Who won ‘Jeopardy!’ finale tonight? One champion pulls off a thrilling surge to win Season 42
Matthew Riggle staged probably one of the biggest comebacks in 'Jeopardy!' history in the last episode. The Alabama native is now back to defend his hard-earned title in the Season 42 finale, and this time he is facing off against Sophia Suazo from Plainview, New York, and Devin Weinburg from Denver, Colorado. In this game, too, Matthew started at the back foot. By the time the first commercial break arrived (after 15 clues), he had just turned in one correct answer. This was far below the six correct responses turned in by Devin and the four by Sophia. Devin was the one who found the game's first 'Daily Double' (DD) on the ninth clue.
The DD belonged to the category 'I'm Outta Here,' and its clue read, "Sun Microsystems CEO Jonathan Schwartz was the 1st Fortune 200 exec to resign via tweet; he wrote this type of poem suited to the medium." At that point, Devin had just $1,600, slightly below Sophia's $2,200. Matthew had not even opened his account by then. Devin decided to make it a true DD and bet it all. He answered, "What is haiku?" which was deemed correct and elevated him to $3,200. It also brought him to the top of the table. During the interview section, Matthew talked about what he plans to do with the $48,001 he earned at last night's thrilling game. He shared that most of it will go on his honeymoon.
Devin built on his success in the second section of the 'Jeopardy!' round. He turned in ten more correct answers to extend his lead. Sophia faltered a bit and could only give two correct answers along with one incorrect one. Matthew tried to claw his way back in with three correct answers, but also provided two incorrect ones. By the end of the round, Devin was firmly in the lead with $9,800, with Sophia following at $3,400 and Matthew dead last at $1,400. In the last game, it was in the 'Double Jeopardy' (DJ) round when Matthew showcased his brilliance. He turned in 15 correct answers, head and shoulders above Sophia's seven correct answers. He also edged Devin's six correct responses. He found four correct answers in 'US Geography' and three in 'Buddhism.'
This time around, Matthew also had DD luck on his side and found the second on DJ's very first clue. At that point, he had $1,400, and as per rules, he could bet $2,000. He bet it all on the DD from the category, 'US Geography,' and its clue read, "West Mitten Butte & The Three Sisters are rock formations in this valley, a famed movie location within the Navajo Nation." He answered, "What is Monument Valley?" which was adjudged correct and brought him $3,400, tying with Sophia for the second spot. He earned $1,600 on the second clue and found another DD on the third one. This DD belonged to the 'Science Grab Bag' category, and he bet all his money. The clue read, "This family name for some primates comes from the Latin for 'man.'" He answered, "What are hominids?" and it was deemed correct. It pushed him to $9,200, just $600 short of Devin's earnings.
Matthew's efforts helped him lead the table by the time DJ wrapped up. He was standing at $21,600, followed by Devin at $13,400 and Sophia at $7,000. However, this was no runaway lead, which implied that a strategic wager in 'Final Jeopardy' (FJ) could topple Matthew. The FJ belonged to the category 'Pop Culture Nicknames,' and its clue read, "This star, director & writer who won an Oscar for his 1996 film was called 'the hillbilly Orson Welles' by Robert Duvall." Nobody could turn in "Who is Billy Bob Thornton?" as it turned out to be a triple stumper. Matthew won the game with $16,399, while Devin walked out with $3,400. Sophia had bet her all in FJ, and hence took nothing but experience from the show. Matthew would be back to defend his title in the next season of 'Jeopardy!' which should start sometime after September 14.
