Daily Doubles were one Jeopardy! contestant’s saving grace as they were falling behind. The back-to-back correct responses allowed them to win the game by a runaway.
Caleb Groen, from Thousand Oaks, California, entered the game with a four-day total of $71,200. Winning game five guarantees him a spot in the next Tournament of Champions. On July 9, the law and policy student played against Taylor A’Latorre, from Plano, Texas, and Molly Grove, from Camas, Washington. Warning: Spoilers for the July 8 episode of Jeopardy! ahead!
Groen found the Daily Double on clue one. Because he had no money, he was able to wager up to $1,000, and he did just that. The clue in “U.S. Geography” was “Of the 48 contiguous U.S. states, it’s the largest in area that only uses one area code.”
“What is Montana?” he guessed. Groen was right, so he took the lead with $1,000.
A’Latorre, a fulfillment worker, took a quick lead of $4,000 when he swept the category “Their First No. 1 Hit.” However, by the first 15 clues, Groen pulled into the lead with $5,800. A’Latorre had $4,600.
Groen ended the round with $8,000. A’Latorre had $5,600. Grove, a physician, was in third place with $600.
Double Jeopardy saw A’Latorre catching up to Groen. However, on clue 10, Groen found the first DD of the round.
He had $12,800 and wagered $6,000 in “Looooooong Literary Titles.” The clue was “‘Merlin’s Tower’ is Chapter 7 in this 19th-century time-traveling novel.” “What is A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court?” Groen answered correctly, giving him $18,800.
When he picked “Economists” for $1,200 on the next clue, Groen found the last DD of the game. The champion wagered $5,000. The clue was “This former Treasury secretary has been called ‘the Ruth Bader Ginsburg of economics.’”
“Who is Yellen?” he answered correctly. This gave him $23,800.
“You extend your lead again. Wow!” host Ken Jennings said.
By the end of the round, Groen had $31,400. A’Latorre was in second place with $12,800. Grove ended with $6,400.
The category for Final Jeopardy was “Classic TV.” The clue read, “‘Burning Fuse’ was the working title for the iconic theme song to this TV series that was later on the big screen.”
Two of the three game show contestants had the correct response. Grove’s response was “What is a lovely fun day!” She was wrong and wagered $0, leaving her with $9,400.
Both A’Latorre and Groen answered correctly with “What is Mission: Impossible?” A’Latorre wagered $6,005, making his final total $18,805. Groen’s wager was $600, giving him an even $32,000.
This gave him his fifth win, a spot in the TOC, and a five-day total of $103,200. Groen will return on Thursday for his sixth game.
Jeopardy!, weekdays, check local listings, stream next day on Hulu & Peacock