Tristan Williams secured his spot in an upcoming Tournament of Champions by winning his fifth Jeopardy! game on May 12. He made a big wager during the final clue on his sixth game. Did it cost him the win?
Williams, from Lincoln, Nebraska, came into the game with a five-day total of $103,499. For his May 13 game, the data scientist played against Kyle Li, from Saratoga, California, and Bridget Palmer, from Beaverton, Oregon. Warning: Spoilers for the May 13 episode of Jeopardy! ahead.
Williams dominated the round, answering 10 of the first 15 clues correctly. This gave him $6,600, compared to $1,400 for Palmer, a university teacher.
The reigning champion found the Daily Double on clue 19. He had $8,400 and wagered $4,400 in “The ‘G.B.s’.” The clue read, “On June 3, 1875, 3 months after the premiere of his opera set in Seville, heart issues killed this Frenchman at 36.”
“Who is Georges Bizet?” he answered correctly. This gave Williams $12,800.
He ended the round with $14,600. Palmer had $2,000. Li, a software engineer, was in third place with $1,000.
After two incorrect responses from Palmer and Li in Double Jeopardy, Williams found the first DD on clue eight. He had $19,400 and wagered $4,400. In “People Getting Together,” the clue was “In 1916 Billy Sunday drew 65,000 in Boston to one of these meetings, so called because they reawaken Christians’ faith & enthusiasm.”
“What’s rebaptism?” he answered incorrectly. Williams dropped down to $15,000 since the correct response was revival.
Clue nine was a Triple Stumper, but since it was still Williams’ turn, he found the second DD on clue 10. With $15,000 in his bank, he wagered $2,000 in “Words of Assortment.”
The clue read, “Familiar to fans of Dune, this French word meaning ‘mixture’ refers to a jumble of different things.” The game show contestant didn’t know the answer and answered “What’s, uh, spice?” The correct response was melange, so Williams dropped down to $13,000.
The three failed Daily Doubles didn’t stop him from having a runaway win by the end of the round. Williams ended the round with $20,200.
Palmer had $4,000. Li could not participate in Final Jeopardy since he had -$2,200.
The category for Final Jeopardy was “Films of the 1990s.” The clue was “In French, this 1993 film is called ‘Un jour sans fin.'”
Palmer had the correct response of “What is Groundhog Day?” She wagered all of her money, giving her $8,000. Williams, however, had the incorrect response. He wrote, “What Braveheart?” He wagered $10,000, which host Ken Jennings called a “pretty big wager.”
This ended the champion with $10,200. He had a six-day total of $113,699 and will return on Thursday for his seventh game.
Jeopardy!, weekdays, check local listings, stream next day on Hulu and Peacock
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