‘Jeopardy!’: Jamie Ding Hits Big Trouble — Did He Survive Final Jeopardy?

On April 21, Ding played against Max Ernst, from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and Lydia Sekscenski, from Wallingford, Connecticut. Warning: Spoilers for the April 21 episode of Jeopardy! ahead.

By the first 15 clues, Ding was in the lead, but not by much, with $4,800. Sekscenski, a sales consultant, had $3,000. Ernst, a software engineer, was in third place with $2,000.

Ding found the Daily Double on clue 21. He had $6,600 and wagered $3,200. In “From Fluff to Gesundheit,” the clue read, “A musical composition, or a state of activity without full awareness.”

“What is a fugue?” he answered correctly. This gave him a wider lead of $9,800.

He ended the round with $10,800. Ernst had $3,200. Sekscenski was in third place with $3,000.

In Double Jeopardy, Sekscenski found the first DD on clue seven. She was in second place with $6,200 and wagered $3,400.

The clue in “The Tale End” read: “Near the end of a 1947 tale from this author, we learn that ‘the plague bacillus never dies or disappears for good.'”

“Who is Sinclair?” she answered incorrectly. The correct response was Albert Camus. Sekscenski dropped down to third place with $2,800.

By the time she found the second DD on clue 16, Sekscenski had $800. She wagered the maximum of $2,000.

The “Bio 201” clue was “Chapters in a bio of this president include ‘The Heat in the Kitchen’ & ‘The Moon, the Stars, and All the Planets.'”

“Who is Jefferson?” Sekscenski answered incorrectly once again. The correct response was Harry Truman, so she dropped to -$1,200.

Ding ended the round in the lead with $17,600. Ernst had $10,800. Sekscenski was in third place with $400.

The category for Final Jeopardy was “18th Century Works.” The clue was “Ironically, it was the mayor of Strasbourg, a victim of the guillotine, who requested the composition of this.” The correct response was La Marseillaise, which all three game show contestants wrote.

Sekscenski, however, began her response with “Le,” but it was still accepted. It didn’t matter, though, since she wagered $0 and ended with $400.

Ernst wagered $9,000, ending him with $19,800. This put him in the lead before Ding’s final wager. Ding wagered $4,001, making his final total $21,601.

Ding’s 28-day total was $774,601. He jumped two spots and is in eighth place on the Highest-Winnings of All-Time Including Tournaments. Victoria Groce is slightly behind him with $772,801.

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