[The following post contains MAJOR spoilers for the Tuesday, May 27, episode of Jeopardy!]
Someone’s game of Jeopardy! could be going smoothly and then they decide to risk it all and make wild wagers and their standing in the game completely changes. This was what happened in the Tuesday, May 27, game when the Final Jeopardy wagers determined the winner in a shocking turn of events.
Judith Friedman returned for her second game after defeating Jim Carpenter the day prior. The software engineer had a one-day total of $32,001 and tried to add to it by playing against Tyler Griffith, from Sturgis, Michigan, and Jackie Yang, from New York, New York. At the beginning of Tuesday’s episode, host Ken Jennings revealed that Friedman teared up after her win and said, “This is my dream.”
Griffith, a criminal forensic scientist, found the first Daily Double of the game with the fifth clue. He was in the lead with $1,600 and decided to make it a true DD, wagering all of his money. In “Facts & The City,” the clue read, “You can likely find a good coffee in this South American capital at the base of 2 mountains, Guadalupe & Monserrate.” “What is Bogota?” he answered correctly, doubling up to $3,200.
By the first commercial break, there were two triple stumpers, and the reigning champion was not doing too hot with $1,800. Griffith was in the lead with $2,400. Yang, a resident physician, only had $600.
During the interviews, Griffith revealed that he has a stutter. He shared that he took theater to help with it and his annunciation. Griffith did speech therapy from elementary school through college.
“Changed your life, I guess,” Ken Jennings said.
“Yeah,” he replied. “It did.” His stutter was not super prominent throughout the game as he only tripped up on his words about two times.
It was a tighter game by the end of the round. Griffith still led but only by $200. He had $3,600. Yang was in second with $3,400. Friedman was not far behind with $3,200.
In Double Jeopardy, Yang, who was in the lead with $6,200, found the first DD of the round. She wagered $3,000 in the category “Literary Hodgepodge.” The clue was, “A painting by Dutch artist Carel Fabritiu is at the heart of this 2014 Pulitzer Prize winner for Fiction.” She correctly answered, “What is The Goldfinch?” extending her lead to $9,200.
Six clues later, Griffith found the final DD. He was in last place with $4,800 and had the chance to take the lead, so he decided to go for it and make it a True Daily Double in “Historic Alaska.” The clue read, “Linking Prudhoe Bay to the port of Valdez, this controversial project was completed in 1977 at a cost of $8 billion.” He hesitated before Jennings prompted him to give an answer. With a shake of his head, Griffith blurted out, “What is the Alaska Pipeline?” That was the correct answer, and he let out a breath of relief. This gave him the lead with $9,600, $400 above Yang.
At the end of Double Jeopardy, Griffith was in the slightest lead with $11,200. Yang had $10,800. The reigning champion was in third with $6,400. The category for Final Jeopardy was “American History.”
The clue read, “In 1847, a decade before making national news, he was the plaintiff in a Missouri case against Irene Emerson.” The question was a triple stumper once again, with the correct answer Dred Scott. Friedman answered, “Who is Gary Powers?” She wagered all of her money, leaving her with $0. Yang’s response was “Who is John Brown?” She wagered $10,500, leaving her with $300. It all came down to Griffith’s wager. He answered, “Who is Ferguson?” He wagered $10,401, giving him a final total of $799. Griffith was the night’s winner, but not by much. Griffith will be back for game two on Wednesday against two new opponents.
Reddit users reacted to Griffith’s win and the wild Final Jeopardy wagers. “Good match today and congrats to Tyler on the win. Another match where some odd wagering in FJ cost a player the match, unfortunately,” one wrote.