Jeopardy! champion doubles his fortune in ‘legendary’ come-from-behind victory

JEOPARDY! fans are in disbelief after today’s episode showcased the ‘best game ever’ with a nail-biting come-from-behind victory. 

Tuesday’s Champions Wildcards Tournament semi-finals featured a “legendary” Final Jeopardy! round with a risky wager that changed the game and resulted in one of the highest score totals in years. 

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Hoping to advance to the Champions Wildcards finals and eventually, clinching a position in the coveted Tournament of Champions, three players returned to extend their resumes. 

Will Yancey, a lecturer of history from Banquete, Texas went up against Jay Fisher, a government relations manager from Lisle, Illinois and Evan Dorey, a data analytics director from Toronto, Canada. 

Evan and Will, despite losing $1,000 on the first Daily Double, had an early lead by the Double Jeopardy! round. 

In the lead was Evan with $7,800 while Will was within striking distance with $5,200.

Jay was still in the red with negative $400 going into the second round.

Host Ken Jennings, 50, then revealed the categories for the Double Jeopardy! round: 1925, BEFORE & AFTER, THE BIBLE, SCI-FI ACRONYMS & ABBREVIATIONS, SOME WEAR…, “B” ON THE SEA.

Will made a courageous wager when he found the second Daily Double under the category The Bible. 

“In the NT we learn Peter’s brother Andrew, who also became an apostle, had previously been a disciple of this religious figure,” the clue revealed. 

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Will accurately guessed “Who is John the Baptist?” – adding $10,000 to his score as he continued to run the entire category. 

The big move forced the other players to also increase their risk with their wagers – and that’s exactly what Evan did when he found the third Daily Double. 

Under the category “‘B’ ON THE SEA,” Ken read: “The name of this small Middle Eastern kingdom means “the 2 seas” in Arabic.”

Evan accurately guessed “What is Bahrain?” on a true Daily Double – adding a whopping $13,400 to his total.

The totals heading into Final Jeopardy! were higher than most game-ending totals throughout the season. 

Evan secured the lead going into the last round with $32,400 while Will was close behind with $26,000. 

Jay made up his debt to remain in third with $2,800. 

Heading into the last round, all Will would need to do to secure the win is add $6,401 to his score – assuming Evan missed the clue and bet $0. 

ALL OR NOTHING

The more conservative move would especially have made sense as, with the tournament setup, the player doesn’t earn more money to take home after each game the way they would in the regular season.

During the tournament, they just get to move onto the finals and do not pocket the earnings after each game.

However, at this stage in the tournament, the contestants came to play and risked it all. 

Under the category “Mythology”, the clue was: “Some myths say the treasure of the Nibelung was hidden under a promontory called this, on the Rhine near St. Goarshausen.”

“What is Lorelei Rock?” was the correct answer – which only Will wrote down. 

Jeopardy! Set Secrets

Jeopardy! fans don’t see everything behind the scenes from watching on TV. These hidden set features make the show run smoothly:

• Each podium has a hidden riser so that all contestants appear to be the same height.
• After each clue is read, signal lights go off around the game board, indicating players can buzz in and respond.
• Buzz in too early, and you’re locked out for .25 seconds.
• The podiums have a small white light in the lower left corner, which tells Ken Jennings who goes next.
• Contrary to popular belief, the player with control doesn’t have a buzzer advantage on the next clue.
• To the game board’s left is a scoreboard so the players can see their opponents’ scores.
• All contestants must bring three outfits to the studio, but only the host and returning champion change for the next episode.
• There are wardrobe rules, including restrictions on busy patterns, solid white, purple (like the background), and logos.
• Five episodes are taped in a single day, and sometimes more.
• The categories, players (aside from the returning champion), and Final Jeopardy! for a tape day are all drawn randomly to ensure fairness.
• Female contestants are asked not to wear makeup, which is applied backstage, and don’t wear mascara because of sweat.
• Contestants fill out a questionnaire, and producers select five Q&A topics for the host.
• Host Ken isn’t allowed to interact with the contestants until after the game.
• Players can request to sit in a chair while competing without question.

Will bet every dollar he had, doubling his score and ending the game with a whopping $52,000. 

After a strong performance, Evan placed second with $12,400 while Jay ended with $2,800. 

Fans were in disbelief over the incredible gameplay today, with one saying: “This game was every single thing that’s right about Jeopardy.”

Past winner Joey DeSena exclaimed: “This. Game. Literally one of the best games of Jeopardy I’ve ever seen in my life, and it was a privilege to watch from the audience. Will Weiss and I were sitting together and losing our minds at the high level of play involved here. Hearty congrats to Evan, Jay, and Will – great guys, all. Enjoy!”

“This was an insane game. I can only imagine how fantastic the CWC finals are gonna be especially with those DD wagers,” another said – to which another fan answered: “Victoria Groce scored 52,001 on 4/8/2024, almost 10 months ago.”

“Wow, What a game! Gutsy move by both betting it all in Double Jeopardy,” another exclaimed. 

“Epic gameplay from Evan, Jay, and Will,” another said while one more added: “This tournament has been wildly entertaining to watch, mainly because everyone on stage is having fun! I always love seeing the contestant’s personalities shine since it makes any game that much better. Great game Will, Evan, & Jay!”

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