We saw a lot of remarkable things happen in the quarterfinals of this year's Invitational and that has led us to the semifinals. Three previous participants in the Jeopardy Masters are competing, along with a former Jeopardy All-Star and two winners of the Jeopardy Second Chance Tournament.
The impossible has already had
happened for two of the semi-finalists: Alison Betts and Drew Goins. So let's
see how the semi-finals played out.
February
13th
Roger
Craig vs Jen Giles vs Drew Basile
For Jen her moment in the sun came
early in the Jeopardy round when she found the Daily Double on the second clue
in SONG & BOOK: SAME TITLE. The only one with money, she bet the $1000 she
had:
Don Henley looks back at an old
relationship; Roger Kahn looks back at the baseball players of the 1950s.
She figured it out: "What is The
Boys of Summer?" She doubled to $2000. She would only get one more
correct response the rest of the round. But because Roger got into a big
deficit early (at one point he was at -$2000) she would be in second for the
entirety of the round. Drew finished in
the lead with $6000 to her $2400 while Roger had half her total.
Roger then found the first Daily
Double on the second clue of Double Jeopardy in A SCIENCE BRIEF. He already had
$3200 and because as he said: "I am a scientist", he bet it all:
The Cassini-Huygens mission found
rippling sand dunes and liquid seas on this moon.
He figured it out: "What is
Titan?" With that he went to $6400 and moved into the lead for the first
time.
Not long after Drew found the other
Daily Double in WRITERS. In second with $5600 and well aware of who he was
playing, he bet everything as well:
Dickens saluted this writer as 'my
dear sir' but also expressed doubt that it was actually a man behind the name
(it wasn't).
Drew figured it out: "Who is
George Eliot?" He moved up to $11,200 and the battle was well and truly
joined.
Roger moved back into the lead a bit
later but it was not a picnic. Both Roger and Drew each gave 20 correct
responses and each got a Daily Double correct. Roger gave four incorrect
responses; Drew gave 2. But all of Roger's were in the Jeopardy round and that
was enough for him to finish with a slight lead: $18,400 to Drew's $14,000. Jen
loomed as a spoiler with $4800.
It came down to Final Jeopardy. The
category was SAINTS. Mentioned several times in a 1699 play, this patron
saint of cobblers had a feast day that coincided with the Battle of Agincourt.
Jen's response was revealed first.
"Who is Saint Swithin?" Not a bad guess but wrong. It cost her $425,
leaving her with $4025.
Next came Drew. He wrote down:
"Who is Crispin?" And that was the correct saint. The play in
question was Henry V and the St. Crispin's speech is one of
Shakespeare's best. He wagered nothing, no doubt trying to keep ahead of Jen in
case he got it wrong.
It was all on Roger. He wrote down:
"Who is St. Crispin?" His wager of $9601 meant that even if Drew had
bet everything Roger still would have won by $1. The former Master beat the
Survivor and fellow All-Star as Roger returned to the finals for the second
straight year.
February
16th
Matt
Amodio vs Andrew He vs Alison Betts
In the first Invitational Tournament
there were complaints about how in the quarter-finals or semi-finals had any of
the three former Masters facing off. They couldn't make that argument for this
semi-final as two former Masters were facing off against each other with Alison
standing against them. A tough battle but she'd survived one already.
Alison's best chance came when she
found the Daily Double in the Jeopardy round on the second clue in IN A 'B'
COUNTRY. She bet the $1000 she had:
Cricket is the national sport of the
Caribbean nation & Anglicanism is the predominant religion. She thought and guessed: "What
is the Bahamas?" She should have gone with her other choice Barbados.
From that point on Andrew and Matt
went back and forth. Andrew got a big lead early and finished the Jeopardy
round with $8400 to Matt's $3800 and Alison's $1400.
Matt got the first two clues of Double
Jeopardy correct and found the first Daily Double in PLAYS & PLAYWRIGHTS.
He bet the $6200 he had:
Set in a fictional town in the South,
this 1955 courtroom drama was based on the Scopes trial; a film would follow. They weren't going to stump him on Inherit
The Wind and he took the lead for the first time.
Andrew struck next when he found the
other Daily Double in TAKE YOUR MARBLE. With $11,600 he bet $6000:
After some effort, 'The Brutalist'
director Brady Corbet got to film in the quarries of this Italian marble mecca.
Andrew had no idea and guessed:
"What are the Dolomites?" It was actually Carrara. But he'd wisely
held some back and had $5600 left.
As you'd expect it was a close match.
Matt gave 17 correct responses and only one incorrect one; Andrew gave 22 and 3
incorrect ones. Alison had 7 only 1 incorrect one. (There were quite a few
triple stumpers particularly in STATE CAPITAL ENTERTAINMENT?) Matt finished in
the lead with $19,200, Andrew was next with $13,600 and Alison was in third and
had $2600.
It came down to Final Jeopardy. The
category was MEN OF RELIGION. A 1660 book quoted Mary, Queen of Scots as
saying she feared this man's prayers more than an army of men.
Alison's response was revealed
first. "These guys probably won't
bet it all." As Ken pointed out, "That's probably true this time,
Alison." She bet nothing.
Next was Andrew who took a
philosophical approach: "Who else thinks the best season of Jeopardy was…?
When Ken asked, it made sense when you considered the wager: $38. "That
was your season, Andrew," Ken asked. "Yeah and Matt's. (Also Amy
Schneider, Mattea Roach and Sam Buttrey; it was a very good season.)
Matt tried to take it seriously.
"Who is James I?" But that was incorrect. Ken said: Mary Queen of
Scots as a Catholic feared John Knox, leader of the Scottish reformation. So it
came down his wager. Matt bet $8001, leaving him with $11,199 and Andrew He
comes from behind to return to the JIT Finals for the second time in three years.
(He also assures us that whoever wins the JIT Finals will be different for the
third consecutive year.)
For the record I wrote down Who is
Knox, crossed it out, wrote down Calvin, crossed that out and went back
to John Knox. So I was right but I
really wasn't sure of it.
February
17th
Long
Nguyen vs Karen Farrell vs Drew Goins
This was the closest game of the
tournament so far. Karen started strong when she found the Daily Double in the
Jeopardy round on the second clue in POEM ADD A LETTER. With just $800 she
wagered the $1000 she could:
Keats looks back on an unfortunate day
as a line cook in Athens when his hand blistered after touching a hot gyro
plate.
She figured out the category:
"What is Ode on a Grecian Burn?" She went up to $1800. But not long after
that Drew ran the category WORDS WITH A SILENT LETTER and the battle was
joined.
At the end of the Jeopardy round Long
had $5600, Drew had $4600 and Karen was in third with $3600.
Long got off to a great start in
Double Jeopardy when he found the first Daily Double on the second clue of the
round in MAPS & GLOBES. He bet the $7200 he had:
Lines of latitude are also called
these, from their geometric layout; you're just about standing on the 34th.
He knew it was a
parallel and was at $14,400.
Then he found the other Daily Double
in OPERA on the very next clue and had a chance to put it away early. This time
he was more cautious and bet $5000. It was good he did:
Maidens guard the title object of this
opera, the first of the 'Ring' cycle. He
guessed the entire opera: "What is the ring of the Nibelung?" It was
actually Das Rheingold. He dropped to $9400 and gave Drew and Karen a chance
to catch up.
It was a close game all the way. Long gave
20 correct answers but four incorrect ones to finish with $15,800. Drew gave 18 correct answers and 3 incorrect
ones to finish with $12,200. Karen rang in with 12 correct answers and not a
single mistake to finish with $10,000 even. It was anybody's game going into
Final Jeopardy.
The category was WRITERS. The winner of 3 Pulitzer Prizes in 2
different categories, he called his home in Connecticut "The House the
Bridge Built."
Karen's response was revealed first.
She couldn't come up with anything. But she bet nothing leaving her at $10,000.
Drew was next. He wrote down: "Who
is Agee?" It was not James Agee. He went big, wagering $12,197.
Finally it came to Long. He wrote
down: "Who is Wilder?" And that was correct. It referred to Thorton
Wilder who won Pulitzers for the plays Our Town and The Skin of Our
Teeth and for the novel The Bridge of San Luis Rey. Long had become
the last finalist. He bet $5001 which means he was hoping to be left with
enough if he was wrong and Karen had wagered nothing. Either way, his strategy
made him the winner.
For the record I thought it was Steinbeck. Right idea, not enough Pultizers.
So Roger Craig, Andrew He and Long Nguyen will face off in the finals which start tomorrow. It should be exciting to watch and I'll be back whenever it ends
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