Who won 'Jeopardy!' tonight? Caleb Groen navigates complicated fifth game to keep streak alive
Caleb Groen is back for his fifth game in 'Jeopardy!' after confirming a spot in 'Tournament of Champions.' He faced off against Molly Grove, a physician from Camas, Washington, and Taylor A'Latorre, a fulfillment worker from Plano, Texas, to keep his streak going. After a close call yesterday, Groen would have liked nothing more than an easy game. Alas, that did not happen. Wednesday's game kept both him and the audience on the edge of their seats. The first section of the 'Jeopardy' round was a tussle between Groen and A'Latorre. A'Latorre found immense success in the 'Music' category, while Groen used his Daily Double luck and answered several questions correctly to stay on par.
The returning champion found the first Daily Double on the first clue itself. He bet $1,000 on this DD belonging to the category 'US Geography.' Its clue read, "Of the 48 contiguous U.S. states, it's the largest in area that only uses one area code." Groen answered, "Who was Montana?" which was deemed correct. On the back of his seven correct responses, Groen led the pack going into the first commercial break (after 15 clues). The law student had $5,800, followed closely by A'Latorre with $4,600. Grove was dead last with -$600. During the second section, Groen found himself in a comfortable position after succeeding in several categories. Ultimately, he bowed out of the round at the top spot with $8,000. A'Latorre ended with $5,600, while Grove was still at the bottom with $600.
A'Latorre did not back down, and across the first nine clues of 'Double Jeopardy,' he closed much of the gap separating him from Groen. Unfortunately for him, Groen found a DD on the tenth clue from the category, 'LOOOOOOONG LITERARY TITLES.' At this point, Groen had $12,800 while A'Latorre trailed with $9,200. Grove staged a bit of a comeback and stood with $5,000. To get himself further ahead, Groen wagered $6,000. The clue read, "'Merlin's Tower' is Chapter 7 in this 19th-century time-traveling novel." Groen wrote, "What is 'A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court?'" This turned out to be correct, and his total jumped to $18,800.
Groen delivered a deadly blow to his opponents' chances after finding the last Daily Double on the very next clue. The DD belonged to the category 'Economists.' The clue read, "This former Treasury Secretary has been called 'the Ruth Bader Ginsburg of economics." The law and policy student wagered $5,000 and answered, "Who is Yellen?" This response was also adjudged correct, and he reached $23,800. These two DDs gave Groen such a massive lead that the other two could not come close, even after displaying brilliant performances. A'Latorre answered three questions correctly in 'Sea Change' while Grove was correct in four questions in the AKA category. Despite these efforts, Groen went into 'Final Jeopardy' with a runaway lead.
Groen entered FJ with $31,400, followed by A'Latorre with $12,800. Grove was at the bottom with $9,400. The FJ belonged to the category 'Classic TV,' and its clue read, "'Burning Fuse' was the working title for the iconic theme song to this TV series that was later on the big screen." Groen and A'Latorre answered, "What is 'Mission: Impossible'? and won their wager of $600 and $6,005. Grove did not wager anything and bowed out with $9,400. Groen will return to defend his title on Thursday. 'Jeopardy' is a syndicated show that streams both on Hulu and Peacock.
