Geoff Barnes is still in the game. The D.C.-based analyst returned to Jeopardy! Friday night with $24,000 in the bank and walked away with a second win—though not without a few bumps along the way. Barnes faced off against Chad Heltzel, a high school English teacher from Denver, and Heather Ide, a special ed paraprofessional out of Monmouth, Illinois, in a match that turned on Daily Doubles and a sharp Final Jeopardy! finish.
Ide made the biggest early moves, uncovering all three Daily Doubles—though only converting one. A high-stakes miss in the “MUSIC-POURRI” category cost her everything and ultimately pushed her into the red by game’s end.
Barnes kept steady and played a clean second half, entering Final Jeopardy! in striking distance. The category: literary characters. The clue: this famous fictional spy was given Scottish roots by his creator. Both Barnes and Heltzel landed on “Who is James Bond?”—but Barnes’ tighter wagering strategy gave him the edge. He banked $1,801 on top of his total, finishing with $14,401 for the night. Heltzel wasn’t far behind at $12,700.
That brings Barnes’ two-day total to $38,401, enough to lock in a third appearance.
Jeopardy! airs in syndication.