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Who won ‘Jeopardy!’ tonight? A new champion gets crowned in a dramatic fashion

Adam Remsen faces off against Richard Nguyen from California and Mandy Moreno from New York.

Adam Remsen was back for his 13th game on Tuesday's episode of 'Jeopardy!' The super champion faced off against Richard Nguyen, from Placentia, California, and Mandy Moreno, from Brooklyn, New York. There were several milestones that Remsen wanted to achieve in this game. A win could have pushed him to 16th in the rankings for most wins by a contestant and also put him above Adriana Harmeyer in terms of the money gathered during the competition. The game was intriguing from the first moment to the last. Everyone put their best foot forward, and it all came down to the final clue. 

Remsen started with a bang. By the time the first commercial break arrived, he was in the lead with $5,600. Nguyen, a research attorney, followed him closely with $2,400, while Moreno was dead last with $1,800. Nguyen stepped up in the latter part of the 'Jeopardy!' round and picked up $1,000 in the 16th clue, and on the 17th, he took full advantage of the Daily Double (DD). He wagered $3,000, almost all his winnings up until that point, to go beyond Remsen. The DD belonged to the category 'Table Scraps,' and the clue read, "The Vicious Circle was another name for this celebrated group that first met for lunch in 1919." The attorney answered, "What is the Algonquin Round Table?" which was deemed correct, elevating him to the top of the table with $6,400. 

The theater producer did not hang up his boots and returned stronger with his answers. By the end of the first round, he had regained the first spot and gained $7,800. Nguyen ended with $7,000, and Moreno, after losing some points, was at $1,600. In the 'Double Jeopardy' round, the close tussle between Remsen and Nguyen continued. The returning champion detected the second DD on the sixth clue. At this stage, Remsen had $11,000, while Nguyen had $8,600. This was an opportunity for Remsen to stamp his dominance in the game, just the way he did in the past, and the returning champion grabbed it with both hands. He wagered $5,000. 

The DD belonged to the category 'Special Effects,' and the clue read, "The effect of this effect is that patients sometimes get better even when treated with inactive substances or fake procedures." The returning champion responded with "What is the placebo effect?" which was correct. He now had a whopping $16,000, which made life a bit difficult for Nguyen. However, the research attorney continued his counterattack, and by the 14th clue, took the numero uno spot with $17,000. The DD came his way on the 15th clue. To jump up far ahead of Remsen's $16,800, Nguyen wagered $5,000. It was from the category, 'Diaries & Journals,' and its clue read, "His journal entry for November 5, 1922, includes his telegram to Lord Carnarvon: 'At last have made wonderful discovery in valley.'" Nguyen wrote, "Who is Stanley?" It was incorrect, which left him with $11,800.

By the end of the second round, Remsen led with $20,800. Nguyen made some progress but was still far behind, at $14,400. Moreno was dead last, carrying $5,000. However, unlike many of the previous games, this one was not a runaway lead, and, as has been evident over the last 12 games, 'Final Jeopardy' is Remsen's weakest suit. The 'Final Jeopardy' belonged to the category '20th Century Novels,' and the clue read, "David Ben-Gurion called this 1958 book 'as a piece of propaganda… the greatest thing ever written about Israel.'" Moreno provided no answer, but did not lose anything, as she bet $0. Remsen wrote, "What is Fiddler on the Roof?" bringing him down $8,001. He ended with $12,799. The moment of truth arrived when Nguyen revealed his answer. He had written, "What is Exodus?" which pushed him ahead of Remsen with his $6,401 wager. Remsen's glorious 12-game streak finally came to an end. Tennessee's all-time leading winner will surely be missed. Nguyen will return to defend his title in Wednesday's episode. 'Jeopardy!' is a syndicated program that streams on both Hulu and Peacock.