risk! Fans couldn't believe it after today's episode showcased the 'Best Game Ever' with a stunning come-from-behind victory.
Tuesday's Champions Wildcards semifinals featured the “legendary” Final Jeopardy! A risky betting round changed the game and led to one of the highest point totals in years.
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Hoping to advance to the Champions Wildcards Finals and, ultimately, earn a spot in the coveted Champions Tournament, three players are back to extend their resumes.
He faced off against Will Yancey, a history lecturer from Banquet, Texas, Jay Fisher, a government relations manager from Lisle, Illinois, and Evan Dorey, a data analytics manager from Toronto, Canada.
Evan and Will, despite losing $1,000 on their first game of Daily Double, had an early lead by Double Jeopardy! circular.
In front was Evan with $7,800 while Will was close behind with $5,200.
Jay was still in the red with minus $400 going into the second round.
Then host Ken Jennings, 50, revealed the Double Jeopardy! Tour: 1925, before and after, the Bible, science fiction abbreviations and abbreviations, some clothes…, “B” by the sea.
Will made a brave bet when he found the Second Daily Double under the Bible category.
“We learn in the New Testament that Andrew, Peter’s brother, who also became an apostle, was once a disciple of this religious figure,” the guide revealed.
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He will accurately guess “Who is John the Baptist?” – Adding $10,000 to his score while still managing the entire category.
This big move also forced other players to increase their risk with their bets – and that's exactly what Ivan did when he found his third daily double.
Under the B category on the sea, Ken read: “The name of this small Middle Eastern kingdom means ‘Bahrain’ in Arabic.”
Ivan guessed accurately, “What is Bahrain?” On the real Daily Double – adding a whopping $13,400 to his total balance.
Totals trending into Final Jeopardy! It was higher than most end-game totals all season.
Evan took the lead in the final round with $32,400 while Will was trailing with $26,000.
Jay paid off his debt to remain in third place with $2,800.
Heading into the final round, all Will will need to do to secure victory is add $6,401 to his score – assuming Evan misses the clue and bet $0.
All or nothing
A more conservative move would have made particular sense, because with a tournament setup, a player doesn't earn more money to take home after each game the way he does in the regular season.
During the tournament, they only have to move on to the finals and do not receive the winnings after each match.
However, at this stage of the tournament, the contestants came to play and risked everything.
Under the “Legends” category, the clue was: “Some legends say that the Nibelung Treasure was hidden under a promontory called this, on the Rhine near St. Goarhausen.”
“What is Lorelei Rock?” It was the correct answer – written by Will alone.
risk! Set secrets
risk! Fans don't see everything behind the scenes by watching on TV. These hidden group features make viewing seamless:
- Each platform has a hidden lever so that all contestants appear to be the same height.
- After each clue is read, signal lights around the game board go off, indicating that players can participate and respond.
- Enter too early, and you'll be locked out for 0.25 seconds.
- The podiums have a small white light in the lower left corner that tells Ken Jennings who to follow.
- Contrary to popular belief, the player controlling the game does not have the bell feature in the following clue.
- To the left of the game board is a scoreboard so players can see their opponents' scores.
- All contestants must bring three costumes to the studio, but only the host and the returning hero change for the next episode.
- There are wardrobe rules, including restrictions on busy patterns, solid whites, purple (as the background), and logos.
- Five episodes are recorded in one day, sometimes more.
- Categories, Players (excluding returning champion), Final Jeopardy! For Ribbon Day they are all drawn randomly to ensure fairness.
- Contestants are asked not to wear makeup that is applied backstage, and not to wear mascara because of sweat.
- Contestants fill out a questionnaire, and producers choose five Q&A topics for the host.
- Host Ken is not allowed to interact with the contestants until after the match is over.
- Players can request to sit on a chair during competition without any questions.
He will bet every dollar he has, double his points and finish the game with a whopping $52,000.
After a strong performance, Evan took second place with $12,400 while Jay finished with $2,800.
Fans couldn't believe the incredible gameplay today, with one saying: “This game was everything that's right about Jeopardy.”
“This is literally one of the best games of Jeopardy I've ever seen, and it was an honor to watch from the audience,” exclaimed former winner Joey DeSena. Will Weiss and I would sit together and lose our minds at the high level of play here. Heartfelt congratulations to Evan, Jay and Will – Great guys everyone! Enjoy!
“That was a crazy game. “I can only imagine how cool the CWC finals are going to be especially with those DD bets,” said another – to which another fan replied: “Victoria Gross scored 52001 on 4/8/2024, almost 10 months ago.”
“Wow, what a game! Bold move by betting everything on Double Jeopardy,” another raved.
“Epic gameplay from Evan, Jay and Will,” said another, while another added: “This tournament was so much fun to watch, mainly because everyone on stage is having fun! I always love seeing the contestant's personalities shine through as it makes any game that much better. Great game Will, Evan and Jay!
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