Who won 'Jeopardy!' tonight? A surprising $0 wager secures the win for one contestant
After emerging victorious against the 'giant slayer,' Sam Ryan was defeated by Grace Biermann in the previous episode of 'Jeopardy!' In this installment, she faced off against Dean Zach, a creative writing graduate student from Pearland, Texas, and Jennifer Canterbury, a teacher from Tuscaloosa, Alabama. Dean was the standout performer in the first portion of the 'Jeopardy!' round. He quickly answered eight clues correctly before the show's first commercial break (after 15 clues). In comparison, Grace had two correct answers, while Jennifer just had one. Dean found himself at the top of the points table with $5,200, followed by Grace with $1,400, and Jennifer with just $1,000.
Dean also got the Daily Double luck on his side in this round to bolster his overall lead. He detected the game's first DD on the first clue after the commercial break. It belonged to the category, 'Birthstones.' The clue read, "In Native American lore, this December birthstone was believed to be pieces that fell from the sky," and the student decided to make it a true Daily Double. He wagered everything he had and answered, "What is turquoise?" which was deemed correct. This increased his total to $10,400. In this portion, Dean also picked up eight correct answers, while Grace turned in three and Jennifer had two to her name. Dean ended this round with $13,600, compared to Grace's $2,400 and Jennifer's $1,200.
Grace needed at least one of the DDs in 'Double Jeopardy' to go in her favor to cover the massive lead that Dean had established in the first round. Unfortunately, none of them came her way, and she had to settle for just 17 correct answers, of which four were picked up in 'Double Letters at the end,' and three were from 'Poetry in Motion Pictures.' Dean detected the game's second DD during DJ's sixth clue. It belonged to the category, 'Poetry in Motion Pictures,' and the clue read, "Featured in the trailer, '28 Years Later' included a 1915 reading of 'Boots' by this British poet, about Boer War marchers." At this point, Dean had $17,600 in total, much more than Grace and Jennifer's $2,400. Despite such a massive lead, Dean wagered a whopping $10,000. He answered, "Who was Kipling?" which was deemed correct, elevating his total to $27,600.
In the following rounds, Grace bridged a considerable gap by turning in multiple correct responses. She had reached $14,400 by the time the 22nd clue arrived. However, the tables turned again when Dean identified another DD. He had collected $30,800 until then, while Jennifer was still at $2,400. This time around, he went in with a conservative wager of $2,000, possibly because he wasn't as confident in the category, '5 Sixths.' The all-important clue read, "Elected in 1492, corrupt & worldly Pope Alexander VI was from this vastly powerful family," and he answered, "Who are the Borgias?" which was adjudged correct. He now had $33,800 to his name.
The rest of the game progressed more or less similarly, and ended with Dean entering 'Final Jeopardy' with a runaway lead. He entered the final round with $36,000, while Grace stepped in with $14,400 and Jennifer had $2,400. The FJ belonged to the category, 'Musical Pieces,' and its clue read, "Words later applied to this 1867 piece include 'Far from the Black Forest you hurry to the sea.'" The correct answer was, "What is 'The Blue Danube?'" but none of the participants got it right. Jennifer, as well as Dean, wagered $0 and lost nothing. However, Grace bet $14,399, which meant that she was walking away with just $1. Just like that, Dean became the newest 'Jeopardy!' champion, and he will return to defend his title on Thursday.
