‘Jeopardy!’ Contestant Has Dominant Win as Champ Aims for Three-peat

One Jeopardy! contestant had a dominant win on February 26 as the reigning champion tried to win his third game. Did James Hirsh continue his streak?

Hirsh, from Toronto, Ontario, Canada, earned a two-day total of $47,418 after defeating two-time champion, Trey Hart. The lawyer tried to secure his spot in the Tournament of Champions with his third win on Thursday, February 26.

He played against Elizabeth Hurd, West Bloomfield, Michigan, and Patrick Creech, from Pink Hill, North Carolina. The game ended in Daily Double disasters for all of the contestants, but who came out on top? Warning: Spoilers for the February 26 episode of Jeopardy! ahead!

The beginning of the game was a disaster for the contestants as they were all in the negatives until clue seven. With only $400 in her bank, Hurd, a pastor, found the Daily Double on clue eight.

She wagered all of her money in “Science Experiments.” The clue read, “One step of Joseph Priestley’s 1700s experiment to make soda water involved storing this gas in a sheep’s bladder.”

“What is carbon?” Hurd guessed. The correct response was carbon dioxide, so she dropped down to $0. All three contestants got into positive territory by clue 11. By clue 15, Hirsh pulled into first place.

He maintained the lead and by the end of the round, he had $6,200. Hurd had $2,800. Creech, a planning director, was in third place with $800.

In Double Jeopardy, the first DD wasn’t found until clue nine. Hirsh had a narrow lead with $8,200 and he wagered $4,000. In “La Belle Époque,” the clue was: “Wondrous contraptions at the Paris Expo of 1900 included La Grande Roue, the world’s biggest one of these.”

“What is a merry-go-round?” he answered after being prompted.

“Sorry, no. Close. What is Ferris wheel?” host Ken Jennings told him. Hirsh dropped down to second place with $4,200.

Creech found the second DD on clue 16. He just got out of the negatives with $0, so he wagered the allotted $2,000.

In “Convicted,” the clue read, “It’s no good when someone who had this job is convicted; the 68th, Richard Kleindienst, misled the Senate & got a suspended sentence.”

“Who is the sergeant-at-arms?” Creech answered. The correct response was the Attorney General, so he went back into the negatives with -$2,000.

The game ended before the last clue could be played. Hirsh took a big lead with $16,200. Hurd had $6,000. Creech was still in third place with $1,200.

The category for Final Jeopardy was “Literary Origins.” The clue was: “As a child, Christopher Robin Milne loved feeding a London Zoo animal whose former owner hailed from this city.”

Only one of the game show contestants got the answer right. Creech wrote, “What is Pink Hill, NC?” That was wrong. He wagered $20 and ended with $1,180. Hurd’s response was “What’s Australia?” She was also incorrect and wagered $1,000, ending her with $5,000. Hirsh had the correct response of “What is Winnipeg?” He wagered $3,800, making his final total $20,000.

Hirsh’s three-day total is $67,148. He will return on Friday for his fourth game and try to qualify for the Tournament of Champions.