‘Jeopardy!’ Fans React After Jaw-Dropping Wager Threatens James Holzhauer Record

Did Jamie Ding just beat another Jeopardy! record? The super champion made a wild wager that would have put him in the ranks with James Holzhauer.

Ding, from Lawrenceville, New Jersey, entered his 14th game with a total of $360,000. If he wins this game, he will tie with Harrison Whitaker with 14 wins this season.

The law student and bureaucrat played against George Thomas, from Mount Prospect, Illinois, and Jessica Frankenfield, from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on April 1. Warning: Spoilers for the April 1 episode of Jeopardy! ahead!

Ding found the Daily Double on clue one. He wagered the allotted $1,000 in “Around the U.S. Capital.” The clue read, “This central interior space has a volume of approximately 1.3 million cubic feet.”

“What is rotunda?” he answered correctly, giving him $1,000.

Aside from a few Triple Stumpers, Ding answered all of the clues within the first 15. He had $10,400 by the first break, whereas his opponents had $0.

The rest of the round didn’t go too well for Thomas, a former engineer, and Frankenfield, an event planner. Frankenfield had -$800. Thomas ended with $200. Meanwhile, Ding racked up $14,600.

In Double Jeopardy, Ding answered the first two clues correctly and then found the first DD on clue three. He had $17,400 and wagered $7,600. In “Mind Your…,” the clue was “Carl Jung coined this 2-word term for primordial memories & impulses that he theorized were shared by everyone.”

Ding correctly answered, “What is the collective unconscious?” This took him to an even $25,000.

Thomas and Frankenfield finally got on the board, but Ding still found the last DD on clue 16. He had $32,600 and wagered $12,400.

The wager made host Ken Jennings say, “Whoa!” In “‘P’s & Queue,” the read, “More than 3 million people a year queue up to visit this Paris cultural center named for a French president.”

Ding correctly answered with “What is the Pompidou?” bringing his total to $45,000. Frankenfield had $5,200, and Thomas had -$1,000. Ding even stole a clue about Philadelphia from Frankenfield.

He ended with $55,800, breaking his own record of single-game winnings. Frankenfield had $5,200. Thomas ended with -$1,800, making the game show contestant ineligible to play in Final Jeopardy.

The category for Final Jeopardy was “The Calendar.” The clue was “Mark Twain wrote the quip that on this day of the year, ‘We are reminded of what we are on the other 364.'”

Appropriately, the response was “What is April Fools’ Day?” Frankenfield got it right. She wagered $800, giving her a final total of $6,000.

Ding did not answer correctly. He wrote, “Labor Day?” Ding wagered a whopping $44,200. This gave him a final total of $11,600.

If he had gotten it correct, Ding would have had $100,000 even. Jennings said that would have put him in the top 10 of all-time with James Holzhauer, who holds all ten spots.

Despite losing a big Final Jeopardy wager, Ding won his 14th game, tying with Whitaker. “I love that wager,” Jennings said.

He now has a 14-day total of $371,600. Ding will return for game 15 on April 2. Can be beat Whitaker?

Reddit fans reacted to Ding’s wild wager and game. “I could not wrap my brain around Jamie’s score going into FJ. Ditto for his FJ wager,: one said.

“I never thought we’d actually have someone get close to James,” another wrote.

“If he had gotten it right, it would’ve been $100k, seventh all time (surrounded entirely by James in the top 10,” a third wrote.

“Oh man, what a miss in FJ, Jamie clearly wants his name on that list with James Holzhauer. I really hope he gets it. It’s too bad he overthought this one, because this FJ felt like an easy layup,” another said.

“Wow, as soon as I saw the FJ clue, I assumed there was no way Jamie would miss it lol you just never know,” one last fan said.

Did you know the answer to Final Jeopardy? Were you shocked Ding didn’t know it? Let us know in the comments.