[Warning: The following post contains MAJOR spoilers for the Friday, December 19, episode of Jeopardy!]
The ultimate spherical for the two-part Second Probability Event on Friday noticed the return of instructor Eugene Huang from Paramus, New Jersey, trivia host Dave Widmayer from Portland, Oregon, and filmmaker and educator Pete Johnston, initially from Alma, Michigan, as they vied for a spot within the Champions Wildcard.
The sport kicked off with the class of “The 12 Days of Christmas in Money” for $1,000, to which host Ken Jennings famous: “These are 2024 costs, as calculated by PNC Financial institution.” For the primary clue, “This 11-piece band charged $3,715 for the gig, however that was cost-effective, as you bought a bunch to again you for the tune,” Widmayer buzzed in with the right reply, “What’s 11 pipers piping?”
Widmayer then discovered the Day by day Double because the second clue, hiding below “Historic Individuals” for $800: “Mad that this president didn’t acknowledge the brand new USSR, diplomat William Bullitt Jr. teamed with Freud on a savage psycho-biography of him.” The contestant responded with, “Who’s Truman?” It was a miss, as the reply was Woodrow Wilson.
In contrast to yesterday’s sport, half two of the ultimate noticed just a few extra misses and a Triple Stumper, because the trio battled it out. Within the class of “Landform Ho!” for $1000, the clue, “The 350,000-square-mile Sohm, off Newfoundland, is N. Am.’s largest of the flat, very deep expanses of seafloor referred to as abyssal these,” baffled all three gamers. Widmayer answered incorrectly with “What’s shelf?” however the different two averted the query. The reply was plain.
By the point of the primary break, Widmayer was within the lead with $3,600, whereas Huang was in second with $2,200 and Johnston in third with $800.
On the twenty first clue, the gang came upon one other Triple Stumper below “Broadway” for $400, which was found by Johnston: “Nominated for 9 Tonys, this musical imagines what would have occurred if one half of the star-crossed lovers survived & thrived.” Johnston answered “What’s Juliet?,” however he was lacking the essential “&” from the title, which value him (the right reply: & Juliet).
By the top of the primary spherical, Widmayer stored his lead with $6,600, Huang held on to second place with $3,200, and Johnston was in third place with $1,400.
In Double Jeopardy, Johnston kicked off the spherical with “Vocabulary” for $1,200: “From Sanskrit, this synonym for professional is used of political commentators like George Will & Jessica Tarlov.” Huang buzzed in with the right reply, “What’s a pundit?”‘
The spherical’s first DD was discovered by Widmayer below “Ye Olde Science” for $1,600. He wagered $5,000 on the clue: “The traditional Romans used this 2-word farming idea with a revolving ‘meals, feed & fallow’ planting technique.” Widmayer answered appropriately with “What’s crop rotation?”
The second DD was found eight clues later by Johnston below “nineteenth Century Girls Writers” for $1,600. He wagered $2,000 on the clue: “An older sister wrote about this youngest one’s Tenant of Wildfell Corridor, ‘The selection of topic was a complete mistake.’” Johnston was in a position so as to add to his complete with the right reply, “Who’s Anne Brontë?”
The subsequent query was a Triple Stumper for the trio in the identical class for $2,000, as nobody might reply, “The Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood printed poems by this sister to Dante Gabriel Rossetti, who drew her likeness.” The reply was Christina Rossetti.
Because the trio moved into Closing Jeopardy, Widmayer was nonetheless within the lead with $20,000, Huang adopted with $11,200, and Johnston had $13,400.
Within the class of “Film Inspirations,” the query was: “A retailer’s mingling of shows of two totally different holidays impressed a poem & years later, a Nineteen Nineties movie with this title.”
Johnston answered appropriately with, “What’s The Nightmare Earlier than Christmas? Hello Mother & Dad!!” He wagered $8,401, bringing his complete to $26,800 and giving him the lead. Huang additionally answered appropriately with “What’s The Nightmare Earlier than Christmas?,” including $8,600 to his complete, bringing his tally to $19,800. However did Widmayer get it?
In a shock fumble, Widmayer answered, “What’s The Nightmare Earlier than Halloween? Go Birds!” With a wager of $13,400, his new complete was now $11,599, giving him the third-place spot and making Pete Johnston the shock Event champion, permitting him to advance to the 2026 Champions Wildcard match.
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