The Wednesday May 15 episode of Jeopardy! featured an exciting contest between three new opponents: Grant DeYoung, a grocery clerk from Prescott, Arizona; Kathy Olson, a journalism professor from Allentown, Pennsylvania; and Will Stewart, a political organizer originally from Nashville, Tennessee, who entered the game with a three-day winning streak and total earnings of $70,501.
The first round presented a diverse range of categories, including “Union Men,” “Sportswomen,” “TJ Max,” “Facts About Foursomes,” “Foodie Book Titles,” and “Antonymic Perrys.” Will Stewart quickly asserted his dominance by successfully answering the Daily Double question worth $800 in the “Union Men” category, doubling his score to $2,800. The clue referred to General Sherman’s gift to Lincoln after the march from Atlanta to the sea, which included the city of Savannah and a substantial number of cannons and bales of cotton.
At the first break, Will maintained a comfortable lead with $6,000, while Grant followed with $2,200 and Kathy trailed behind with -$200. As the game progressed into Double Jeopardy!, the contestants navigated through categories such as “2020s Politics,” “Trees,” “In the Period Film,” “The Runaways,” “Once Yugoslavia,” and “The Next Word in the Dictionary After…”
Grant DeYoung seized the opportunity to close the gap by answering the Daily Double question in the “The Runaways” category, adding $5,000 to his score and taking the lead with a total of $12,400. The clue referred to a foreign city popular for runaway production, where the TV show “Suits” was filmed, less than a two-hour flight from Los Angeles. However, Will quickly regained his momentum, and by the end of Double Jeopardy!, the scores were tightly contested, with Grant at $13,200 and Will close behind at $12,800, followed by Kathy with $6,600.
The Final Jeopardy! category, “19th Century Literary Characters,” presented a relatively easy clue about a character inspired by John Elwes, a millionaire member of parliament known for his frugality. All three contestants provided the correct response of “Who is Scrooge?” but it was Grant DeYoung who strategically wagered $12,401, securing his victory with a final score of $25,601. Will Stewart finished in second place with $13,201, and Kathy Olson came in third with $13,199.
The judges’ acceptance of Grant’s response to the $400 clue about Lucy, the famous performer, was a topic of discussion, as some viewers felt that simply “Lucy” should have sufficed, given that she was commonly referred to by her first name. Nonetheless, Grant’s full response, “Lucie Arnaz,” was also accurate, as it is the name of Lucy’s daughter and a well-known performer in her own right.
