‘Jeopardy!’: Who Clinched Final Wildcard Tournament Place?

[Warning: The following post contains MAJOR spoilers for the Friday, January 2, episode of Jeopardy!]

It all comes down to this! The Jeopardy! Second Chance Tournament has come to an end after three weeks of stiff competition. Whoever wins this game advances on to the Champion Wildcard Tournament, starting next week.

Ryan Sharpe, from Oakville, Ontario, Canada, won the first finals game on Thursday with a total of $33,440. He played against Abigail Arnold, from Walktham, Massachusetts, who ended with $23,600 in Thursday’s game. Dondi DeMarco, from New York, New York, had $0 in the last game, but returned for another chance. Whoever has the most amount of money after both games will move on to the next tournament.

DeMarco, an operations executive, had the lead at $1,600 when he found the Daily Double. He made it a true Daily Double in “Flip Around the Compound (Word).” The clue read, “A verb meaning to distract or divert & an area right next to the rail yard or the horse race.” He didn’t know side track and track side, so DeMarco dropped down to $0, leaving Arnold, an academic administrator, in the lead with $800.

Arnold kept the lead by the first break with $4,400. She kept the lead by the end of the round with $7,000. Sharpe, a recent graduate, was in second place with $4,800. DeMarco had $1,400.

In Double Jeopardy, Sharpe was only $1,000 behind Arnold with $8,000 when he found the first DD of the round. He made it a true Daily Double in “That Place Sounds Fishy.” The clue was “A town on the Naknek River in Alaskais named for this ‘regal’ fish, the largest of its five Pacific species.”

Sharpe was hesitant with his response of “What is the King Salmon?” but he was correct. This gave him a big lead with $16,000.

Two clues later, DeMarco found the last DD in “Films About Writers.” He wagered $2,500 out of his $2,600. The clue read, “In ‘Only Lovers Left Alive,’ John Hurt is this poet/dramatist, really a vampire who gives his work to an illiterate Shakespeare.”

After some prompting from host Ken Jennings, DeMarco answered, “Who is Marlo?” which was correct. He moved up to $5,100, putting not so wide a gap between him and Arnold, who had $9,000.

'Jeopardy!' Reddit Fans Get Big Shout out in Second Chance Tournament — See Reactions

Despite his DD win, DeMarco couldn’t pull ahead. He ended the round with $6,700. Arnold came in second place with $12,600. Sharpe won the round with $24,800.

The category for Final Jeopardy was “British Royal Titles.” The clue was “This title, named for a county of coastal England, had lapsed by 1843 but was revived in 2018 when Elizabeth gave it to a family member.” Only one of the contestants got the right response.

DeMarco did not give a response. He wagered $6,699, leaving him with $1. Arnold was close, answering, “Who is the Duchess of Sussex?” She got it wrong and dropped down to $961 after wagering $11,639. This gave her a two-day total of $24,561. Sharpe had the correct response of “Who is the Duke of Sussex?” He wagered $42, ending him with $24,842. He ended with a two-day total of $58,282.

Sharpe moved on to the Champion Wildcards Tournament, along with Michelle Tsai, who won the week two tournament, and Pete Johnston, who won week one.

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

Jeopardy! Champions Wildcard Tournament, weekdays, starting January 5 for two weeks

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