December
29th
Mustafa
Hameed vs Abagail Arnold vs. Keegan Olson
Two weeks into the Second Chance
Tournament we had our first runaway victory by any player. It wasn't clear it
was going to be one at first as in the Jeopardy round Mustafa and Abagail went
back and forth for the lead with Mustafa finishing with $6000 to Abagail's
$4400 and Keegan's $1000. Keegan spent much of the Jeopardy round in the red,
only went into the positive late in the round.
Abagail made her move in Double
Jeopardy when she found the first Daily Double in BIBLICAL WOMEN. She bet half
of the $8000 she had:
"By covering them with
stalks of flax, Rahab the harlot protected Joshua's spies from being discovered
in this city. She knew it was Jericho and went up to $12,000. She went on
to run the category BIBLICAL WOMEN, fitting because as Ken noted she might have
been named for a Biblical woman herself.
She got to the other Daily Double
a bit later in BOUGIE NEIGHBORHOODS. By that point she had an impressive
$21,200. It worked for the last time so she bet $4000 again and it worked just
as well:
"This upscale London
neighborhood was named for the annual spring festivities that once took place
in its streets." She knew that it was Mayfair and went up to
$25,200. She only got one more clue correct the rest of the round but it proved
enough: Mustafa and Keegan couldn't close the gap and she finished with $25,600
to Mustafa's $12,000 and Keegan's $5800. It was an impressive game with 22 correct
responses and only one incorrect one.
Final Jeopardy was an exercise but
all three players took it seriously. The category was EUROPEAN HISTORY.
"On January 20, 1649 he asked 'By what power I am called hither? It is not
long since that I was in the Isle of Wight."
Keegan's response was revealed
first: "Who is William of Orange?" That was incorrect. It cost him
everything
Mustafa's response was revealed
next. "Who is Cromwell?" (That was my guess.) He had the right idea
but he was incorrect but he lost just $300.
Finally it was up to Abagail. She
guessed: "Who is James I?" She
had the right idea; it was a king but it was Charles I. He was being summoned
for his trial that did not go well for him and led to Oliver Cromwell taking
power. It didn't cost her anything and she became the first finalist.
Abagail's original appearance as
she recounted was against Liam Starnes. And apparently in the aftermath her
being defeated she has formed a chatroom with all of those players who were
routed by him on the day of the recording. Liam has shown up but as she joked:
"We're too old for him." Abagail does herself a disservice, by the
way. She came very close to beating him in her fourth match and it was only
because she bet everything on a Daily Double in the Jeopardy round that Liam
gained an advantage she couldn't overcome – yet very nearly still beat him.
December
30, 2025
Ricky
Chandak vs. Dondi DeMarco vs Emily Johnson
Tuesday's game was far closer.
Ricky got off to an early lead in the Jeopardy round but Dondi started to make
his move halfway through. At the commercial break he was in the lead and he
held it for the rest of the round, finishing with $7200 to Ricky's $4800 and
Emily's $1400.
In Double Jeopardy Emily found the
first Daily Double in ARCHITECTURE on the second clue of the round. She'd found
the Daily Double in the Jeopardy round wagered everything and lost it. She did
the same thing again with the $2600 she had. This time it worked out better:
"Le Corbusier inspired this
crudely named 'ism' marked by exposed structures & the heavy-feeling use of
raw concrete." She knew it was "What is brutalism?" and doubled
her score to $5200. Not long after she moved into second place as Ricky got a
clue wrong. However Ricky then found the other Daily Double in MISH-MAPS. This
was a new category for Jeopardy as Ken explained: "A geographic Before
& After."
Knowing little more than this
Ricky still bet the $4000 he had:
"The capital of Haiti
relocates to a maritime province of Canada and becomes this."
He figured it out: "What is
Port-au-Prince Edward Island?" He doubled his score and moved within
striking distance of the lead. For the rest of the round it was evenly matched
between all three players but Dondi managed to come out ahead. He didn't find a
single Daily Double but he gave 20 correct responses and didn't make a single
mistake finishing with $17,200. Emily gave 17 correct responses and 2 incorrect
ones (including the first Daily Double) to finish with $13,600. Ricky who
managed eighteen correct responses and three incorrect ones finished with an
impressive $12,400.
It came down to Final Jeopardy.
The category was ANIMAL NAMES: "Those returning from a 1920s expedition to Asia popularized this
name for the buaja darat or land crocodile."
Ricky wrote down: "What is a
cayman?" That was incorrect. He lost $5000, leaving him with $7400.
Next came Emily. She wrote down:
"What is the Komodo dragon?" That was correct. Like me she knew the
Komodo dragon is found in Indonesia. She went big with $13,000 putting her ay $26,600.
It was all on Dondi. He misspelled
Komodo Dragon but since the pronunciation was the same it was still acceptable.
It came down to his wager. He bet $10,001 giving him $27,201 and making him a
finalist.
Dondi, I should mention, was
surprised to find out why he deserved a Second Chance. Apparently there were
many online Jeopardy fans who using the Jeopardy archive said Dondi was
deserving. Dondi's appearance was in what would be Andrew Hayes fifth win and
he basically led from the start of the game until the end of Double Jeopardy,
finishing with $18,400 to Andrew's $11,600. But it was Andrew who was the sole
player to come up with a correct Final Jeopardy and Dondi lost. As Ken said
Jeopardy reddit was right about him.
December
31st
Ryan
Sharpe vs Jenna Hayes vs Dan Puma
The third semi-final match may
have been effected by the fact that the Daily Doubles may have been found too
early in each round to do the most good for the players. Dan found the Daily
Double in the Jeopardy round on the third clue in U.S. PRESIDENT and could only
wager $1000:
"Calvin Coolidge was the
first & so far only President born on this date; 3 have died on it."
Dan knew it was the July 4th and went up to $1800. The rest of the
round was narrowly fought but Dan held his lead and finished with $6600 to
Jenna and Ryan's $4800 apiece.
Jenna got to select first in
Double Jeopardy and that worked to her advantage. She found the first Daily
Double on her first pick: 'L' ON EARTH. She bet $3000:
"This Himalayan city situated
at an elevation of above 12,000 feet has a name meaning "God's
Place." She knew it was Lhasa and went into the lead with $7800.
She then found the other Daily
Double on the very next clue in NONFICTION. This time she bet $3800.
"The L.A. Times said images
and ideas in this Tom Wolfe book glistened 'like a rocket screaming to the
heavens." She knew it was The Right Stuff and went up to $11,600.
Unfortunately for Jenna neither of
her opponents rolled over. By the fifth clue of the round Dan was back in the
lead, thanks to three consecutive correct responses in HAPPY NEW YEAR! MOVIE
EDITION (as well as one missed response by Jenna). Ryan and Dan then picked up
their game and all three played impressively. Jenna finished with fourteen
correct responses and four incorrect ones but because two of them were Daily
Double she finished with an impressive $12,000. Ryan got seventeen correct
responses and two incorrect ones and his last correct response put him ahead of
Jenna with $12,400. And Dan gave 24 correct responses and only two incorrect
ones to finish with $15,800. For the second straight day all three players
finished with $12,000 or more at the end of Double Jeopardy.
It came down to Final Jeopardy.
The category was MEDICAL HISTORY. "Now associated with women in labor, it
was first used by French doctors in 1901 to treat sciatica with cocaine."
Jenna's response was revealed
first. "What is an epidural?" That's correct (and a little
frightening when you think about it.) Jenna bet $3801, putting her at $15,801.
Next came Ryan. He also wrote down:
"What is an epidural?" He went
a lot bigger betting $9601, putting him at $24,001. He was clearly betting to
beat Jenna by one dollar if she wagered everything.
It came down to Dan who had a pensive
look on his face ever since Jenna's response had been revealed. And that was
because he'd written down: "What is Tylenol?" He wagered $9001 which
dropped him to $6799 and made Ryan the last finalist.
So going into the third set of
finals our competitors are. Abagail Arnold, defeated by Liam Starnes. Dondi
DeMarco, who lost to Andrew Hayes and Ryan Sharpe who came very close to defeating
Paolo Pasco in what would be his fourth win.
Obviously there will be
fascinating narratives for whoever ends up winning the finals and goes on Champions
Wild Card. But who will get that last spot? I will be back on Saturday with the
official results of the finals for Week 3 of Second Chance and the complete
roster for 2026 Champions Wild Card tournament. Happy New Year and stay tuned.
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