‘Jeopardy!’ Fans Shocked By Final Jeopardy Triple Stumper & Huge Wager
This… Is… Jeopardy!
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After months of gameplay, Jeopardy!‘s final round of Champions Wildcard is winding down, but the tournament is still delivering shocking moments on the way to the February 22 finale.
Wednesday’s (February 7) quarter-final match-up saw a battle between returning Season 39 contestants Taylor Clagett, a marketing director originally from Chesapeake Beach, Maryland, Lisa Sriken, a lawyer from New York, New York, and Justin White, a director of orchestra personnel from Overland Park, Kansas.
Sriken was perhaps the favorite heading into the episode, at least in terms of fan support. Viewers warmed to Sriken during her original March 2023 appearance for her expressive reactions and funny story about finishing third in a Hall & Oates music video competition.
On Wednesday’s episode, Sriken started well, leading the way after the first round with 13 correct responses and $6,600. Clagett followed closely behind with $5,600, while White trailed with $400.
The battle between Sriken and Clagett remained closely fought throughout Double Jeopardy until a couple of Daily Doubles switched things up. Sriken answered her Daily Double incorrectly, losing $4,000, while Clagett bagged an extra $1,200 on his Daily Double.
Clagett pulled ahead after his Daily Double success, entering Final Jeopardy with $15,600. Sriken wasn’t too far behind on $11,000, though White remained at the back of the pack with just $3,6000.
The Final Jeopardy clue, under the Wonders of the Ancient World category, read: “Achilles Tatius wrote that it ‘was like a mountain… at the top of this mountain rose a second sun.'”
To the surprise of many fans, the clue ended up being a Triple Stumper, as none of the three contestants knew the correct answer (the Lighthouse of Alexandria). However, even more shocking was Sriken’s massive wager, which resulted in her losing the game and her shot at moving on to the Tournament of Champions.
Sriken wagered a huge $9,000 of her $11,000 total and didn’t even attempt a response, instead drawing a smiley face on her board. Clagell also answered incorrectly (with “What is the Colossus of Rhodes?”) but wagered just $7,400 of his $15,600, giving him an episode-winning total of $8,200.
“That wager made no sense, and to not at least write down one of the seven wonders: Great pyramid, Collossus, statue of Zeus…,” wrote one fan on the Jeopardy! Reddit forum.
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“I’m a bit surprised that Lisa didn’t take the “wager nothing” route, but maybe she liked the category…and then nerves possibly got the better of her upon seeing the clue itself,” suggested another commenter. “Nerves get to nearly everyone at some point, just in varying circumstances.”
Another added, “Surprised by the FJ triple stumper, figured most Jeopardy contestants would have played Civilization.”
“Can anyone explain why [Sriken] bet more than what would land her at 2x+1 of Justin’s score going into FJ?” asked another confused viewer. “Taylor is always going to bet to cover Lisa, so the biggest risk to her is she bets more than what would allow Justin to win if he doubles up and is the only correct respondent in FJ.”
“Ugh I wanted Lisa to win. Contestants really need to work on wagering strategy,” said another.
“Hoo boy, Lisa was pissed lol,” wrote one fan, while another added, “I’m guessing she realized that her large wager was the reason she lost. It’s a shame since she played extremely well before her DD miss, but to err is human, and whatever may be speculated by us viewers at home, errors will always remain common on Jeopardy.”
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