[Warning: The below contains MAJOR spoilers for the March 20 episode of Jeopardy!]
A contestant’s wager — on Daily Doubles or Final Jeopardy — can be what leads to a win or loss. And on the latest episode of Jeopardy!, bets on both of those from one contestant caught the attention of fans.
When it came to third Daily Double, the last clue of the game before Final Jeopardy, Melissa Klapper was leading with $21,400 (over returning champion Kelly Barry’s $8,200 and Jake Garrett’s $12,400). She wagered $3000, in Alphabet Homophones: “It’s a term for the seat of authority of a bishop.” She was correct with ”What is see?” so she ended Double Jeopardy with $24,400.
Final Jeopardy’s category was Countries of Africa. The clue was: “At one time a province of the Roman Empire, this kingdom is known to Arabic scholars as Al-Maghrib Al-Aqsa, ‘the far west.’” Kelly added $8000 to her total for the correct answer of Morocco. Jake doubled his score, putting him in the lead since, as host Ken Jennings put it, “Melissa did not wager quite enough on the final Daily Double.” She did have the correct answer, and with what Jennings called “the perfect wager” of $401, she became the Jeopardy champion with $24,801.
But was it the “perfect wager”? Viewers on Reddit were confused by Melissa’s bets. Regarding her Final Jeopardy wager, one user wrote, “others would suggest the best wager in that situation is $7,999, which maximizes Melissa’s winnings if correct while still locking out Kelly.”
And when it came to that Daily Double wager, some of the responses were “oof,” “one of the most baffling DD wagers I’ve ever seen,” and “very questionable.”
A couple users attributed Melissa’s nerves to her Daily Double wager, with one wondering, “aren’t contestants briefed beforehand that they get significantly more time than ‘a couple of seconds’ to ponder their DD wagers? Melissa had realised her error by the time the clue came on screen.”
Viewers on Twitter echoed their sentiments but were also impressed by Melissa winning by $1.
What a terrible wager on the final daily double! She could’ve been out of reach if she bet another $401. #Jeopardy
— Saul N Pepa (@Saulstice) March 20, 2023
Should have bet more on that daily double. #Jeopardy
— DeDisGirl 🌈 🦅 ⚾️ (@ashleyrm) March 20, 2023
Whoooooooooooo. What a wager #Jeopardy pic.twitter.com/JVWJz6XuT1
— this user (@i2oxanne) March 20, 2023
She won by $1. Great player. #Jeopardy
— LinestandingNYC℠ (@linestandingnyc) March 20, 2023
Jeopardy!, Weekdays, Check local listings