[The following post contains MAJOR spoilers for the Wednesday, April 23, episode of Jeopardy!]
Jeopardy! fans think the Final Jeopardy question was “badly written” and it caused a contestant to lose brutally. Reigning champion Liam Starnes returned for his fourth game and tried to get his fourth win to qualify for an upcoming Tournament of Champions.
Starnes, 20, from Barrington, Illinois, faced off against Abigail Arnold, from Waltham, Massachusetts, and Eric Cordova, from Chicago, Illinois, on Wednesday, April 23. The champion’s three-day total is $72,202. He was born the same year host Ken Jennings had first run on Jeopardy!, which made the host feel incredibly old.
Arnold, an academic administrator, dominated the first round. She answered eight out of 15 questions correctly before the first commercial break. This gave her a huge lead with $6,000, compared to Starnes, an undergraduate student, who had $1,400. Cordova, a compliance specialist, had $0 after being in the negative for most of the round.
During the interviews, Cordova shared that he attended a Bears game as a kid. When his dad stood in line for a beer, the person running the booth told them that he wanted to be in show business. Turns out that person was Bernie Mac. Arnold shared that when a friendship of hers turns 13 years old, she has a bat mitzvah to celebrate. Starnes, to no one’s surprise, shared that he was a High School Quiz Bowl National Champion at Barrington High School.
Arnold found the first Daily Double of the game and made it a True Daily Double, wagering all of her $7,800. She currently had a huge lead. The clue read, “Something broadcast by a television network, for example.” “What is a program?” she answered, unsure. Jennings told her it was a transmission. She lost all of her money and went all the way back down to $0.
This gave Starnes the lead with $2,200. By the end of the round, Starnes lead with $4,200. Cordova had $1,200. Arnold was now in third place with $400.
In Double Jeopardy, Arnold took the lead as she answered the first three questions right, which were all higher amount questions. Starnes found the first DD of the round and had the chance to surpass Arnold. Only $600 under Arnold, with $4,600, he made it a true Daily Double. The clue read, “The northernmost Summer Olympics were held in this European city in 1952.” He correctly answered, “What is Helsinki?” doubling up to $9,200.
However, Arnold gave Starnes a run for his money as she continued to correctly answer clues. About halfway through the round, she surpassed Starnes by $1,200. Starnes took back the lead and had the chance to make it a wider lead as he found the last DD of the game. He wagered $4,000 out of his $14,000. “On July 24, 1857, Henry David Thoreau and 2 others set off on Moosehead Lake in an 18-foot one of these” was the clue. “What is a canoe?” he answered correctly. This raised his total to $18,000, giving him a huge lead.
By the end of the Double Jeopardy round, Starnes was still in the lead with $18,800. Arnold was not too far behind with $14,000. Cordova sadly had $0, and was ineligible to compete in Final Jeopardy.
“20th Century History” was the category for Final Jeopardy. “A 1919 Punch cartoon titled ‘The Gap In The Bridge’ showed Uncle Sam sleeping on the missing keystone of this,” the clue read. Arnold responded incorrectly with “What is the London Bridge?” She wagered $4,801, giving her a final total of $9,199. Starnes was also incorrect with his response, “What is the Golden Gate Bridge?” The correct answer was the League of Nations. Starnes wagered $9,201, making his final total $9,599, only $400 above Arnold.
Starnes put his hands on his head and opened his mouth in shock as he realized he won. He now qualifies for an upcoming Tournament of Champions with four wins. His four-day total is $81,801. Starnes will be back on Thursday, April 24, to try and win his fifth game against two new opponents.
Reddit users felt bad for Arnold as she could have won if she either wagered differently or got her DD correct. “Happy for Liam but I really feel for Abigail here. She played one of the best games of the season and could have won here, tough wagering scenario for her. Really hope we see her back in second chance because it’s a brutal way to go out. Really liked her all in bet on DD1 though, it’s fun to see people playing aggressively,” one fan said.
“I think it should almost go without saying that Abigail should be a surefire lock for second chance with THAT performance,” wrote another.
“Abigail’s 25 correct responses prevailed over her faulty FJ wager could be merited enough to secure an invitation at the Second Chance Competition?” asked one fan.
They also criticized the final question. “IMO, that’s a badly-written FJ clue. Here’s the cartoon in question. There’s nothing in the wording to indicate that the ‘this’ is anything other than a physical bridge, and there’s also nothing even vaguely hinting at the international focus of the cartoon. (The year had me thinking about women’s suffrage and the 19th amendment, though it turns out that was in 1920). ‘This organization’ might have made it too easy, but I think something like ‘this entity’ would have made for a better clue. Or even just the word ‘representing’ would have helped,” said another Reddit user.
“She has to be a complete lock for second chance. Also that FJ was brutal,” said another.
“It was definitely a tough one for sure!” replied a fan.
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