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Who won ‘Jeopardy!’ tonight? Chris D'Angelo's 8-game streak ends after dramatic comeback bid

Chris D'Angelo faces off against Peter McFerrin and Camryn Bell in Monday's episode of 'Jeopardy!'

Chris D'Angelo returned for his ninth straight game on Monday's episode of 'Jeopardy!' He was facing off against Peter McFerrin, from Corona, California, and Camryn Bell, from Minnetonka, Minnesota. A thing to note in the episode was that McFerrin was competing while sitting on a chair, which rarely happens on the show. Since the beginning of D'Angelo's reign, fans have hoped he would achieve the feat that the character inspired by him in the movie 'Quiz Lady' completed. To those unaware, his sister Jen penned the script of the venture starring Awkwafina and Sandra Oh. In the movie, Anne's (Awkwafina) love for game shows is based on D'Angelo's passion for 'Jeopardy!'. The movie ends with Anne going on a 93-game streak in 'Can't Stop the Quiz', Jeopardy's counterpart. 

The show's host, Ken Jennings, discussed this movie connection right at the start of the episode and shared that D'Angelo is "85 wins away." If he replicates Anne's feat, then he would surpass Jennings as the contestant with the most consecutive wins in the show's history (74 wins). The introduction segment focusing on the movie, driven by his passion, appears to have given D'Angelo performance anxiety. In a stark contrast to previous episodes, he had a horrible start to his game. After the first 15 clues in the 'Jeopardy!' round, the returning champion was standing at -$1,200. Both McFerrin and Bell were ahead of him and tied for the first spot with $4,200 each. 

Even D'Angelo's usual lifeline did not come to save him in the first round. McFerrin found the first Daily Double (DD) of the game on clue number 19. At that point, he had $5,600 to his name. He decided to bet $2,100 for the DD belonging to the category 'Code Red.' The clue read, "He began organizing the Red Army in 1918 but lost his post as people's commissar for war in 1925." McFerrin answered, "Who is Leon Trotsky?" which was deemed correct. At this point, his winnings stood at $7,700. By the end of the first round, D'Angelo had $600, McFerrin had achieved a clear lead with $8,300, while Bell trailed in second spot with $5,000.

D'Angelo refused to give up and staged a comeback of sorts after finding the first DD in 'Double Jeopardy.' The DD was detected on clue number 14 and belonged to the category 'Signs & Symbols.' The returning champion had $5,400 and bet it all to remain alive in the game. The clue read, "An interrobang combines these 2 punctuation marks into a single one." D'Angelo responded, "What is a question mark and an exclamation point?" which was deemed correct. The answer elevated him to $10,800, even though McFerrin remained in the lead with $15,500. After this, McFerrin chose twice to answer from the same category, which many fans criticized as it reduced his opportunity of detecting a DD.

DD gods blessed D'Angelo again, as he detected another one on clue 24. At this point, the content manager had  $13,600 to his name, while McFerrin led the pack with $19,500. To get closer, D'Angelo zeroed in on a wager of $3,600. The DD belonged to the category, 'The Glorious First of June,' and its clue read, "1533: No. 2 in a series, she's crowned Queen of England, briefly." The returning champion answered, "Who is Lady Jane Grey?" which was judged wrong. The correct answer was, "Who is Anne Boleyn?" The mistake brought D'Angelo down to $10,000.

Heading into the 'Final Jeopardy,' (FJ) McFerrin was at the top with $20,700, while D'Angelo had $11,200, and Bell had $10,200. This meant that it all came down to 'FJ,' which was from the category, 'Idioms & Expressions.' The clue read, "In the 1830s, cities on the Mississippi banned cardsharps, creating more of these, now meaning one who takes big risks." The correct answer was, "What are riverboat gamblers?" FJ turned out to be a triple stumper. Bell and D'Angelo wanted to go for the win and bet their entire prize money, bringing them down to $0. McFerrin bet $1,701, which reduced him to $18,999, but secured his win. D'Angelo may not have equalled Anne's streak, but he did complete his two-decade-old dream in some fashion and walked away with a whopping $194,201. McFerrin will return on Tuesday to defend his title. 'Jeopardy!' is a syndicated show streaming on Peacock and Hulu.