[The following post contains MAJOR spoilers for the Tuesday, July 1, episode of Jeopardy!]
With a new month came the hope for a new multi-day champion. Jeopardy! tied the record for most one-day winners since 2002. This unwanted record came as a husband competed on the game show and tried to match his wife, who won in 2021.
Dave McBride, from Fuquay Varina, North Carolina, returned for his second game after earning $22,401 in his first. On Tuesday, July 1, he played against Jason Singer, from Portland, Maine, and Heather Kompanek, from New York, New York.
Singer, a real estate agent, had a lot of pressure on his back as he tried to surpass his wife, Susan McMillan, who won $35,600. She played two games, but lost the second. The couple are both former journalists, who started to watch Jeopardy! together daily early on when they were dating, starting 20 years ago.
“There are some records on this show that champions are really hoping to break,” host Ken Jennings said at the beginning of the game. “But, for our current champion, Dave McBride, tying the record for most consecutive games with a one-day winner on Jeopardy! is not one of them.” The current record is 13, set in 2002. This was the 13th game with 13 champions. Read on for how it played out.
Singer was in the lead with $3,400 when he found the first Daily Double. He made it a true Daily Double in “Homophones.” The clue read, “Illegal & to provoke a response.” Singer answered, “What is illicit/elicit?” but was too late, and it didn’t count. He dropped down to $0. Kompanek, a product support manager, had the lead with $2,400 by the first commercial break.
By the end of the round, it was a closer game. Kompanek was still in the lead with $3,600. McBride, a compliance consultant, moved to second with $3,200. Singer had $2,400.
In Double Jeopardy, Singer found the first DD with the first clue. He tried to take the lead by making it a true Daily Double again. In “Art House,” the clue read, “One of the lonely scenes painted by this American is 1925’s ‘House by the Railroad,’ utterly devoid of people.” He answered correctly with, “Who is Edward Hopper?” and doubled up to $4,800, taking the lead.
Singer had the lead of $11,200 when he found the last DD. In “Tough TV,” he wagered $3,000. If he was wrong, he would have dropped down to second place. The clue read, “JFK famously dubbed this show that’s still around today ‘the fifty-first state.” In the nick of time, Singer answered correctly with, “What is Meet the Press?” giving him $14,200.
By the end of the round, Singer led with $17,800. Kompanek had $11,200. The reigning champion was in third with $6,000.
The category for Final Jeopardy was “Buried in Westminster Abbey.” The clue wasn’t a triple stumper this time. It read, “In 1991, he became the first actor in over 85 years to be interred in Poets Corner & rests near Shakespeare’s memorial.”
McBride did not have the right answer. He wrote “Who is Yorrick?” and wagered $1,300, leaving him with a total of $4,700. Both Kompanek and Singer were correct with, “Who is Laurence Olivier?” Kompanek added $4,000 to her total, giving her $15,200. Singer added “#BringBackSusan” to his response. He wagered $4,601, making his total $22,401.
“He wants a rematch with his wife. I love this,” Ken Jennings said. Singer did not beat his wife, as she had $13,000 more than him, but he will try to rack up his total in game two on Wednesday. He will try to not only break the Jeopardy! curse, but also his wife’s record and total.
“We could break the record tomorrow with our 14th new champ. Don’t miss it,” Jennings said.
“Going to need a bigger boat for the (1-2 game) Champions Tournament this year ;),” a Reddit user said.
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