It all came down to the final wagers on Jeopardy! for two contestants. A wrong final answer led the leader to fall short in the end.
Mark Ramirez, from Northglenn, Colorado, entered his third game with a two-day total of $32,300. On September 21, he played against Jennifer Leavey, from Ashland, Massachusetts, and Donovan Bisbee, from Portland, Oregon. Warning: Spoilers for the Monday, September 21 episode of Jeopardy! ahead!
After the first 15 clues, Bisbee, a professor, had the lead with $4,000. Ramirez, an executive communications lead, had $1,800.
Bisbee found the Daily Double on clue 20. He had $4,200 and wagered $3,000 in “Got A Feeling.” The clue was: “Philip K. Dick coined this shortened word for one who sees future events in ‘a world’ of talent’, before ‘Minority Report.’”
“What is precog?” he answered correctly. This gave him a big lead with $7,200.
At the end of the round, Bisbee had $8,000. Ramirez was in second place with $3,000. Leavey, a technical writer, had $2,000.
In Double Jeopardy, Bisbee found the first DD on clue seven. He had $8,400 and wagered $2,600.
The clue in “Starts With 3 Consonants” read, “A song from ‘Avenue Q’ says, ‘When I see how sad you are it sort of makes me happy!… It’s’ this! ‘making me feel glad that I’m not you.’”
“What is Schadenfreude?” Bisbee answered correctly. This gave him $11,000. Leavey only had $2,800.
When Leavey found the second DD on clue 13, she had $5,200. Bisbee had $11,800. Leavey wagered only $2,000.
In “They Wrote It,” the clue was: “‘To Be Young, Gifted and Black’, an informal posthumous autobiography by this playwright who died tragically young.”
“Who is Lorainne Hansbury?” she answered correctly. Leavey made it a tighter lead with $7,200.
By the end of the round, Bisbee had a big lead with $18,600. Leavey was in second place with $10,000. Ramirez had $8,600. But an incorrect answer and an astonishing wager changed the game.
“Famous Women” was the Final Jeopardy category. The clue read, “On her 2025 passing, she was called ‘one of the world’s most inspiring voices for animals’ & ‘a beacon of compassion for all life.’”
Two of the three game show contestants had the correct response. Ramirez answered, “Who is Jane Goodall?” he was correct and wagered $1,600, giving him $10,200.
Leavey had the correct response. She wagered all of her money, giving her $20,000. Bisbee answered, “Who is Mother Theresa?” Since he was wrong, he dropped down to $17,099 after wagering $1,501.
That meant that Leavey became the new champion in a shocking turn of events. She will return for her second game on Tuesday.
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