‘Jeopardy!’ Fans Praise Tournament for ‘Intense’ Level of Competition: ‘One of the Best Episodes I’ve Ever Watched’

Kelli Boyle January 30, 2024, 8:28 pm

The seemingly never-ending onslaught of Jeopardy! tournaments can be a drag, until a thrilling game comes along that reminds you why having these seasoned players return is a good thing. Fans were thrilled by the “intense” competition on display in the Tuesday, January 30 Jeopardy episode, which saw champs Juveria Zaheer, Robbi Ramirez, and Alec Chao square up for a semi-final installment of the Champions Wildcard Tournament.

The competition was fierce between these three, although the excitement didn’t truly pick up until Double Jeopardy. By the end of the first round, the scores were Juveria with 7,400, Alec with 1,200, and Robbi with 1,600. All of their scores shot up in round two, which ended with Juveria at 18,200, Alec at 10,000, and Robbi at 22,600.

It was the high-scoring game fans always want to see, which made for an exciting Final Jeopardy that could have been won by any of the three competitors. The category was “Names in History,” and the clue was, “The scientific name of Jamaica’s ackee fruit honors this captain who brought it to England in 1793.” The correct answer was, “Who was Captain Bligh?” While Robbi was in the lead when the final round began, his incorrect answer dropped him down to a score of 8,600, leaving him in third place.

With their correct answers, Juveria and Alec added 7,000 and 10,000 to their respective scores. Juveria added another win to her belt with her final score of 25,200. Alec ended the night with 20,000. Fans had no complaints about their excellent game play. In fact, some praised the tournaments for bringing them this showdown.

“Big shout out to the ‘these tournaments are boring’ crowd. If you watch this game and don’t enjoy it, then you don’t truly enjoy what Jeopardy is today. Hell of a game,” one fan said on Reddit.

“It’s been fun watching Queen Juveria box her way from the SCC to the CWC finals,” replied another. “It’s like watching a low-seeded team in March Madness make it to the Final Four. I’m really pulling for her to get to the [Tournament of Champions].”

“I’ve honestly really enjoyed these tournaments. I miss the regular gameplay as much as anyone, but this season has had some of the most competitive games I’ve ever seen,” one user wrote.

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“Regular gameplay is good!” said another user. “And it’s perfectly fine to enjoy the tradition of Jeopardy, it’s been there for 40 years. But the level of competition in these games is way more intense, in part (I think) because the contestants are familiar with the stage and the buzzer and everything that goes in. I imagine it takes a load of stress off the plate when compared to a first time player who feels s/he may only have one shot!”

“One of the best games this season. Juveria looked like she was on her way to a runaway until Robbi’s all-in on DD2,” said another comment. One fan echoed the sentiment, saying, “This was one of the best episodes I’ve ever watched.”

“Excellent job everyone. I know at least two of you can probably see this, so I’m just going to say it right now. That’s the way you play the game. You guys meant business and I love it,” said another.

Their comment was in reference to Alec and Robbi’s comments on the same Reddit thread. Alec is happy this is how his time on the show ended.

“If I were allowed to decide how my Jeopardy! career would end, I’d choose this game every time,” he wrote. “I’m so excited for everyone to see just how brilliantly Juveria and Robbi played.”

Before the episode was widely available to viewers (the series is syndicated, so it airs at different times for different regions), Robbi commented, “Cannot wait for everybody I know to see this one. Hell of a game.”

Do you agree? Share your thoughts on the January 30 episode in the comments below.

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