Another Tournament of Champions match, another nail-biter. This Wednesday night showdown featured Mark Fitzpatrick facing off against Amy Hummel and Isaac Hirsch. Let’s just say the scores bounced around more than a caffeinated rabbit in a drum solo.
The first round saw Isaac jump to an early lead, flexing some serious knowledge of venomous pit vipers. Mark, however, seemed to be channeling the ghost of Alex Trebek’s disappointed headshakes, landing himself in the red. Amy, meanwhile, played it steady, proving she wasn’t just an ER doctor, but a Jeopardy! doctor as well.
Double Jeopardy! was where the real fireworks started. Mark, like a phoenix rising from the ashes of his negative score, snatched the lead with a perfectly executed Daily Double wager on a question about Mongolian statues. But Isaac, not to be outdone, clawed his way back, only to stumble on a Daily Double about a certain whip-cracking archaeologist.
Going into Final Jeopardy!, Mark held a seemingly comfortable lead at 18,400, leaving Isaac at 13,600 and Amy trailing at 5,600, all scrambling for a Hail Mary. The category? Scientists’ names, naturally. And the clue? A word puzzle involving Dutch words for tiny organisms and much larger creatures. It sounds simple, right?
Turns out, it wasn’t. Mark dropped to 9,599 and Amy to a mere 1, both missing the mark. This left the door wide open for Isaac, who coolly delivered the correct response: “What is lion?”. With a strategic wager, he added 4,000 to his score, finishing with 17,600 and securing the victory and a spot in the next round.
So, another Tournament of Champions match down, and another lesson learned: never underestimate the power of a well-placed wager and a solid grasp of Dutch zoology.
Jeopardy! airs weekdays in syndication. Check your local listings.
