Jill Tucker takes away first 'Jeopardy!' win after game show returns with Season 40

Jill Tucker, who had a final score of $32,400, will be back on the 'Jeopardy!' stage on Thursday, September 14
PUBLISHED SEP 12, 2023
Jill Tucker became the opening winner for the new season of 'Jeopardy!' (Jeopardy!/YouTube, Amanda Edwards/Getty Images)
Jill Tucker became the opening winner for the new season of 'Jeopardy!' (Jeopardy!/YouTube, Amanda Edwards/Getty Images)

CULVER CITY, CALIFORNIA: 'Jeopardy!' is finally back on the TV screens with its all-new season and an exciting tournament for the diehard fans of the game show. The season started off with the first week of the 'Second Chance' tournament with some of the fan-favorite old faces from Season 37. 

The new season crowned its first champ Jill Tucker in the episode that aired on Monday, September 11. This win has allowed the contestant to advance to the finals for the week which will start on Thursday, September 14. 

Who is Jill Tucker? 

Jill Tucker made her first 'Jeopardy!' appearance in January of 2021 where she faced off against Zach Newkirk and Brian Chang. While she was not able to be the winner in the end, she did manage to garner a score of $10,600 and placed third in the episode. 

According to her 'Jeopardy!' profile, Tucker is an Operations Manager from Mulino, Oregon. Not much of her information is disclosed on the Internet as she has no social media accounts or any more details about her work. 



 

How did Jill Tucker win on the first episode of 'Jeopardy!' Season 40?

Jill Tucker did not really have a strong start in the first round of the night. While she managed to get some correct answers in, the wrong response to the Daily Double led her to fall behind fellow contestant Derek Allen by a couple of thousand dollars. 

However, in the second round of Double Jeopardy, Tucker was able to turn things upside down as she not only scored the third Daily Double but got an unbeatable lead over the other contestants with an impressive score of $16,200. 

Final Jeopardy question for the first episode of Season 40: Second Chance (Jeopardy!/YouTube)
Final Jeopardy question for the first episode of Season 40: Second Chance (Jeopardy!/YouTube)

In the Final Jeopardy round, the question asked was from the category "British Monarchs" and read: "The most recent British monarch to succeed a parent or a sibling was this ruler who succeeded an uncle."

Tucker and Allen were able to correctly answer "Queen Victoria" while Gabriel Ostler missed out on it, losing all of his earnings in the round. It was Tucker's huge wager of her whole earnings that ensured her win against Allen and secured a score of $32,400. 

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