." Harvey admitted he had no idea and one can hardly blame him for
not coming up with In Gad We Trust.
He managed a remarkable comeback
responding correctly on 17 correct responses and only three incorrect ones.
Cameron managed 22 correct responses and 3 incorrect ones but two of them in
Double Jeopardy cost him $3600. That meant going into Final Jeopardy Harvey had
the thinnest of leads with $13,000 to Cameron's $12,800 while Jason trailed
with $3900.
The Final Jeopardy category was
LITERATURE. "In a 21st century Pulitzer Prize winner, this
character introduced in an 1876 work is biracial." All of them were
thinking of the correct 21st century work (as was I) but they got
the wrong reference.
Jason wrote down: "Who is
James?" That was incorrect. He lost everything he had.
Cameron wrote down: "Who is
Jim?" That had been ruled incorrect but Cameron bet just $201, leaving him
with $12,599.
It came down to Harvey. He also
wrote down Jim. They were all thinking of Percival Everett's book James but
in that book Huck Finn was biracial. It came down to wagers and Harvey bet just
$2. That left him with $12,998 and he hung on for a much deserved victory.
Cameron's $12,599 moves him into first position for a wild card and officially
eliminates Geoff from contention for the last spot.
January
8th
Jonathan
Hugendubler vs Vickie Tavola vs Pete Johnston
Pete found the Daily Double in
the Jeopardy round on the very first clue, it went against him and he lost the
$1000 he bet. He managed to rebound from this while Jonathan started strong and
maintained. Vickie was up and down in the Jeopardy round and was lucky to
finish at $800, $3000 behind Pete, $4000 behind Jonathan.
In Double Jeopardy Vickie managed
to close the gap almost immediately when she found the first Daily Double in
LET'S RADIOCARBON DATE. She had $2400, exactly half Jonathan's total so it made
sense to be everything:
"Found in Portugal, the
skeleton of a love child between a Homo sapiens and this species has been dated
at 27,000+ years old. She
knew it was a Neanderthal and tied for the lead.
The rest of the game was a very
tight one as all three players made their share of mistakes on expensive clues.
As a result when Pete found the other Daily Double in BROADWAY WRITING TEAMS he
was in third with $7800 to Vickie's $8000 and Jonathan's $8400.
He made it clear it wasn't his
category so he just bet $1000:
"John Kander and Fred Ebb
knew how to open a show with, 'All That Jazz' and this language-lesson number
that begins Cabaret." He came up with Willkommen and went into the
lead. He just managed to hold it the rest of the round but it was a near thing
as he finished with $10,800 to Jonathan and Vickie's $9200 apiece.
The Final Jeopardy category was
BIBLICAL ART. "3 of Michelangelo's panels on the Sistine Chapel ceiling
deal with him, including his 'drunkenness' & 'sacrifice'.
Jonathan's response was revealed
first: "What is Noah?" As Ken told us the third panel is called The
Deluge, so Noah was correct. He bet everything, putting him in the lead
with $18,400.
Next came Vickie. She wrote down:
"What is Noah?" She wagered $4400 putting her at $13,600.
It was all on Pete. His response
was: "Who is Abraham?" (The sacrifice part make sense it was better
than my guess of Peter.) It cost him $7601, leaving him $3199. Jonathan had
come from behind yet again and this time he became an automatic semifinalist.
With her total Vickie has locked
down her spot as a wild card semifinalist with the highest total of non-winners
so far. Also guaranteed a spot is Cameron Berry who's $12,599 is the second
highest total among non-winners. For Pete Johnston his Second Chance run ends
here: while his total is the fifth highest score among non-winners that has
automatically eliminated him.
January
9th
James
Corson vs. Ryan Sharpe vs Ian Morrison
Ian would find the Daily Double
early in the Jeopardy round and lose $1000. Ryan would seize the lead early and
manage to maintain it and hold it in the Jeopardy round but all three players
were superb. Ryan finished with $6400, James with $4200 and Ian with $3600.
In Double Jeopardy Ryan would
find both Daily Doubles and double down on his wagering practices from the Second
Chance Tournament, a process that reminds recent viewers of James Holzhauer's
practices in Final Jeopardy and long-time viewers of another Jeopardy great
named Ryan – Holznagel – who had a similar practice when it came to betting in
them. In either case it was understandably unsettling to Ken who has yet to be
on the other side of it the way Alex occasionally was.
The first occasion came early
when Ryan already in the lead with $9600 bet $6174. As Alex might say:
"That makes sense. But only to me."
"Named for a duke, this
nearly 700-mile long river rises in Kentucky, flows through Tennessee, then
back into Kentucky." Ryan knew it was the Cumberland and now had an
even $15,774.
Not long after Ryan found the
other Daily Double in THEY CALL ME MELLOW YELLOW. He chose to wager the
perfectly round sum of $2048:
"At the turn of the 20th
century, Joseph Pulitzer's New York World and this publishers New York Journal
spread lurid yellow journalism." He knew it was Hearst and now had
$21,022 in front of him.
Ryan performed perfectly: 22
correct responses and not a single incorrect one. It is to the credit of James
in particular that he never gave up and almost stopped him from getting a
runaway but it wasn't quite enough. Ryan finished with $24,222 to James'
$11,000 and Ian's $8800. Ryan had runaway with the game but the wild card spots
were still important.
The Final Jeopardy category was
NOTABLE AMERICANS. "Known in Mexican history as the sale of the Mesilla
valley, the 30,000 square mile deal was negotiated by this U.S. diplomat."
Ian's response was revealed
first: "Who is Gadsden?" That was correct. James Gadsden negotiated
the Gadsden purchase that got us Southern Arizona and New Mexico." Ian bet
everything to put him at $17,600.
James wrote down: "who is
Gasden?", crossed it out and then wrote Gadsen?" Under the rules of
Jeopardy he was incorrect either way. To save the trouble of writing in,
normally Jeopardy accepts alternate spellings but in this case Gadsden refers
to a different individual and pronunciation that either of James responses. (I
wrote down Gadsen and I docked myself at home.) It was unfortunate and it cost
him everything.
Ryan wrote down: "Who was
Gadsden?" He bet another $1729 to finish with a nice round $25,951 and
make him an automatic semi-finalist.
And now here is the complete
record of who we will see next week, along with their record on Jeopardy:
Stella Trout, one game winner
Michelle Tsai, winner of the Week
2 Second Chance
Harvey Silkowitz, one game winner
Jonathan Hugendubler, two game
winner
Two of three Second Chance
Winners of this past postseason have qualified. Now here are the four wild card
spots:
Cameron Berry, one game winner
Bill McKinney, a three game
winner.
Vickie Talvola, a one game winner
And joining them with the highest
score of all runners up:
Ian Morrison, a one game winner.
The story continues.
Jonathan's quest to face off
against the man he dethroned against Scott Riccardi continues. Both Ryan Sharpe
and Ian Morrison will have a chance for a rematch against Paolo Pasco. Harvey
Silkowitz might well face off against Laura Faddah, who he dethroned.
Cameron will be trying to face
off Alex DeFrank who he dethroned and Josh Weikert who beat him. Vickie Talvola
will wait to see if Steven Olson who defeated him in a rout will be waiting for
her. Bill McKinney will be trying to earn the spot that so many three game
winners managed to get in ahead of him on. Stella Trout and Michelle Tsai have
no grudges anybody in their trek here which makes them the 'nice ones' in this
tournament, so to speak. (Interestingly all three female competitors in Champions
Wild Card managed to advance.)
I'll be back on Wednesday to report on the results
of the semi-finals. Anything can happen and a lot already has.
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