‘Jeopardy!’ Competitor Can’t Believe Surprise Win in Latest Episode

Meaghan Darwish
8 Comments
Kate, Aubrey, and Anji play 'Jeopardy!'
Jeopardy!, Inc.

One thing about the game of Jeopardy! is that it’s almost always unpredictable, but even more so during the July 5 game between returning champion Kate Campolieta and new players Aubrey Gilleran, and Anji Nyquist.

After winning $11,513, Kate had a strong base to build off of heading into her second game against Charlotte, North Carolina high school English teacher, Aubrey, and Minneapolis, Minnesota-based social media coordinator Anji. Still, the Simsbury, Connecticut corporate communications specialist faced challenges once the game hosted by Ken Jennings began.

Starting the first round in the red, but she was in second place once Final Jeopardy! rolled around, putting her behind Aubrey who had taken first with $11,200, and in front of Anji who was trailing them with $4,800. But it seemed like luck was on the underdog’s side in this game as Anji made a surprise comeback in the game’s final seconds.

Anji Nyquist on 'Jeopardy!'

(Credit: Jeopardy!, Inc.)

During Final Jeopardy!, the players were presented with the category of “African Countries,” with the clue reading, “Nicknamed ‘the kingdom of sky,’ this landlocked nation is the only country in the world to lie entirely above 4,000 feet.” The corresponding question was “What is Lesotho?”

The only player to respond accurately was Anji who bet $4,000, bringing her total up to $8,800. Unfortunately for Kate, she bet all of her winnings and offered the wrong question, of “What is Burundi?” leaving her with $0. Meanwhile, Aubrey’s response of “What is Ethiopia?” also landed him in the danger zone, especially with his hefty $2,601 bet, leaving him with a final score of $8,599, just behind Anji’s winning final total.

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The close score earned a shocked face from Anji and applause from her fellow players as well as viewers alike as some of their responses indicate, below.

But what did you think of the surprising outcome? Let us know in the comments section, and don’t miss Anji play again when Jeopardy! continues tomorrow.

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  1. J

    Jena

    She won, but she didn't wow me with smarts. Some of the questions that these contestants didn't get were eye-popping.

    2

  2. R

    RedBee

    What did I think? What did I THINK of Anji’s win?! I think Anji is one of the loveliest women to have competed on Jeopardy - perhaps ever! Now all she needs is enough wins to hold over past the summer break, writers’ strike and more in order to be back on our screens after tapings resume!

    3 1

  3. J

    Jolene Errante

    Anji incorrectly answered the $1200 clue about GCD late in the Double Jeopardy round, but Ken uncharacteristically accepted her incorrect response (saying that "denominator ' was equivalent to 'divisor', which it's not}. Amazingly, the judges didn't catch the error either, and she was allowed to go into Final Jeopardy with $4800, when she should have had $2400. This scoring error was the difference in the game. Aubrey should have won and should be allowed to come back for a do-over!

    1

  4. O

    OrangePin

    Sounds good

  5. R

    RedButton

    There's been a recent trend - and not a good one - on Jeopardy: low wagers, low winning scores, lower entertainment value. Is it a contagion this inertia?

  6. C

    CyanFries

    Babe of the scores were impressiv, and that's because the writers are delving into some pretty obscure minutia. I normally get 25/23/1 on a game. This one I scored 21/19/1.

    i

    1. C

      CyanFries

      That should read None rather than Babe. Sorry.

      1

  7. G

    GreenLobster

    Anji incorrectly answered the $1200 clue about GCD late in the Double Jeopardy round, but Ken uncharacteristically accepted her incorrect response (saying that "denominator ' was equivalent to 'divisor', which it's not}. Amazingly, the judges didn't catch the error either, and she was allowed to go into Final Jeopardy with $4800, when she should have had $2400. This scoring error was the difference in the game. Aubrey should have won and should be allowed to come back for a do-over!

    1