Some Jeopardy! viewers have been left questioning the sport’s guidelines after two contestants completed with tied scores behind the day’s winner, however one was then adjudged to have completed 2nd and the opposite third.
The surprisingly uncommon occasion occurred on the finish of the Monday, November 11 episode which featured one-day champ Rachel Marcus, a author and guide from New York Metropolis, going through Chris Spencer, a medical author from Washington, D.C., and Joey DeSena, a growth engineer from Raleigh, North Carolina. After nabbing all three Every day Doubles, DeSena stormed to a close to runaway by Remaining Jeopardy. He had $18,200, Spencer had a good $9,400, and Marcus was proper behind at $8,000.
The “nineteenth CENTURY AMERICA” Remaining Jeopardy clue was, “It prompted wealthy amusement that the identify of this President, whose spouse didn’t permit dancing, was just like that of a dance. It was a triple-stumper as nobody got here up with the proper response of “James Okay. Polk.” Ken Jennings quipped, “Polk couldn’t polka,” explaining the reply.
DeSena dropped simply $703 to win and grow to be the brand new champ with $17,497. However right here’s the place issues acquired attention-grabbing. Marcus and Spencer each almost went all in, so each have been left with $1, grinning on both aspect of him. Marcus was named 2nd place and she or he acquired a comfort prize of $3,000, and Spencer was named third place and given $2,000.
Followers took to social media, confused how the standings and comfort prizes have been determined since they completed with the identical rating, some questioning if it was as a result of Spencer was the returning champion.
“Rachel and Chris have been tied at $1. Why did Rachel win the second place prize?” one fan titled a Fb submit in a Jeopardy! fan group.
“Defending champion,” claimed one other, as a 3rd joked, “Perhaps they flipped the coin?” Others chimed in to share the longstanding rule: the placements are then primarily based on essentially the most cash earlier than Remaining Jeopardy.
“If two gamers find yourself tied for second place on Jeopardy!, the cash is set by taking a look at their scores going into the Remaining Jeopardy spherical,” a fourth consumer wrote. “The contestant with the upper rating earlier than the ultimate query will formally be awarded second place, which means they obtain the upper money prize related to that place.”
“As a result of she was forward of Chris going into FJ,” surmised a fifth.
“Alex [Trebek] talked about this rule so much throughout its first 1984-85 season,” wrote a sixth. “If two gamers are tied for second, after Remaining Jeopardy!, whomever was main on the finish of Double Jeopardy! will obtain the 2nd place prize.”
Others nonetheless weren’t glad and puzzled if the rule could possibly be lifted or amended.
“Jeopardy! couldn’t afford to offer each of them the $3,000?” requested an extra fan within the thread.
“They might pool the $3,000 and $2,000 money prizes, and provides them $2,500 every?” theorized an eighth.
“Give them what they earned,” roared one other. “The runners-up are nonetheless getting ripped off. Not truthful in any respect.”
“Fascinating,” yet another fan wrote. “To me each ought to have received $2,500 because it’s in regards to the ultimate rating not how you bought there.”
What do you assume? Ought to each gamers be given the identical comfort prize and each named runner-up on this state of affairs? Or is that this a rules-are-rules scenario? Tell us within the feedback part!
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