risk! FANS have been left in a state of disbelief after a Champions Wildcard contestant blew his entire prize pool and lost his place in the upcoming tournament.
Returning winner Adam Hirsch was the favorite to continue in the Champions Wildcard Championship, and was within reach before a risky move tarnished his comeback chances.
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In Friday's match, he faced off against Brooklyn lawyer Will Weiss, an arts program director from Islip, New York, and Marko Saric, a mathematics professor from Chapel Hill, North Carolina.
Although Marco quickly added $1,000 to his stack after finding the first Daily Double, it was Adam who gained an early lead.
Heading into the first break, the lawyer had collected $5,000 while Marco was in second place with $3,800 and Will remained in third place with $1,400.
Although Adam had quick reflexes and a slick playing style, Marco was able to find all three daily pairings – and guess correctly.
Under the $1,600 “Physical Sciences” category, host Ken Jennings read the clue: “It is the separation of waves according to their wavelength, as in a rainbow; and also what the police might want the crowd to do, i.e. scatter.”
“What is dispersion?” Marco responded correctly – adding $4,500 to his total.
Immediately afterward, he finished the Daily Doubles trip under a $1,200 guide at Total Drama.
“Characters in this 4-act play include Judge Hathorne, Giles Corey, and Tituba,” Keane read.
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“What is a crucible?” Mark answered – adding another $2,700 to his total.
Heading into Final Jeopardy!, Mark passed the lead with $24,400 – although Adam still had an impressive prize pool of $18,600.
Will remained in third place throughout the game and took home $5,400 in the final round.
Kane, 50, revealed that the final category is “historical statements” where players place their bets.
The host then revealed it as follows: “He wrote of his intention 'to retain and dispose of the first fire, and I have ideas even of retaining the second fire.'
No one has been able to accurately write “Who is Alexander Hamilton?” – Make the results of tonight’s match completely dependent on what the players bet.
After Marco was ahead, he wisely bet $0 and finished his game with $24,400 – advancing him to the semi-finals of the tournament.
Although Adam would need to rely on Marco making a mistake to win, he was in a good position to continue in the tournament by earning a wildcard spot with a pool of over $18,000.
However, he decided to invest big and bet the entire $18,600 – leaving him with just $0, crushing any chance he had of moving forward.
risk! Tournament of Champions 2025
Jeopardy's upcoming Tournament of Champions! This winter, in the middle of Season 41 (exact air date TBD) it's shaping up to be another great show. Here's who's officially eligible so far:
- Adriana Harmeier (15 wins, $349,600 total)
- Isaac Hirsch (nine wins, $215,390)
- Greg Golin (five wins, $135,002)
- Survivor alum Drew Basile (seven wins, $129,601)
- Allison Bates ($5 wins, $121,500)
- Mark Fitzpatrick (five wins, $107,201)
- Dr. Amy Hamel ($5 wins, $100,994)
- Ryan Manton (four wins, $83,179)
- Grant DeYoung (four wins, $81,203)
- Will Wallace (four wins, $79,998)
- Amar Kakirddi (four wins, $55,899)
- Lisa Ann Walter (Celebrity Jeopardy! 2024 Winner)
The prize for winning ToC is $250,000 and a coveted slot on Jeopardy! Masters.
Jeopardy.com notes: “All players winning 4 or more times starting 04/10/24 will be eligible for the future Tournament of Champions.”
“Being on this list does not guarantee an invitation to compete. Other eligibility rules apply and final selection is at the sole discretion of the producers.”
He would also bet all-in and finished tied for third place with $0.
For danger! Champions Wildcard Tournament In addition to the five winners, the top four winners who do not win the highest money total will advance to the semi-finals.
Fans were shocked by Adam's decision since he had a good chance of continuing on Jeopardy! Run before the final round.
“Why, Adam, why?!”
“Why would you bet anything, Adam, let alone everything???” One fan shouted, to which another replied: “I know. He could at least have one of the wildcard spots. His scores were high enough.”
Another agreed: “So happy to see Marco win today! However, I can't help but wonder why Adam went all out on the FJ bet.”
“I feel like a score of 18,600 almost guarantees you a wildcard spot, so going for a W at such a risk was very disconcerting. I imagine Paul was surprised to find out that his score of 8,000 was enough to move on.”
A third agreed with some strategic advice: “Adam's bet didn't make any sense at all.
“If for any reason 18,600 was still uncomfortable for Adam, I would bet 2,000 because in that case, he would probably have 20,600 at the end and it's a guaranteed wildcard spot no matter what.
“And if he got it wrong, 16800 is also a good place to get a wildcard as well.”
Another surprised viewer added: “Historically, I don't think anyone has been eliminated from a Wild Card spot with a score of 18,000, whether it was previously doubled or not.
“So I think Adam wanted to move up, but I don’t think anyone has ever had a wildcard worth more than $30,000 that I know of, and now he’s gone, unfortunately.”
Another fan looked at the winnings stats of previous players in this game and said: “It checks out….Adam's wildcard spot is guaranteed at 18.6k.”
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