‘Jeopardy!’: Second Invitational Tournament Finals Spot Determined By Triple Stumper Last Clue

[Warning: The following contains MAJOR spoilers for the Monday, February 16, episode of Jeopardy!]

The Jeopardy! Invitational Tournament had its second semifinal game on Monday, February 16, and it ended with a shocking result. The second spot in the finals was determined by a triple stumper clue.

Roger Craig already advanced to the finals on February 13. Who from Monday’s game — Alison Betts, Matt Amodio, and Andrew He — joined him? The last semifinal game will take place on Tuesday, February 17. The three winners will then face off in the finals until one contestant wins two games.

The winner of the whole competition takes home $150,000 and advances to the upcoming Jeopardy! Masters. Masters has not yet scored a renewal for another season, but the executive producers are hopeful.

Betts, a creative executive from San Jose, California, found the Daily Double on clue two. She wagered all of her $1,000 in “In a ‘B’ Country.” The clue read, “Cricket is the national sport of this Caribbean nation & Anglicanism is the predominant religion.”

“What is the Bahamas?” Betts guessed.

“Sorry, no. Barbados,” host Ken Jennings said.

“That was my other guess,” Betts replied. She dropped down to $0, making it an even playing field for all of the contestants.

He, a stay-at-home dad from Concord, California, took the lead in the first 15 clues. He had $6,000, opposed to Amodio’s $3,200 and Betts’ $0. The movie and high school categories are what allowed He to gain a wide lead.

During the interviews, Betts revealed that Jeopardy! champions Juviera Zaheer and Victoria Groce were in the audience to cheer her on. They have a trivia league that they participate in together.

He ended the round with $8,400. Amodio, a quantitative researcher from New York, New York, had $3,800. Betts was still in third place with $1,400.

In Double Jeopardy, Amodio found the first DD on clue three. He wagered all of his $6,200 in “Play & Playwrights.” The clue was: “Set in a fictional town in the South, this 1955 courtroom drama was based on the Scopes trial; a film would follow.”

“What’s Inherit the Wind?” he answered correctly. Amodio took the lead with $12,400.

On clue seven, He found the second DD. Out of $11,600, he wagered $6,000. In “Take Your Marble,” the clue read, “After some effort, The Brutalist director Brady Corbet got to film in the quarries of this Italian marble mecca.”

“What are… the Dolomites?” He answered incorrectly. The correct response was the Carrara, so He dropped down to $5,600.

Amodio had a big lead heading into Final Jeopardy with $19,200. He had $13,600. Betts was last with $2,600. But anything could happen in Final Jeopardy.

The category was “Men of Religion.” The clue read, “A 1660 book quoted Mary, Queen of Scots as saying she feared this man’s prayers more than an army of men.” The correct response was “Who is John Knox?” but none of the game show contestants got it right.

Betts answered, “Who these guys definitely won’t bet it all.” She wagered $0, ending with $2,600. He answered, “Who else thinks the best season of Jeopardy was….” He wagered $38, making his final total $13,562. Amodio’s response was “Who James I?” He wagered $8,001, making his final total $11,119.

In a surprising turn, He won the game and advanced to the finals. The last semifinal game will be played on February 17.

Reddit users reacted to the win. “What a game. Alison is legit, both as a competitor and as a dynamic and charismatic personality. Matt is obviously goated. Andrew is just so fun and so good at the game. Sad to lose two of them,” one wrote.

“The impossible has happened, a Masters without Matt,” said another.

“Andrew, one of the best wagering strategists we’ve seen on this show loves big bets but can go conservative as well if warranted,” a third added.