‘Jeopardy!’: Comedian Guy Branum Gets Second Chance. Did He Win?

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[Warning: The following post contains MAJOR spoilers for the Monday, December 22, episode of Jeopardy!]

The Jeopardy! Second Chance Tournament resumed this week after Peter Johnston nabbed victory in the first round on Friday. This week will see nine different competitors all vying to win after they failed their first games, including comedian Guy Branum, who returned on Monday, December 22. Find out if he won.

Branum, from West Hollywood, California, is a comedian and writer who has appeared on shows such as Last Comic Standing, Talk Show the Game Show, and the movie Bros, and served as a writer on multiple projects, including Chelsea Lately and The Mindy Project. He lost to Mike Dawson, from Portland, Oregon, on April 4, coming in second.

For the Second Chance Tournament, Branum played against Jasmine Zhou, from Woodland, California. Zhou, an ASIC engineer, lost to Ashley Chan on December 17, 2024, by only $300. Branum and Zhou went up against Rachael Gray, from Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio. Gray was one of the fallen soldiers against six-game champion Liam Starnes. She ended in third place after an incorrect Final Jeopardy response.

The beginning of the game had the former contestants battling it out for first place. With $1,400 in his bank and the lead, Barnum found the Daily Double. He made it a true Daily Double in “Literary Lodgings.” The clue read, “Though it sounds possessive, the name of this country estate in an E.M. Forster title has no apostrophe.” “What is Howard’s End?” Barnum answered quickly and correctly. He doubled up to $2,800.

By the first commercial break, Barnum was still in the lead, but Zhou was not too far behind him. During the interviews, Barnum revealed he was on Jeopardy! for the third time this year thanks to his time on the show Platonic, which featured the game show on an episode.

Barnum maintained the lead with $6,200, but not by much. Zhou was right behind him with $6,000. Gray, a graduate student, ended the round with $4,600.

In Double Jeopardy, Zhou found the first Daily Double on clue two. She pulled into the lead with $7,600. In “Shedding Some Light on the Dark Ages,” Zhou made it a true Daily Double.

“Really? Wow,” host Ken Jennings said.

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The clue read, “Around 900, the French king ceded to Rollo the Viking a large northern territory that became known as this duchy.”

“What is Luxembourg?” she answered incorrectly. Zhou dropped down to $0 as the correct response was Normandy.

Zhou proved how good a player she is as she quickly climbed back up to $5,600 in only a few clues. She found the second DD at $6,800. In “Crossword Clues ‘U’,” Zhou wagered all of her money again.

The clue was “All over the place (10 letters).” “What is universal?” she answered. The correct response was ubiquitous, so Zhou dropped down to $0 again.

By the end of the round, Branum had the lead with $9,400. Gray had $8,600. Zhou remained in third place with $4,800.

The category for Final Jeopardy was “French Landmarks.” The clue read, “Secularized during the revolution, this Latin Quarter building has a porch of columns & triangular pediment modeled on an ancient building.”

Only two of the contestants got the correct response. Zhou answered with “What pantheon?” This was correct, and she wagered $4,799, giving her $9,599. Gray did not answer. She wagered $7,000, which gave her $1,600. Branum had the correct response of “What is the Pantheon?” and wagered $7,801. This gave him a total of $17,201.

Branum advanced to the final, which is a two-part event that takes place on Thursday and Friday. Tune in on Tuesday for three new players.

Jeopardy!, weekdays, check local listings, stream next day on Hulu and Peacock