‘Jeopardy!’ Fans Puzzled By Contestant’s Wager in Champ’s Dominating Runaway Game

[Warning: The below contains MAJOR spoilers for the July 5 episode of Jeopardy!]

It was easy to see who would be walking away with the win in the July 5 episode of Jeopardy!, but second place was a different story—not that it should have been.

Customer support team lead Isaac Hirsch, from Burbank, California, returned as a two-day champ with winnings totaling $47,986. He faced off against writer and editor Sarah Crocker, from Aurora, Colorado, and Duke University rising senior Alex Wang, from Harrington Park, New Jersey, and delivered a dominating performance.

Hirsch led after the Jeopardy! and Double Jeopardy! rounds, heading into Final Jeopardy! with $26,200 to Crocker’s $5,000 and Wang’s $1,600. And that came after two modest wagers when he found the second and third Daily Doubles of the game, $2,000 each. (“Worked for you last time,” host Ken Jennings pointed out the second time.) He was correct both times. In Final Jeopardy, in World Languages, the clue read, “The flag of Aruba features a 4-pointed star symbolizing its 4 major languages: the local Papiamento & these 3 imported ones.” Only Wang was correct (English, Spanish, and Dutch) and added $410 to his total. Hirsch walked away with $22,200 more for a three-day total of $70,186. But Crocker, with what she came into Final Jeopardy! with, should have ended the game in second. Instead, she bet $4,500 and came in third, with $500. Fans were puzzle by that choice after the episode.

“Am I missing something or did Sarah screw herself out of second place and an extra $1000? Why did she wager $4500? The game was a huge runaway with Isaac having $26200,” one wrote on the Reddit thread for the game. “Alex had $1600 and even if he bet everything and won, he couldn’t catch Sarah. She just had to bet $0 and be assured of second place. The only way she could win was being right with her wager AND Isaac betting an irrational amount (> $16700) and getting it wrong, which he would never do.”

Another replied, “She did. The game was a double-lock if she’d noticed.” And that person wasn’t the only one to notice, with another viewer writing about being “surprised by her wager.”

Hirsch can possibly secure himself a spot in the Tournament of Champions on Monday, July 8 with a win (four wins are needed). And after his performances in his first three games, viewers are expecting to see him again.

“I’m stanning Isaac! He’s so so good and seems like such a fun person. I’ll be excited to get to see him again in the CWC and/or TOC depending on how next week shakes out for him,” one wrote. (CWC is the Champions Wildcard, during which players with one to three wins and Second Chance winners compete for a spot in the Tournament of Champions.)

Another, after checking the stats, noted “how dominantly Isaac has been playing so far—his average Coryat score is 23,400. Granted, we’re only 3 games in, but that’s elite,” the person wrote. (The Coryat score is a player’s score if all wagering is disregarded.) That person also noted the average Coryats for those who have secured their spots in the Tournament of Champions already: Alison Betts—13,667, Amy Hummel—14,700, Grant DeYoung—13,440, Amar Kakirde—13,600, Adriana Harmeyer—16,363, and Drew Basile—16,800.

What did you think of Sarah Crocker’s Final Jeopardy! wager? Do you think Isaac Hirsch will be in the next Tournament of Champions? Let us know in the comments section, below.

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