The third and final group of finalists for the Jeopardy! Second Chance tournament has been set after one contestant came from behind to win Wednesday’s (December 31) highly competitive game.
Ryan Sharpe, a recent graduate from Oakville, Ontario, Canada, entered Wednesday’s semi-finals as the slight favorite. However, he found himself facing strong competition from Dan Puma, a salesperson from Chicago, Illinois, and Jenna Hayes, an attorney from New York.
After finding the first Daily Double of the game, Puma took a slight lead, which he held on to going into Double Jeopardy. Hayes then came out of nowhere, finding back-to-back Daily Doubles and answering both correctly to take the lead.
Despite Hayes’ Daily Double success, her wagers weren’t high enough to maintain her lead. Puma fought back, regaining the lead with $15,800 heading into Final Jeopardy. Sharpe managed to sneak into second with $12,400, while Hayes slipped to third with $12,000.
Host Ken Jennings then read the Final Jeopardy clue under the Medical History category: “Now associated with women in labor, it was first used by French doctors in 1901 to treat sciatica with cocaine.”
Even though he led for much of the episode, Puma answered incorrectly with “Tylenol” and lost $9,001 from his total. Sharpe and Hayes both responded correctly with “epidural,” but it was Sharpe’s big wager of $11,601 that gave him the win with a total of $24,001 to Hayes’ $15,801.
Fans took to social media to praise Wednesday’s competitive game and Sharpe’s impressive comeback.
Jeopardy! YouTube
One user on the Jeopardy! Reddit forum wrote, “Great comeback from Ryan. This years second chance did really feel like everyone proved why they deserved another chance, so many high quality games.”
“And to do it without the benefit of a Daily Doubly. Impressive!” added another.
“Wow, what a game. DDs back to back and an amazing comeback,” said another.
“Last game of the year did not disappoint. Thanks to Dan, Jenna and Ryan. See everyone in 2026,” added one user.
Another added, “Ryan did great but also had great luck. Dan didnt know epidural finale, and Jenna left 6k on the table between her DDs.”
“Yeah Ryan was a worthy winner but I was shocked at Jenna’s relatively modest bets and especially that Dan missed epidural!” another agreed.
Sharpe now moves on to the finals, which air on Thursday (January 1) and Friday (January 2). He will be joined by Abigail Arnold, who qualified in Monday’s (December 29) game, and the winner of Tuesday’s (December 30) semifinals, Dondi DeMarco.
The winners of Second Chance earn a spot in the upcoming Champions Wildcard, with the winner of that cementing their place in the highly anticipated Tournament of Champions.
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