‘Jeopardy!’ Contestant Makes Stunning Wager on Final Question

Go big or go home… in this case, a Jeopardy! contestant went big and will not be going home because they still won the game. Their opponents’ totals were so small that the big risk didn’t matter so much.

Jamie Ding, from Lawrenceville, New Jersey, returned for his second game on Monday, March 16. He has a one-day total of $22,633. Could the law student win another game and add to that total?

Ding played against Shannon Thomas, from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and Andrew Ford, from Madison, Wisconsin, for game two. Warning: Spoilers for the March 16 episode of Jeopardy! ahead!

The beginning of the game was an even playing field for the contestants. Ford, a data scientist, took a quick lead. He found the Daily Double on clue eight.

With $2,400 in his bank, he made it a true Daily Double. In “Board Games,” the clue read, “The times they were a’changin’: By 1999, Hasbro changed this game’s pink-and-blue-peg-holding station wagons to minivans.”

Ford correctly answered, “What is Life?” He doubled up to $4,800. Ding, a bureaucrat, had $0 while Thomas, a nonprofit professional, was in the negatives.

However, after the first 15 clues, Ding dominated the game and had $4,000 compared to Ford’s $5,400. Thomas remained at -$2,000.

Ding took the lead with $8,400 by the end of the round. Ford had $5,600. Thomas was in third place with $1,200.

In Double Jeopardy, Ford almost caught up to Ding, but when Ding found the first DD on clue five, he had the lead of $11,200.

Ding wagered $3,600 in “Historical Statements.” The clue was: “According to Suetonius, Caesar uttered this phrase as he took a big gamble & crossed the Rubicon.”

“What is the die is cast (alea iacta est)?” he answered correctly. That gave him $14,800.

On clue 11, Ford found the last DD. He had $10,000 and wagered $8,000; a correct answer which would give him the lead.

The clue in “Habits Unbecoming” read, “Add 2 letters to a word for ‘loitering’ to get this word for faking an illness to get out of work.”

Ford stayed silent until prompted. “I don’t have it. Sorry,” he said. Ford dropped to $2,000 since the answer was malingering.

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Ding ended the round with $34,000. Ford had $1,600. Thomas could not compete in Final Jeopardy since she had -$800.

The category for Final Jeopardy was “20th Century Novels.” The clue read, “One of its epigraphs from Genesis 30, about Leah, Rachel, & Rachel’s servant, Bilhah.” Neither of the contestants guessed The Handmaid’s Tale.

Ford wrote, “What is Beloved?” He wagered $718, giving him $882. Ding’s response was “What is Song of Solomon?” He wagered $30,067.

“Wow,” host Ken Jennings said. But, despite the stunning wager, Ding won with $3,933, giving him a two-day total of $26,566. He will return on Tuesday for game three.

Fans reacted to the big gamble on Reddit. “Don’t you hate it when big wagers backfire? Cause I do,” one asked.

“What a talent,” another said.

“Jamie tried to get greedy here, and it cost him,” a third added.

“Loved Jamie’s Latin phrasing but didn’t understand his FJ wager,” one last fan wrote.

What did you think of Ding’s wager? Let us know in the comments.

Jeopardy!, weekdays, check local listings, stream next day on Hulu and Peacock

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