Who won 'Jeopardy!' tonight? Jamie Ding's winning run hits a new milestone
'Jeopardy!' witnessed a momentous win. New Jersey resident Jamie Ding came out as a victor against Zach Pollock, a retired logistics executive from Media, Pennsylvania, and Nicco Martinez, an accountant from Columbus, Ohio. This victory made Ding a 31-time 'Jeopardy!' champion. This implies that he is now the contestant with the fifth-most wins in the show's six-decade history. Ding was phenomenal in the episode, but it was not all smooth. In fact, he did turn in one wrong answer that could have ruined everything. Ding will reportedly return to the game show on April 27 for another run.
Ding’s recent appearance aired on April 24 and featured him turning in correct answers to two Daily Doubles as well as two to three questions from each of the 12 categories. His incorrect response arrived at the Final Jeopardy prompt. The prompt read, “In 1954, on the 50th anniversary of this day, a group went to a Martello tower before going on a bender.” The correct answer was “What is Bloomsday?” Only Pollock amongst the trio answered it correctly. Ding turned in “What is the day of the locust?” as the response. The New Jersey Housing and Mortgage Finance Agency employee still walked out as a winner because of his betting skills. Ding bet just $198 for the Final Jeopardy prompt, which left him with $33,002 compared to Pollock’s $7,600 and Martinez’s $400.
In an interview with PEOPLE, Ding revealed that he is "conservative" when it comes to betting. It seems that the strategy has worked wonders. "Before I was on the show, it became clear that in my preparation and studying, big bets are overall the way to go," Ding explained. "And I'm a big fan of the Detroit Lions and their coach, Dan Campbell, who is very famous for going for it on fourth down. I always cheer when that happens. So it's a tension, with two opposing forces. Sometimes it pulls me towards a big bet, sometimes not."
This victory has raised Ding's total winnings to $882,605. Now he is just one win behind fourth-place champion James Holzhauer, who walked away in 2019 with 32 games. Fans were elated to see Ding win, as many suspected his run may end due to his constant media appearances. "Jamie was on GMA this morning. I believe contestants don't appear 'in Public' until after their run is over. Does that mean it ends on tonight's show or when the taped show is on?" u/Wise_Material_5812 shared on a Reddit thread dedicated to the show. It also revealed another possible record the New Jersey native managed to achieve during his run. "So this completes his 20-game run in less than 100 hours! Absolutely incredible and something we will likely never seen done again!" u/Maddierich31 informed. 'Jeopardy!' is a syndicated television show that streams on Hulu and Peacock.
