Match 1
Yogesh Raut vs Juveria Zaheer vs.
Andrew He
For both Juveria and Andrew
today's match was critical. If Andrew could manage to pull out a victory he
would move into fifth place and still have a slim chance of making it into the
semi-finals. For Juveria either a win or a second place could theoretically
keep her in contention for making it to the semi-finals for the second
consecutive year. For Yogesh even a second place finish would officially lock
down his competing in the semi-finals for the third consecutive year.
The stakes couldn't have been
higher for all three Masters.
Andrew came out swinging getting an early lead in the Jeopardy round.
He was helped immensely when he found the Daily Double in THE BUSINESS WORLD early.
He bet the 2200 points he had:
Founded in 1974 and a towering
industrial presence, this national oil company says it was 'established to unlock
Malaysia's energy potential.'
Andrew responded almost
instantly: What is Patronus? After getting to 4400 points he would never
seriously be threatened for the lead the rest of the game. He finished the Jeopardy round with a big lead
with 9600 points to Juveria's 3600 and Yogesh was in third with 1600 points.
Yogesh found the first Daily
Double in CODE SWITCHING on his first pick and bet just the 1600 points he had.
(He had no idea what the category was about which is understandable.)
Code talker used in World War I
were from this Oklahoma-based 'First tribe over the trail of tears' – Navajo code
talkers came later.
Yogesh guessed: "Who are the
Cherokee?" That was my guess. It was actually the Choctaw. So he was back
at zero.
It was a bit before Yogesh found
the other Daily Double in URBAN TRADITIONS. Still in third with 2400 points again
he bet everything. It worked out better this time:
New Orleans radio station WWOZ keeps
track of these ordinal named parades put on by groups like the West Bank Steppers.
He figured it out: "What is
second line?"
Despite the massive recovery by
Yogesh he could not catch up to Andrew who finished the Jeopardy round with
18,000 points to Yogesh's 12,400 and Juveria's 11,400 in what was by far the
most thrilling game in this year's Masters so far.
It came down to Final Jeopardy as
it should. The category was COINS.
Coins minted by Constantine I in
327 had these 2 Greek letters, a monogram belonging to one other than the
ruler.
All three of them knew the correct
letters. (I didn't even have the right alphabet). What are chi and rho? Constantine
had converted the Christianity and this was the monogram of Christ. So it came down
to wagers.
Juveria went small betting 200
points, putting her at 11,600. Yogesh went big with 10001 putting him at 22,801.
And Andrew was conservative betting just 300 points which left him at 18,300
and gave Yogesh a shocking come from behind win.
Yogesh received 3 match points to
clinch his place in this year's Masters. Andrew received 1 match point. Juveria
received zero.
Interviews: Andrew talked about
the fact that Katie Nolan, who did very well on Celebrity Jeopardy not long ago,
said she was a fan of his. Andrew has since gone on her podcast. Apparently
before this game Nolan gave Andrew a pep talk which seemed to be working.
Juveria talked about all of the numerous friends she's made from every single
Jeopardy tournament she's been on in the last few years. She talked about going
to a wedding with a corgi from one competitor (asked if the corgi was her date
Juveria said "I wish!) and she showed a picture of her in an escape room
with her fellow Canadian Jeopardy champions: Mattea Roach and Ray LaLonde were
very prominent) where they apparently lost. Yogesh talked about how his UK
trivia buddies have printed out images of him that they use as an icon and
whoever gets the highest score gets to carry it around. (So Yogesh is a British
trivia status symbol now.)
Victoria Groce vs. Paolo Pasco
vs. Long Nguyen
A victory for either Paolo or
Long would essentially guarantee a place in the semi-finals. For Paolo even a second place finish would essentially
achieve the same goal while for Long there was more complicated math involved.
Victoria was sitting pretty having won three out of four games with a
guaranteed lock on the semi-finals for the third straight year.
All three players were in the red
early in the Jeopardy round. For Long it was the sign of how things were to
come, he would never finish on the positive. For Paolo he recovered quickly and
held the lead most of the way. Victoria got to the Daily Double in CIVICS. Victoria
had turned it around and had 1400 points of which she wagered everything:
This type of Latin-named law
which punishes people retroactively is prohibited in the Constitution. Victoria knew it instantly:
"What is ex post facto?" She doubled her score. She wouldn't be able
to catch up to Paolo in the Jeopardy round finishing with 3800 points to his
5200. Long was at -2000 which was actually better compared how much of Double
Jeopardy would go for him.
Victoria found the first Daily
Double in the category LATIN/ENGLISH OVERLAPS and had just gone into the lead
with 5400 points. She decided since they had no idea what the category was about
to risk just 200 points. Intelligent woman given what the clue was:
This half-man, half bull appears
in the Northern Lights.
She guessed: "What is the
Minotaur?" It was a Before and After type clue. The correct response:
"What is Minotaur-ora Borealis?" She then immediately went away from
that category which is understandable.
Victoria then retook the lead and
was at 9600 points when she found the other Daily Double in PROFESSORS. Paolo
was still at 5200 points so this time she wagered 4400. Despite knowing what
she was getting into, it went no better then the previous Daily Double:
An English Prof at Cornell, he
would grasp his own suspenders, lean forward and tell his class:' 'Rule 17:
Omit needless words.
Victoria guessed: "Who is Nabokov?"
It was one of the Elements of Style of William Strunk, Jr. Victoria was honest: "I thought about
that. Would have said White anyhow (the other co-author)
Victoria recovered and would move
into the lead after running the category FOREIGN TV. However she couldn't
completely shake Paolo. Long managed the moral victory, once as low as -4800
points he managed to get the last three
clues in DEATH IN VENICE correct to finish at zero. Paolo had 9600 points to
Victoria's 18,000 points. Long would not be around for Final Jeopardy.
When he saw the Final Jeopardy
category ITALIAN OPERA Paolo couldn't keep a poker face. It didn't go his way
but he was in good shape regardless.
In the first scene of this opera
the title character is mentioned as he 'whose song rises at night from the gardens.
Paolo wrote down: "Who is Don
Giovanni?" That was incorrect he lost everything but a dollar.
Victoria wrote down nothing. (Not
even saying hi to Nora) She lost just 401 finishing in first.
The correct response was Il Trovatore
which translated to "The troubadour'. I am embarrassed that as someone
who has grown up adjacent to opera of all types I wrote down Pagliacci. I take
solace in the fact neither Master knew it.
Interviews: Long mentioned how
big a fan his mother was of him and told a story about how she called and said:
"I turned on the show. You weren't there." So then he had to explain
how TV worked to her. Paolo told a story of a pre-game ritual involving a
figure from the competitive eating circuit named Badlands Chugs. He and his girlfriend
are fans and apparently she got him a Cameo of how Paolo is participating in a
'trivia competition that's coming up'' and Paolo always watches is before every
tape day. (Well its been working out for him so far.) Victoria told a story
about how when her daughter Nora was younger one of her classmates said she had
a picture of Victoria with the President. Victoria was baffled and then she
explained: "That's not the President. That's Alex Trebek." Which
honestly given the history of America in the 21st century is probably
better than having a picture with most Presidents or political figures in
general.
LEADERBOARD AFTER SEPTEMBER 1ST
VICTORIA GROCE – 12 MATCH POINTS
(CLINCHED)
YOGESH RAUT – 11 MATCH POINTS
(CLINCHED)
PAOLO PASCO – 7 MATCH POINTS (CLINCHED)
LONG NGUYEN – 5 MATCH POINTS
JUVERIA ZAHEER – 3 MATCH POINTS
ANDREW HE – 2 MATCH POINTS
With one game left the race for
that final spot in the quarterfinals is wide open with a chance for Long,
Juveria and Andrew all to clinch it. A win for Long guarantees it. For Juveria
she has to win and in whatever game he plays in Long must finish third. For Andrew
it’s the toughest: he has to win, Juveria has to finish no higher then second
in whichever match she plays in, Long has to finish last and he must still hope
for the tiebreaker to work for him.
It will all come down to tomorrow's
game where anything can and often does happen. I'll be back Thursday morning
with the official results.
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