[Warning: The following contains MAJOR spoilers for the Monday, February 9, episode of Jeopardy!]
Someone warn Lisa Ann Walter! Fan-favorite Jeopardy! contestant Drew Goins returned for the Jeopardy! Invitational Tournament on Monday, February 9. Did he win or did someone else beat him out?
Goins, a journalist from Washington, D.C., played against T.L. Cubbage, a lawyer from Dallas, Texas, and Liz Feltner, a law student from Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Goins first appeared on the game show in September 2024. He lost his game, but got to come back for the Second Chance Tournament that year, where he won and advanced to Champions Wildcard. In CW, Goins got second runner-up and advanced to the TOC after Walter dropped out. He lost his semifinal TOC game.
Cubbage won the College Championship and the TOC that year. He lost Super Jeopardy!, The Ultimate Tournament of Champions and the Battle of the Decades. Feltner finished third in the 2022 National College Championship.
The JIT is an invitation-only tournament, where contestants can choose if they want to compete or not. They are typically pulled from previous years’ Masters, TOCs, and other champions. The winner of the JIT takes home $150,000 and will advance to this year’s Jeopardy! Masters, which has not yet set a date.
After six quarterfinal games, the winners and three Wildcard players will face off in the semifinals, and then eventually the finals, where the first player to reach two wins becomes the champion.
Goins found the Daily Double on clue 11. He wagered all of his $3,000 in “From Samuel Johnson’s 1755 Dictionary.” The clue read, “Self-effacing Sam defined this, his occupation at the time, as ‘a harmless drudge, that busies himself in tracing’ words.”
“What is a scribe?” Goins answered.
“Sorry, no,” host Ken Jennings said. “Because he was working on a dictionary, he was a lexicographer.” The contestant dropped down to $0. Feltner led with $2,200 by the first 15 clues.
Although Goins came a long way from his $0 amount, it wasn’t enough to take first place after the first round. Feltner took that spot with $4,800. Cubbage had $3,600. Goins was in last place with $2,800.
In Double Jeopardy, Cubbage found the first DD on clue two. He wagered $3,000 out of $5,200. In “8-Letter U.S. Cities,” the clue was “After Jackson, this city well to the southeast is Mississippi’s largest.”
“What is Hartford?” he answered incorrectly. The correct response was Gulfport. Cubbage dropped down to $2,200 and third place.
The rest of the round, until the second DD was found on clue 19, was an even playing field between the three contestants. Feltner found the second DD.
She wagered $3,000 from her $9,200. In “Scientific Minds,” the clue read, “Scientists in Brno dug up the remains of this local hero around the bicentennial of his birth & analyzed his genetic code.”
Feltner didn’t answer until Jennings prompted her. “Who is the… Uchi?” The correct response was Gregor Mendel, so she dropped down to $6,200.
Although Feltner got one right and one wrong for the rest of the round, she maintained the lead by the end with $6,200. Cubbage had $5,400. Goins was in third place with $5,200.
The category for Final Jeopardy was “20th Century Literary Names.” The clue was “In 1950, he won a Tony for best play & 18 years after his 1965 death, he would go on to win 2 Tonys for a musical.” All three of the contestants got it wrong. The correct response was T.S. Eliot. It was anybody’s game at this point.
Goins responded with “Who is Miller?” He wagered $3,600, ending with $1,600. Cubbage wrote, “Who is Capote?” He wagered $5,399, leaving him with $1. Feltner’s response was “Who is Hudson?” She wagered $4,601, leaving her with $1,599.
Since Goins was $1 above her, he advanced to the semifinals. He will join Roger Craig and Matt Amodio, who won their quarterfinal games.
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