[Warning: The below contains MAJOR spoilers for the Monday, December 16 episode of Jeopardy!]
Chan, a publicist from Lewisville, Texas, entered with a two-day total of $29,100 (and the same ruffled-shoulder top in a different color) after a savvy conservative Final wager won her the last episode. At the winner’s podium since outplaying Bill McKinney, she faced Matt Grossman, a law student from New York City, and Henry Barbaro, a college student from Evanston, Illinois.
In the Jeopardy! round, Chan racked up an early $2,000 lead when she found the Daily Double in the “All Over The World” category. She made what was likely the right move by going all in, but could not come up with the right response, “Mount Ararat.” Drawing a blank, she exclaimed, “No!” and had to start from scratch.
Thanks to some “Man-agram” mastery, Chan rebounded back to the lead, finishing the Jeopardy round with $4,600, Barbaro $800, and Grossman right behind with $4,000. In Double Jeopardy!, the game further became a duel between the champ and Grossman, until it wasn’t.
Grossman found the second Daily Double with a shot at the lead, wagering $2,000 on the “Outdoor Cats” clue, but he was unable to get “Snow Leopard.” In a once-bitten, twice-unshy scenario (not involving birds), he found the last Daily Double and went all-in with $4,400. Acing the “World War I” clue as “Hindenberg,” he jumped to $8,800 for a “much closer game,” as Jennings put it. But from there, Chan went on a late rally, nabbing many bottom-row clues and securing a runaway with $17,400, Grossman had $7,200, and Barbaro $2,000.
The “Geography” clue was, “Jebel Musa in Morocco and Mount Hacho near Ceuta are candidates for the southern half of this pair It was a triple-stumper as no one got “The Pillars of Hercules.” Chan wagered $0 to win with $17,400, a three-day total of $46,500, and a gigantic grin. “Very Nice!” Jennings closed.
Fans flooded the Reddit thread for the episode celebrating Chan’s comeback after her DD1 miss, reacting to the bird attacks anectdote, and to some of the game’s surprising triple-stumpers.
What did you think of the game? Do you think Ashley Chan can keep it up? And how did no one know that Stephen Sondheim clue? One of the biggest Follies of the night for sure! Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below.