‘Jeopardy! Invitational Tournament’: Contestant Has Runaway Game After Triple Stumper Final Clue

Couch Jeopardy! Champion 11oz Mug

$14.25

Buy Now

[Warning: The following contains MAJOR spoilers for the Friday, February 6, episode of Jeopardy!]

The Jeopardy! Invitational Tournament continued with its second quarterfinal game on Friday, February 6. One contestant had a runaway win despite the final cue being a triple stumper. Read on to find out who came out victorious and will join Matt Amodio in the semifinals after Thursday’s win.

Roger Craig, the 2011 Tournament of Champions winner, from Johnstown, Pennsylvania, played against Eric Ahasic, six-game champion, from Minneapolis, Minnesota, and Veronica Vichit-Vadakan, a four-game champion, from Portland, Oregon.

The JIT is an invitation-only tournament, where contestants can choose if they want to compete or not. They are typically pulled from previous years’ Masters, TOCs, and other champions. The winner of the JIT takes home $150,000 and will advance to this year’s Jeopardy! Masters, which has not yet set a date.

After six quarterfinal games, the winners and three Wildcard players will face off in the semifinals, and then eventually the finals, where the first player to reach two wins becomes the champion.

Craig, an applied scientist, had the lead when he found the Daily Double on clue 15. With $2,800 in his bank, he wagered all of his money. In “____ & ____,” the clue read, “Involving 2 elements of the magician’s art, this idiom is used to describe a situation of deception.”

“What is cloak and dagger?” he answered incorrectly. The correct response was smoke and mirrors, so Craig dropped down to $0.

By the end of the round, Craig made an amazing comeback. It wasn’t enough to get him into first place, but he wasn’t far behind. Ahasic, a meteorologist, and Vichit-Vadakan, a librarian, were tied with $2,800. Craig had $2,400.

In Double Jeopardy, Craig started out unlucky, but quickly climbed to the top. He was in second place with  $4,400 when he found the first DD on clue seven. Craig made it a true Daily Double.

In “France in the 1600s,” the clue was “Found on the Left Bank of the Seine, this veterans’ hospital was built by architect Libéral Bruant in Baroque style.” “What is Invalides?” he answered correctly, giving him $8,800.

He kept the lead when he found the second DD on clue 14. He had $12,800 and wagered $4,000 in “We’re Building Words Over Here.” “Location of a eustachian tube + a biblical evangelist = this targeted sort of funding” was the clue.

Related

'Jeopardy!' Fans React After Paulo Pasco’s Amazing TOC Win

“What is earmark?” Craig correctly answered. He had a huge lead with $16,800.

By the end of the round, Craig had $24,000. Vichit-Vadakan was in second place with $7,200. Ahasic had $5,600.

The category for Final Jeopardy was “Art & Artists.” The clue read, “He entered the priory of San Marco in Florence in the 1430s & was commissioned to paint its altarpiece by the Medicis.” The correct response was Fra Angelico, which none of the game show contestants wrote.

Ahasic responded, “Who is Botticelli?” He wagered $5,600, leaving him with $0. Vichit-Vadakan wrote, “Who is Raphael?” She also wagered all of her money, ending with $0. Craig’s response was “Who is Michelangelo?” He wagered $9,000, leaving him with $15,000.

Craig won the quarterfinals and advances to the semifinals. Three new contestants will play on Monday.