[Warning: The following post contains MAJOR spoilers for the Friday, October 3, episode of Jeopardy!]
A freak event happened on Jeopardy! as the game show contestants all wagered the same amount on Final Jeopardy. Only one contestant answered it correctly, so it all came down to the wagers.
TJ Fisher, from San Francisco, California, returned for his second game on Friday, October 3. He has a one-day total of $15,089. In his second game, Fisher faced off against Roberto Carabeo, from New York, New York, and Ellie Baker, from Louisville, Kentucky.
Fisher, a marketing specialist, took a big lead when he answered five clues correctly before finding the Daily Double on clue nine. With $2,800, he wagered $500 in “The Elements.” The clue read, “Oak Ridge National Laboratory predictably has a webpage for this superheavy element, no. 117 on the periodic table.” “What is uranium?” he answered incorrectly, dropping down to $2,300. The correct response was tennessine. Fisher still kept the lead despite the wrong answer.
He answered three of the last six questions correctly, giving him $3,300 by the commercial break. Fisher maintained the lead throughout the rest of the round and ended with $8,100. Carabeo, an environmental designer, had $1,200. Baker, a lawyer, was in third place with $800.
In Double Jeopardy, Baker moved into second place by answering the first two questions correctly after Carabeo answered one wrong. She also found the first Daily Double on clue three. With $3,600 in her bank, she wagered $2,000. In “Gods & Goddesses,” the clue read, “The protector deity of Alexandria was Serapis, an amalgam, as his name suggests, of this ruler of the dead & Apis.”
She hesitated before host Ken Jennings prompted her to answer. “Who is Osiris?” Baker answered. She was right, moving up to $5,600, creating a narrower gap for first place.
As the round continued, Baker took the lead by $300. Fisher found the second DD on clue nine and tried to take back his lead. He decided to wager $4,500 out of his $8,900. In “Safe Words,” the clue was ” A word meaning safely isolated, it’s the title of Catherine Coldstream’s memoir about her ‘Years as a Nun.’” “What is cloistered?” Fisher answered correctly, taking back the lead with $13,400.
Fisher had a runaway game with $23,800 by the end of the round. Baker was in second place with $10,000. Carabeo had $800.
The category for Final Jeopardy was “Groundbreaking Drama.” The clue read, “Act I of this 1879 play opens in a room with ‘a small sofa’, ‘a small table’ & ‘a cabinet with china and other small objects.’” The correct response was “What is A Doll’s House?” which only one of the contestants got right.
Carabeo had the right response and wagered $0, giving him $800. Baker answered, “What is The Glass Menagerie?” which was wrong, but she didn’t lose any money because she also wagered $0, leaving her with $10,000. The reigning champion answered, “What is Uncle Vanya?” He wagered $0, leaving him with $23,800. He was the first two-day champion in about a week. Fisher will return for game three on Monday.
“No one wanted to wager a thing, and that means TJ Fisher is a two-day champion with $38,889,” Ken Jennings said.
According to The Jeopardy Fan, this is the first time in regular play that all three contestants have wagered $0.
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