[Warning: The following contains MAJOR spoilers for the Tuesday, February 17, episode of Jeopardy!]
That was a close one! The third finalist in the Jeopardy! Invitational Tournament has been set after the three contestants had a close game.
Drew Goins, from Washington D.C., played against Karen Farrell, from Chesapeake, Virginia, and Long Nguyen, from Las Vegas, Nevada, on February 17. The finals begin on Wednesday, February 18. Whoever is the first finalist to win two games becomes the champion and takes home $150,000. They also get the chance to compete in the upcoming Jeopardy! Masters, which has not yet set a date.
Farrell, a professional lecturer of international affairs, found the Daily Double on clue two. She had $800, but wagered the allotted $1,000 in “Pem Add a Letter.” The clue read, “Keats looks back on an unfortunate day as a line cook in Athens when his hand blistered after touching a hot gyro plate.” “What is Ode on a Grecian Burn?” she answered correctly, giving her $1,800.
Goins, a journalist, took the lead when he ran “Words With a Silent Letter.” He had $3,000 by the first 15 clues.
However, Nguyen took the lead by the end of the round with $5,600. Goins had $4,600. Farrell was in third place with $3,600.
In Double Jeopardy, Nguyen found the first DD on clue two. He wagered all of his $7,200 in “Maps & Globes.” The clue was “Lines of latitude are also called these, from their geometric layout; you’re just about standing on the 34th.” “What are parallels?” he answered correctly. This gave him a big lead with $14,400.
He found the last DD on the next clue. He went small this time and only wagered $5,000. In “Opera,” the clue read, “Maidens guard the title object of this opera, the first of the ‘Ring’ cycle.”
“What is The Ring of the Nibelung?” he answered incorrectly. The correct response was Das Rheingold. Nguyen dropped down to $9,400.
This gave a closer lead to Goins, who had $4,600. About halfway through the round, he tied with Nguyen at $12,200. However, he dropped down to $11,400 on the next clue because he forgot to say “What is?” in his response.
Nguyen had the lead by the end of the round, but not by much with $15,800. Goins had $12,200. Farrell was in third place with $10,000.
The category for Final Jeopardy was “Writers.” “The winner of 3 Pulitzer Prizes in 2 different categories, he called his home in Conn. “the house the bridge built” was the clue.
Only one of the game show contestants got it right. Farrell wrote “Who is ??” She wagered $0, ending with $10,000. Goins, despite being a writer himself, got it wrong when he wrote, “Who is Agee?” He wagered $12,197, leaving him with $3. Nguyen had the correct response of “Thornton Wilder?” He wagered $5,001, making his total $20,801.
Nguyen advanced to the finals, along with Roger Craig and Andrew He. The first finals game will play out tomorrow and last until one of the men wins two games.
Reddit fans were glad the game wasn’t a runaway. “This was a solid game! Congrats to Long for making the finals!!” one wrote.
“All three finalists played the best game, good to see after the JIT when so many winners were determined by simply being lucky enough to NOT find DDs,” another commented.
“Well, obviously 3 DDs across 5 picks is still really fast. But in non-Tournament J! I’ve seen people that are way too eager to go for top row clues when DD hunting is kinda a big deal in the game,”a third wrote.
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