‘Jeopardy!’: Jamie Ding Faces Shocking Elimination – Fans React

Was it the end of the road for super champion Jamie Ding? The Jeopardy! contestant has broken records, made his way onto the Leaderboard of Legends, and won the hearts of fans, but did he get eliminated?

Ding, a law student from Lawrenceville, New Jersey, went into his 19th game with a total of $530,372. The lawyer-in-training faced off against Dominex Kovacs, from Sacramento, California, and Erica Wagner, from St. Louis, Missouri, on April 9. Warning: Spoilers for the April 8 episode of Jeopardy! ahead!

Ding found the Daily Double on clue one. Since he had no money, he wagered the allotted $1,000. In “The Middle Ages,” the clue was “France’s confiscation of the English-held duchy of Guyenne kicked off this conflict that went into O.T. after O.T.”

He answered correctly with “What is the 100 Years War?” This gave him the lead with $1,000.

By the first 15 clues, Ding had the lead with $6,600. During the interviews, Kovacs, a software engineer, shared that his parents, one of his brothers, and a lot of his extended family are deaf. He named his nine-month-old son Felix Dominex because he liked how his name looked in sign language.

Ding kept the lead by the end of the round with $10,400. Kovacs was in second place with $3,800. Wagner, a high school English teacher and cheer coach, had $1,400.

Double Jeopardy was where it went wrong for Ding. He had a lead of $14,800 at the beginning.

However, Kovacs found the first DD on clue nine. He had $7,400 and made it a True Daily Double.

In “A Historic Settlement,” the clue read, “Around 120 B.C. Narbo Martius, the modern town of Narbonne, was Rome’s first colony in the land the Romans called this.”

Kovacs answered correctly with “What is Gaul?” This tied him with Ding at $14,800 each.

When Ding found the second DD on clue 12, he had $16,400. Kovacs had $16,000.

Ding wagered $8,000 in “It’s The One-Letter Last Name Of…”. The clue was “The 1925 literary character who ‘was informed by telephone that there would be a small hearing concerning his case.'”

“What is G?” he answered incorrectly. The correct response was “K,” so he dropped down to $8,400, giving Kovacs the lead.

Ding put up a fair fight, but he couldn’t get into first place by the end of the round. He had $14,400, whereas Kovas ended with $17,600. Wagner was in third place with $4,600.

The category for Final Jeopardy was “Pop Culture People.” The clue read, “Adopted in 1979, this name reflected size & strength as well as a promoter’s wish to appeal to Irish-American fans.” None of the game show contestants guessed Hulk Hogan.

Did Ding lose, or did Kovacs’ wager save him? Wagner responded with “Who is?” She wagered $4,400, leaving her with $200.

Ding responded, “Who was Rowdy Roddy Piper?” He wagered $5,199, making his final total $9,201. Kovacs did not give a response. He wagered $11,201, making his final total $6,399.

This meant that Ding won by the skin of his teeth. His 19-day total was $539,573. This bumped him into seventh place for Highest-Winnings (Regular Season Play) above Jason Zuffranieri. He also tied Zuffranieri and David Madden for consecutive games won with 19. Can he win number 20 on Thursday?

“Jamie ding my goat ahttt haters mad,” a Reddit user said.

“Whew, that’s a dicey game for Jamie,” another commented.

“Exciting game!” a third added.

“Wow!” a fan said.

“This was such a diabolical FJ,” another wrote.

“Holy smokes what a game! Nailbiter!” one last fan said.