JEOPARDY! fans are shocked the frontrunner to take home the Invitational Tournament trophy has been knocked out of the competition after blowing his lead on Thursday’s game.
Many viewers predicted trivia veteran Troy Meyer would snag the big victory and got candid about the reason they were “rooting against” him to take home the big prize.
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Troy, a music executive originally from Cleveland, Ohio, took home over $215,000 during an impressive six-day run when he first appeared on Jeopardy! in 2023.
He advanced to the Tournament of Champions where he made it all the way to the finals – but ultimately lost to Yogesh Raut.
His past success, mixed with being one of the highest-ranked players in the Online Quiz League, made fans assume he was a shoo-in to advance to the next round.
On Thursday’s game, Troy went up against Jackie Kelly, a developer from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and Raymond Goslow, a library technology consultant from Marietta, Georgia.
Troy was able to score the first Daily Double of the game – betting it all on a true DD wager.
He successfully answered – doubling his score to $5,600 and putting him in the early lead.
However, by the second break, Raymond had scored some impressive buzzer wins and was tied with his opponent with $5,600 of his own – while Jackie was in third with $400.
By the time the group headed into Double Jeopardy!, Troy and Raymond were once again tied – this time with $7,400 each.
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While Troy and Raymond continued swapping leads and keeping each other on their toes, Jackie remained in third and had $1,600 going into the second round.
However, Jackie turned the game around and moved into second place when she doubled her score on the second DD – giving her $11,200.
Troy remained in the lead with $13,000 which dropped Raymond down to third however, that didn’t last long.
Just two clues later, Raymond turned the tables once again in the nail-biting game by adding $5,000 with the third Daily Double – boosting his score to $15,600.
He continued his lead and went into Final Jeopardy! in first place with $25,200.
Jackie dropped down to third with $13,200 while Troy was in second with $19,800.
Host Ken Jennings, 50, then introduced the final category “The Southwest” as the trio of players placed their wagers.
“The 4-syllable name of this city is almost identical to its namesake town in Spain, except that the Spanish one has an extra ‘r’,” he revealed the final clue to be after the commercial break.
“What is Albuquerque?” was the correct response – which Raymond and Troy each got correctly.
Raymond ended the wild game on top with $39,601 while Troy scored second place with $27,401.
Jackie dropped back down to third and ended with $0 after missing the final clue.
Fans were shocked to see Troy lose but pointed out that his long resume on professional trivia battles such as the World Quizzing Championships gave him, what they felt, was an unfair advantage against more “regular” opponents who did not have the same experience.
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.
One viewer wrote: “I was rooting against Troy tbh not because I don’t like him as a person or anything like that. It’s mainly because people always put these trivia wizards who do exceedingly well in the World Quizzing Championships on this pedestal.
“So it makes me proud to see a regular person who just loves trivia win, and also proves that Jeopardy! is an entirely different game that requires a whole different skill set altogether. And I hope it inspires other contestants not to be scared facing a trivia titan with an international reputation.”
Another said: “Shocking as it may be to see Troy go down already in the QF’s when many people thought he was the favorite to win the whole thing, I also am kinda glad to see it.
“Not because I don’t like Troy or anything like that (if anything I still wish he won the TOC over Yogesh), but because it makes this tournament that much more interesting and the potential winner and Masters slot a LOT more of a wildcard!”
“Shocked but maybe not totally shocked. Jackie was my personal fave of the three but I was a fan of Raymond in his tournament and knew he was a strong player.
“Jaskaran is a good player too but I always remember that the reality of his tournament win was the fact that he got nearly all (or was it actually all?) of the daily doubles in the finals,” a third said.
“OMG I was expecting Troy to dominate but both Jackie and Raymond (especially Raymond) put a stop to that. I never heard of Raymond before, but holy crap he’s incredible! What a game! I’m so happy for him. I’ll be rooting for him now,” one more added.
While others tipped their hats off to Troy despite the outcome: “Troy is one of the best ever to play the game, and a legend in the trivia community as a whole. Hats off to Raymond for a huge win.
“Goes to show that when you have three excellent players, only one can win. In this case, it just came down to who found the DDs. Great play on the part of all three contestants!”
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