‘Jeopardy!’ Fans React to Champ’s Drastic Mistake During Game One of Champions Wildcard Tournament

[Warning: The following contains MAJOR spoilers for the Thursday, November 7, 2023 episode of Jeopardy!]

Game one of Jeopardy!‘s two-game Champions Wildcard finals is finally kicking off with Aaron Craig, an attorney originally from Toronto, Ontario; Jilana Cotter, a senior data analyst from Dade City, Florida; and Emily Sands, a project manager from Chanhassen, Minnesota. As anticipated, it was an intense match between the three former champions, as their skill has been proven during previous installments. However, one of the contestants made a series of mistakes that cost them the game and sent fans reeling.

Competition before the first break remained stiff, with Emily taking the lead at $3,800 after finding the first Daily Double, followed by Jilana at $1,000 and Aaron at $800. However, once we got into Double Jeopardy, Jilana was able to take the lead with $7,600, and Emily was able to add another $3,000 to her score.

Emily acquired the second Daily Double and answered correctly, adding a whopping $8,000 to her score and reclaiming the lead. This forced Jilana to have to bet big after claiming the third and last Daily Double, putting up $9,000. However, she failed to answer correctly, dropping her score down substantially and putting Emily in a dominating position with a score of $22,400, Jilana with $11,000, and Aaron at $7,200.

Jeopardy! Inc.

In the category of “World History” was the following clue: “This African capital renamed an area Mexico Square to honor Mexico’s WWII-era support of its sovereignty during Italian occupation.” Emily and Aaron were able to answer correctly after Jilana wrote the country instead of the capital. Emily added $8,000, Aaron improved by $2,800, and Jilana dropped $8,000.

“Oh my gosh, poor Jilana. I think she’s completely capable of making a monster comeback, but she had so much bad luck this game,” one Jeopardy! subreddit user lamented. “I’m rooting for her even harder now. I was rooting for Aaron at one point too given how much the ladies were dominating. But tomorrow will hopefully be a thrilling conclusion.”

“Heck of a game. I wish Jilana got that DD correct so we could have a super high scoring close game but alas,” another noted. “I believe she can make a comeback but this is absolutely Emily’s to lose, and Emily would also deserve the win immensely for her strong play all tournament.”

The final scores were Emily’s $30,400, Jilana’s $3,000, and Aaron’s $10.000,. They will be carried over into the next round tomorrow to determine the overall winner.

Check out some of the social media reactions below.

It was a good move by Jilana on the daily double because she wanted to take the lead away from @coffeematechan. However, she got stumped on it. #Jeopardy #ChampionsWildCard

— Jeff Veloso (@jveloso100) November 8, 2023

It was a good move by Jilana on the daily double because she wanted to take the lead away from @coffeematechan. However, she got stumped on it. #Jeopardy #ChampionsWildCard

— Jeff Veloso (@jveloso100) November 8, 2023

Emily takes control with her Daily Double get and Jilana’s miss. But Emily dodged a bullet, as she twice went back to the category where her Daily Double was.#Jeopardy

— Matt Carberry (@mfc248) November 8, 2023

So, on “Orpheus,” Jilana —

• said it just before Ken’s ruling
• said it just after the last red light on the timer bar extinguished

So, I think that was a good ruling.#Jeopardy

— Matt Carberry (@mfc248) November 8, 2023

oh no Jilana 🙁 #jeopardy

— JEOPARDY DATA QUEEN (@shamefulbella41) November 8, 2023

oh no Jilana 🙁 #jeopardy

— JEOPARDY DATA QUEEN (@shamefulbella41) November 8, 2023

Man, that stings for Jilana — and puts Emily quite squarely in the catbird seat entering tomorrow’s decider.#Jeopardy

— Matt Carberry (@mfc248) November 8, 2023

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