‘Jeopardy!’: Yogesh Raut Makes Fatal Error in Dramatic ‘TOC’ Finals – Fans React

Only $1 separated first and second place on Tuesday night’s (March 12) episode of Jeopardy! Tournament of Champions, after Yogesh Raut made a critical error in Final Jeopardy.

The first game of the TOC finals kicked off with Raut, a psychologist from Vancouver, Washington, taking on the formidable Troy Meyer, a music executive from Tampa, Florida, and fan favorite Ben Chan, a philosophy professor from Green Bay, Wisconsin.

Raut started on the back foot after being completely shut out on the buzzer in the first half of the opening round. But he found his timing in the second half, answering nine clues correctly, only one behind Chan, who answered ten correctly and led with $6,000.

It was Meyer’s time to shine in Double Jeopardy, as he found both Daily Doubles, answering the first one correctly and giving him a substantial lead. However, he failed to answer the second one, which brought his score back in line with Raut and Chan.

Going into Final Jeopardy, Meyer led with $22,000, while Raut stood at $15,600, and Chan had $10,000. It was still anyone’s game, depending on correct answers and smart wagers.

Raut and Chan answered the Final Jeopardy clue correctly — “This 1867 play has a reindeer hunt & a king dwelling in snowy mountains but its title character also spends time in Morocco & Egypt.” — with “What is Peer Gynt?”

However, Raut misplayed the wager situation, choosing to bet $0 while Chan wagered $5,601. This meant Chan came from third place to snatch the win with a total of $15,601, just $1 more than Raut’s $15,600.

Meyer answered incorrectly with “What is Hedda Gabler?” and wagered $9,201, dropping him into third place with $12,799.

“Yogesh was in a Stratton’s Dilemma. So he had to choose between to cover Ben or go really small in the bet,” explained one fan on the Jeopardy! Reddit forum. “Unfortunately the score between Yogesh and Ben was a crush game type scenario, Ben was in the position to go aggressive in the bet.”

“And since this is a race to get three points, so the right call for Yogesh here was to trust that he gets FJ correct and cover Ben and hope that Troy misses,” they continued.

“I can only conclude that the WORLD THEATER category felt like it could be a hard one to Yogesh and that he expected a Triple Stumper,” said another.

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“There have been so many triple stumpers in this tournament, I can see it from Yogesh’s perspective,” wrote another commenter. “With that $0 he wins on a TS, but if Troy gets it he’s the almost-certain winner. Ben just made a perfect cover bet: Yogesh + $1.”

“I think Yogesh’s inconsistency with the buzzer is going to cost him despite maybe being the best of the 3 in knowledge,” said another.

Another added, “The ebb and flow was thrilling and Ben thought correctly in FJ that Troy and Yogesh would wager like they did. Then fate took over.”

Despite Raut’s error, the tournament isn’t over yet. The finals are a first-to-three-wins format, so there is still plenty of game to play before all is said and done.

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