After coming off a 31-day high from Jamie Ding, Jeopardy! fans were begging for more great games. Luckily, they got one on May 4 as all three competitors put up a heck of a fight until the final clue.
Stephanie Perkins, from St. Louis, Missouri, came into the game with a one-day total of $16,600. Did the math teacher get her second win, or was she outsmarted?
On Monday, Perkins played against Matt Davis, from Arlington, Virginia, and Madeline Kaplan, from Toledo, Ohio. Warning: Spoilers for the May 4 episode of Jeopardy! ahead.
The reigning champion was in the negatives by the first 15 clues. Davis, a banker, had the lead of $4,000.
Perkins had $0 in her bank when she found the Daily Double on clue 19. She wagered the allotted $1,000 in “Triple Meanings.” The clue read, “Deep part of a waterway, a means of access, concentrate your energies into something.”
“What is channel?” she answered correctly. Perkins had $1,000 to her total.
Perkins ran the category of “Triple Meanings,” giving her $3,200. She was still in third place, but by a smaller margin.
“You ran all five of those,” host Ken Jennings said. “Nice job. Close game.”
Perkins moved into second place by the end of the round with $4,600. Davis had $6,400. Kaplan, an editor, was in third place with $3,200.
Kaplan found the first DD on clue three in Double Jeopardy. She was in second place now with $4,800 and wagered all of her money.
In “Name Your Daughter From the U.S. Map,” the clue read, “Greek heritage? How about this, the capital of a West Coast state.”
“What is Olympia?” she answered correctly. Kaplan moved into first place with $9,600.
She then found the last DD on clue four. This time, Kaplan wagered $7,000 in “Eponyms.” The clue was “His name now means a prolific lover & seducer, but he kept his pants on when he talked about balloon technology with Ben Franklin.”
“Who is Casanova?” Kaplan answered. She was right, so she moved up to $16,600.
After that, she got a $400 clue wrong and dropped down to $16,200. Perkins and Davis then dominated the competition, going back and forth answering clues.
Kaplan ended with $18,200. David was in second place with $15,600. Perkins had $12,600.
“Three great scores today, but Madeline is clinging to the lead as we move to Final Jeopardy,” Jennings said.
“Famous Lists” was the category for FJ. The clue was “A famous list of this many items is found on the 1972 comedy album Class Clown.”
Two of the game show contestants had the correct response.
Perkins answered, “What is 7?” which was right. She wagered $6,000, ending her with $18,600. Davis responded, “What are 9?” He was wrong. After wagering all of his money, David dropped down to $0. Kaplan had the correct response. She wagered $13,500, which made her final total $31,700.
This ended Perkins’ reign. Kaplan will return on Tuesday for her second game.
Reddit users couldn’t believe how good the game was. “Loved this game. Love an even competition between three smart, equally fast on the buzzer people,” one said.
“Great game!” said another.
“Still miss Jamie, but today’s game was great,” added a third.
“This game had all the qualities I look for in an excellent game of Jeopardy – three likable contestants, good interviews, significant comebacks, large correct daily double wagers, and relatively even scores going into the final. More, please!” another said.
Jeopardy!, weekdays, check local listings, stream next day on Hulu and Peacock
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