‘Jeopardy!’ Players Set New Record For Bad Play In ‘Rough’ Game
There was a really rough Jeopardy! episode to watch this week. In the episode, defending champion Mike Dawson wanted to extend his winning streak, but found things tough going. While he did go ahead and pull out the victory, it wasn’t thanks to a well-played game, as the three contestants set a record for futility in the game.
Here is what happened on the game show and how made this game really ended up being.
Jeopardy! Players Set Season Record For Missed Questions
On Tuesday’s episode of Jeopardy!, the three contestants set a record for the most missed questions so far this season. While defending champion Mike ended up with a large money total, the game was a rough one to watch for viewers at home.
Mike Dawson, a technology manager from Oregon, was a two-day champ with winnings of $35,600. He faced off with Anise K. Strong-Morse, a history professor from Michigan and Joe Lancour, a quality and export compliance manager from Massachusetts. By the end, all the players were equally frustrated in the day’s questions (via The U.S. Sun).
After the first break, Mike was in the lead with $4,200, compared to Joe’s $2,000, and Anise’s $2,000. By the second break, almost nothing had changed, with Mike at $4,800, Joe at $3,000, and Anise dropping to negative $1,000.
Mike found the first Daily Double but missed the clue: “In this novel Chapter 10 is “The Shell and the Glasses” & 12, ‘Cry of the Hunters.’” He didn’t guess What Is Lord of the Flies?
In the Double Jeopardy! round, Anise pulled out of the hole when she got a series of clues right. However, she found the second Daily Double and missed it, dropping her score. “Remove the X from within a statement of a basic principle & you do this, inflict a severe injury.” She couldn’t answer, “What is maim?”
Joe got the last Daily Double, and he also missed it. “The National Road was also called this for the Maryland city where construction began in 1811 heading west.” He couldn’t figure out, “What is Cumberland?”
How Did Lackluster Jeopardy! Game End?
Mike didn’t get the extra Daily Doubles, but that means he could build his totals and not have to risk anything big. By the time Final Jeopardy! arrived, the game was over. Mike had $16,400, Anise had $2,900, and Joe had $1,800. Neither challenger could catch Mike’s score.
The last clue was: “Burt Lancaster and Joanne Woodward were among the first eight honored at a 1958 ceremony held on this street.” For a change, all three players got this one right: “What is Hollywood Boulevard?” Mike finished with $21,400, for a three-day total of $57,000. Joe finished with $3,600 and Anise with $3,607.
By the end of the game, these three players missed more questions than any other game in season 41. They missed 16 different clues overall. Mike missed two, Joe missed seven, and Anise missed seven.
Fans chimed in on social media, and few blamed the players:
- “You could tell the contestants were struggling, too. Hard clues, hard DDs, and a surprisingly easy FJ.”
- “This was an abnormally tough board for me today. All around difficult.”
- “Rough game. Ten triple stumpers. 16 wrong responses including all three DDs and two of the three players had under $3,000 going to FJ. Yikes!”
What are your thoughts on this game of Jeopardy! Did you think it was too hard for a day’s gameplay? Let us know in the comments.
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