[The following post contains MAJOR spoilers for the Thursday, May 29, episode of Jeopardy!]
A Jeopardy! contestant revealed his dreams of being on a different show that involved baking and not trivia. But, did the contestant win anyway? Read on to find out.
Thomas Sweeney, from Morrow, Ohio, returned for his second game on Thursday, May 29. He ended his first with a final total of $16,401 after an “easy” Final Jeopardy question put him on top.
The reigning champion faced off against Anne LaGatta, from Moorestown, New Jersey, and Geoff Barnes, from Washington D.C. Barnes, an analyst, dominated the first part of the round by answering the first three questions correctly. The next four were triple stumpers.
LaGatta, a college professor, then answered the next few clues, but her luck turned when she got one wrong, putting her in the negative. The same happened to Sweeney, a survey technician.
Barnes found the first Daily Double of the game on clue 12. He had the lead with $3,600 and he made it a true Daily Double. In “Of China,” the clue read, “Acupuncture’s origins lie in correcting the disharmony between these 2 cosmic principles.” “What are Yin and Yang?” he answered correctly, giving him a wide lead of $7,200.
During the interviews, host Ken Jennings shared that although Barnes is an analyst by trade, he would rather be baking. “For a few years now, I’ve wanted to compete on TV in The Great British Bake Off,” the contestant said. “The problem is I’m not British.” Barnes shared that he and his friends get together every so often and have a bake-off of their own, where some of them are judges and others are bakers.
It’s no surprise that Sweeney is an assistant coach for his alma mater’s quiz bowl team with the way he has been playing the last two games. LaGatta shared that she is lucky when it comes to raffles and has won at least five in her lifetime.
By the end of the round, there were eight triple stumpers, and two incorrectly answered clues. Sweeney and LaGatta both pulled their weight but couldn’t quite catch up to Barnes, who led with $8,400. The reigning champion had $3,000 while LaGatta was in second with $4,000.
In Double Jeopardy, Sweeney found the first DD on clue 11. He was in third place with $3,000 and decided to make it a true Daily Double. In “Leading From the Front,” the clue read, “Military genius Gustavus Adolphus made Sweden a power in this war but died leading a charge at 1632 Battle of Lützen.” Sweeney correctly answered with, “What is the Thirty Years War?” giving him $6,000 and moving him to second place.
Three clues later, Barnes found the last DD. He had a wide lead with $12,800 and decided to wager $3,000. In “Uh Oh, Here Comes A.I.,” the clue was, “For Zyrtec, it’s cetirizine hydrochloride.” Barnes shook his head and didn’t respond until the last second. “What is active ingredient?” he answered.
“Oh, in the nick of time. It is active ingredient,” Ken Jennings said. Barnes improved to $15,800.
By the end of the round, Barnes had a huge lead with $23,000. LaGatta was in second with $9,600. Sweeney had $4,800. There were six triple stumpers and two wrong answers.
The category for Final Jeopardy was “Phrase Origins.” “An 1845 article called ‘annexation’ was the first appearance of this two-word phrase implying inevitability,” the clue read. Only one of the contestants got it right.
Sweeney didn’t give an answer, writing “What is….?” He wagered $4,800, leaving him with $0. LaGatta answered with “What is a lost cause?” That was wrong, and she dropped down to $1, after wagering $9,599. Barnes was guaranteed the win unless he bet it all and got it wrong. He answered, “What is manifest destiny?” which was correct. Barnes wagered $1,000, giving him a final total of $24,000. That made him the night’s winner. He will return for game two against two new opponents on Friday, May 30.
Reddit users praised Barnes’ gameplay and weighed in on if he should apply for a baking show. “Congrats to Geoff on that dominant performance. I had to root for him after he mentioned loving Bake Off,” one wrote, adding a smiling emoticon.
“He should try out for The Great American Baking Show if he hasn’t already…” replied another.
“Yes or even one of the baking shows on Food Network like the Spring Baking Championship,” replied another.
“Geoff was on point today,” said one fan.
“Geoff did great from the first clue!” a Reddit user pointed out.
“Major congrats to Geoff on a great game! He was locked in, and I was cheering for him from the start,” one last fan said.