In Friday’s episode of Jeopardy! three contestants faced off: Kelly Gates, a librarian from Medford, Massachusetts; Kyle Compton-Troesch, a civil engineer from Cincinnati, Ohio; and Rishabh Wuppalapati, a University of Pennsylvania undergraduate from Vernon Hills, Illinois. Rishabh, the two-day champion, entered the game with total winnings of $52,802.
The Jeopardy! round opened with categories such as Peak Experiences, Lighter Verse, Soccer in the USA, Exercising, Too Little, and “OO” Late. Rishabh secured an early lead by selecting the first Daily Double in the Peak Experiences category, correctly identifying Mount Kilimanjaro and increasing his total by $1,000. By the end of the round, Rishabh led with $6,400, while Kelly followed with $4,000, and Kyle trailed at $3,800.
During Double Jeopardy!, the game picked up momentum with categories like 19th Century Photos, Twinning, 12-Letter Words, Biology, Choreographers, and A Bit of Culture Shark. Kelly made a bold move on a Daily Double in the Biology category, wagering $4,000 and correctly responding with “heliotropism.” This briefly gave her the lead.
However, her second Daily Double wager of $4,000 in Twinning led to a misstep with “Stanley Steamer,” dropping her back down. Despite the setback, Kelly performed well enough across the board to maintain a narrow lead going into Final Jeopardy!, with $13,200 to Rishabh’s $11,600. Kyle remained in the game with $5,800.
The Final Jeopardy! category was Literary Geography, with a clue referencing the settings of “What is The Great Gatsby?” All three contestants correctly identified the novel. Kelly’s strategic wager of $10,001 brought her final total to $23,201, just enough to edge out Rishabh by one dollar, leaving him with $23,200. Kyle finished with $11,400.
Rishabh’s two-day winning streak came to an end, while Kelly emerged victorious by a razor-thin margin.
