‘Jeopardy!’ Champ Greg Monson Speaks Out After Stunning Tiebreaker Loss

Jeopardy! Logo Print Water Bottle

$12.48

Buy Now

Jeopardy! champion Greg Monson has been the talk of the town since he made a fatal mistake on his fourth game. He wagered $0, which led to a tiebreaker question, causing him to lose.

The videographer from Portland, Oregon, went up against Ron Clarke from Chickaloon, Alaska, and Evelyn Lamb from Houston, Texas, on Tuesday, October 13. During the final question, Monson had $18,200. Clarke, a retired wildlife biologist, had $9,100, exactly half Monson’s total. Monson wagered $0, and Clarke wagered all of his money. All three game show contestants correctly answered the final clue, leading to a tie.

The Final Jeopardy clue was in the category “’80s Music.” The clue was: “A posted sign told the artists to ‘check your egos at the door’ before the recording of this 1985 single.” The correct response was “We Are The World.”

Both men had $18,200. This caused host Ken Jennings to read off another question. Whoever buzzed in first won the game. Clarke knew that Condoleezza Rice was the National Security Advisor and Secretary of State during George W. Bush‘s administration, so he became the new champion.

Fans said that Monson had made a crucial mistake. If he had wagered even $1, he would have won the game. Monson spoke out after his loss and the final clue after fans commented about what they had just seen.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Jeopardy! (@jeopardy)

“Sadly, Greg made the fatal mistake of not wagering for the victory,” a Reddit user said.

“And with that fatal mistake from Greg, Ron took advantage and earned a well and clearly deserved victory,” another commented.

“Feel like this has to make Greg the longest-tenured champion to lose in such a way. Hindsight is 20/20 but I know I’d be nervous I’d get FJ wrong too,” a third said. To this, Monson replied.

Related

Ken Jennings React to 'Jeopardy!' Fans Comments About How 'Hot' He Is

“It was all about the category for me. Pop music is hands down my weakest area. I was feeling good on the buzzer that day and thought I could out-buzz Ron if it came down to a tiebreaker. Unfortunately, the timing on the tiebreaker was kind of tricky. You can get into a rhythm on the show when Ken is reading through clues, but it was a little more difficult on a one-off. Obviously, I’ve played through this several times in my head. I happened to know the answer to that one, but honestly I would probably make the same bet today in that same situation,” the champion said.

Others said they suspected Monson thought he had a runaway game. “But in this position, if the Final Jeopardy category is a subject you feel you are weak on and don’t think you’ll have the correct response, I think playing for the tie and taking the second chance is a reasonable strategy,” one fan said.

“This is exactly what happened. And yes, after we made it through the higher clues in DJ I was thinking I had it in the bag. Definitely panicked when I realized that Ron was still in striking distance, lost my rhythm on the buzzer, and then forgot the name of something ive known since I was four years old (bulldozer ). And then yeah… disaster of a FJ category for me,” Monson replied.

Jeopardy!, weekdays, check local listings, stream next day on Hulu and Peacock