Was Greg Shahade written out of Jeopardy! after taking down super champ Jamie Ding? For his fourth game, he went up against a novelist who had previously appeared on the game show.
Shahade, a chess master from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, had a three-day total of $74,602. For game four, he faced off against Kate Brody, from Los Angeles, California, and Derek Kaufman, also from Los Angeles.
Brody is a novelist who is best known for writing Rabbit Hole, which was released in January 2024. In December 2024, her name even appeared in a clue. In “Animal Expressions,” the $200 clue was “In a 2024 thriller by Kate Brody, a woman investigates her sister’s murder & falls down this proverbial place, the book’s title.” The answer was a rabbit hole. Host Ken Jennings mentioned the clue during her interview.
Can she take down the three-day champion? Warning: Spoilers for the April 30 episode of Jeopardy! ahead.
Shahade was ahead by $5,000 by the first 15 clues. By the time Brody found the Daily Double in “Come At Me, Bro” on clue 25, Shahade had $9,400.
Brody had $2,600 and wagered all of her money on the clue: “Pushkin survived exile but not his brother-in-law’s pistol; a monument in this then-capital marks the site of their 1837 duel.”
“What is Saint Petersburg?” she answered correctly. This made Shahade’s lead not as big as Brody had $5,200.
Shahade ended the round with $10,000. Brody had $5,400. Kaufman, an attorney, was in third place with $1,000.
Brody answered the first four clues in Double Jeopardy correctly, giving her the lead with $11,800. The first three clues were from “Johnny Gilbert: No.1 Hit Machine,” which had the announcer singing lyrics to popular songs, of which the contestants had to guess the artist.
Shahade almost caught up to Brody when he answered clue six correctly, but was $200 away. She then proceeded to answer another correctly, putting her in the lead.
Brody found the first DD on clue 14. She had the lead with $15,000 and wagered $5,000. In “Common Bonds,” the clue was “Knives, minds, Cheddar cheese.”
“What are things that are sharp?” she answered correctly. This gave her $20,000 compared to Shahade’s $12,400.
She then had $21,200 when she found the last DD on clue 18. Brody wagered $1,200 in “Politica Subdivisions.”
The clue was “The Ninth is the largest & easternmost one of these districts in the city of New Orleans.” “What are parishes?” she answered incorrectly. The correct response was ward. Brody dropped down to $20,000.
Brody then got another Johnny Gilbert singing clue correct. Shahade got the last one.
Although Shahade put up a fair fight and ended with $13,200, he couldn’t quite reach first place. That went to Brody, who had $22,000. Kaufman ended with $1,400.
“Sports and the Movies” was the category for Final Jeopardy. “In 2026, a New Year’s Day college football game featured these 2 team names that are both Gene Hackman movie titles” was the clue.
The clue was a Triple Stumper among the game show contestants. The correct response was “What are Hoosiers & Crimson Tide?”
Kaufman wrote, “What are Hoosiers and Rams?” He was half right and wagered $1,300, ending with $100. Shahade responded, “What are Crimson Tide + Fighting Irish.” He wagered $10,000, making his final total $3,200.
Brody’s response was “What is Patriots + Jets?” She wagered $4,401, making her final total $17,599. Brody won the game and will return on Friday for game two.
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