‘Jeopardy!’: Was Paolo Pasco in 7th Heaven After Controversial Final Question?

[Warning: The following post contains MAJOR spoilers for the Thursday, September 18, episode of Jeopardy!]

Paolo Pasco might have been in seventh heaven after playing his seventh Jeopardy! game as he approached the $200,000 mark in total winnings. The Final Question was a bit controversial again, as fans thought it was too hard.

Pasco, from San Diego, California, played against Kelly Anneken, from Alameda, California, and Greg Shipman, from Houston, Texas, on Thursday, September 18. He came in with a six-day total of $162,117.

It was a fight for first place between Pasco, a puzzle writer, and Shipman, a geoscience cartographer, at the beginning of the game. Pasco led with $5,600 compared to Shipman’s $3,000.

After the commercial break, Shipman found the Daily Double. He was only $1,000 behind Pasco with $4,600. Shipman wagered all of his money in “Kentucky History.” The clue read, “Last name of the man of Scottish ancestry who moved to Eastern Kentucky in 1804 & whose descendants were part of a nasty feud.” “What is McCoy?” he answered correctly, moving him to $9,200 and first place.

He kept the lead at the end of the round with $9,600. Pasco had $7,800. Anneken, a content designer, was in third with $1,400.

In Double Jeopardy, Anneken found the first DD on the first clue. She wagered $2,000 in “First Names.” The clue was “It’s the first name of literature’s Dr. Van Helsing, as well as the full first name of his creator.” “What is Abraham?” she answered correctly, giving her $3,400.

Two clues later, Pasco found the last DD. With $9,800, he had the current lead of $200. Pasco wagered $5,100 in “World Capitals.” The clue read, “They’re the world capital & its country whose names both end with the Spanish word for water.” The correct response was “What are Managua and Nicaragua?” which Pasco knew. He took the lead with $14,900. This made all three Daily Doubles answered correctly.

Pasco continued to dominate the round and move way ahead of his opponents. He ended the round with $29,300. Shipman had $12,400. Anneken ended with $8,600.

The category for Final Jeopardy was “Award Winner.” The clue was, “He became the first person to win both an Olympic medal and an Academy Award thanks to a short film he made about his sport.” Two of the contestants got it right.

Anneken answered, “Who is Lance Armstrong?” which was wrong. She wagered $4,801, giving her a final total of $3,799. Both Pasco and Shipman answered “Who is Kobe Bryant?” which was right. Shipman also wagered $4,801, ending with $17,201. Pasco wagered $4,300, which gave him a final total of $33,600.

Pasco now has a seven-day total of $195,717. He will return on Friday for his eighth game.

Jeopardy! fans thought this final question was too hard. “Not a fan of this clue, as when I think of Olympians, I think of people that got famous for their Olympic achievements, not pro athletes that were famous or later became famous in their professional sport,” a The Jeopardy! Fan user said.

“I had no idea. I was forced to guess,” said another.

“Hit it right on the head for the clue not having enough information,” a third wrote.

Many commenters said they guessed Olympic diver Mark Spitz.

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