Going up against a high school English teacher might be the end for Caleb Groen‘s Jeopardy! run. He had to answer a clue about books during Final Jeopardy. Did he survive?
Groen, a law and policy student from Thousand Oaks, California, entered the July 13 game with a seven-day total of $201,000. He played against Mike Neighbors, from Los Angeles, California, and Molly Rakes, from Inwood, West Virginia. Warning: Spoilers for the July 13 episode of Jeopardy! ahead!
Neighbors, a legal news editor, found the Daily Double on clue two. He had $800 and wagered the allotted $1,000.
In “Frequently Misquoted,” the clue was, “This 4-word phrase of explanation doesn’t appear in any of Conan Doyle’s writings, but it was in common use by 1909.” “What is Elementary, my dear Watson?” he answered correctly. That gave him $1,800.
However, after the first 15 clues, Groen took the lead with $4,600. Neighbors had $2,800.
The champion had the lead at the end of the Jeopardy! round with $8,000. Neighbors had $3,200. Rakes, a high school English teacher, was in third place with $2,400.
In Double Jeopardy, Groen found the first DD on clue nine. He had the lead with $7,600 and wagered $4,500.
In “Warrior Women,” the clue read, “In 1885 the warrior/shaman Lozen fought beside this leader of the Chiricahua Apache tribe who was famous for his daring escapes.” “Who is Geronimo?” he answered correctly. This gave him $12,100.
Neighbors found the last DD on clue 16. He had $3,600 and wagered $3,000. The clue in “‘Ace It!’” was, “Used in a negative sense, it’s been defined as contentment with the status quo that prevents you from trying harder.”
“What is complacement?” he answered incorrectly. The correct response was “complacency,” so he dropped down to $600.
By the end of the round, Groen had $18,500. Rakes pulled into second place with $8,400. Neighbors had $3,800.
The category for Final Jeopardy was “Bestsellers.” The clue read, “2 of the bestselling books ever based on true crime are 1974’s ‘Helter Skelter’ & this one from about 10 years before.” All of the game show contestants had the correct response of “What is In Cold Blood?”
Neighbors wagered $27, giving him $3,827. Rakes didn’t wager any money, so she ended with $8,400. Groen’s wager of $1,000 brought him up to $19,500.
He had an eight-day total of $220,500. Groen will return on Tuesday for his ninth game.
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