Some Jeopardy! fans thought Victoria Groce was “robbed” of a win after being ruled wrong on a Daily Double in Jeopardy! Masters. Here’s what went down.
Groce and Paolo Pasco lead the pack with three points each. Yogesh Raut and Long Nguyen both have one. Juveria Zaheer and Andrew He have zero points so far. Find out how the scores will change after these games.
Zaheer, from Whitby, Ontario, Canada, He, from San Francisco, California, and Nguyen, from Las Vegas, Nevada, played the first game on August 26 in the third quarterfinal game. The beginning of the game didn’t start off too well for the contestants, with Nguyen and He both in the negatives.
On clue 15, Nguyen, a retired engineer, found the Daily Double with -1,600 points. He wagered the allotted 1,000 points.
In “What’s the Difference?” the clue was “Foie Gras can be used to make pate, a meat spread: pate served in an earthenware dish is called this, from a word meaning earth.” “What is terrine?” he answered correctly. This gave him -600 points, maintaining third place.
By the end of the round, Zaheer, a psychiatrist, ended with 4,400 points. He, a stay-at-home dad, was in second place with 3,400. Nguyen had 400 points.
In Double Jeopardy, Zaheer found the first DD on clue two. She had 6,000 points and wagered all of her points. The clue in “World Capitals” was “The relationship with the Netherlands is evident in this name of Aruba’s capital.”
“What is Oranjestad?” she answered correctly. This gave her 12,000 points and a huge lead. He had 3,400 points.
On clue 12, Zaheer found the last DD. She had 20,800 points and wagered 5,000 points.
In “This Ain’t Shakespeare,” the clue was “Thomas Kyd set the stage for Hamlet & 6 other Elizabethan tales of revenge with this bloody play set in Iberia.”
“What’s the Spanish Prisoner?” she answered incorrectly. The correct response was the Spanish Tragedy, so she dropped down to 15,800 points.
At the end of the round, Zaheer was in first place with 20,200. He had 7,000. Nguyen was in third place with 4,000 points.
The Final Jeopardy category was “Leaders.” The clue read, “In a eulogy, his successor Ingva Carsson said, ‘We stand united in anger & grief’ & he ‘made the world the concern… of us all.’”
Nugyen’s response was, “Who is Gustavus Adolphus?” That was the incorrect response. He wagered 3,001 points, dropping him to 999.
He answered, “Who is Hammerskjold?” That was also wrong. He ended with 5,999 points after wagering 1,001. Zaheer’s response was “Who is Hammerskjold?” She wagered zero points, ending her with 20,200 points. The correct response was Olof Palme.
Zaheer gained three points, giving her a total of three. He received one, giving him one point. Nguyen got zero, keeping him at one.
Disney/Christopher Willard
The second game was against Groce, from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Raut, from Vancouver, Washington, and Pasco, from San Diego, California. Groce, a writer and speaker, found the Daily Double on clue seven.
She had 3,600 and wagered all of her points. The clue in “Hello Gorges” was “Fossil bed II at this site that lives up to part of its name dates somewhere between 1.15 and 1.7 million years old. Y’know, give or take.”
“What is Olduvai Gorge?” she answered correctly, giving her 7,200 points. At the end of the round, Groce had 10,000.
Raut, a specialist in applied cognition, ended with 3,400. Pasco, a puzzle writer, was in third place with 2,800 points.
In Double Jeopardy, Raut found the first DD on clue 10. He had 7,000 points and wagered all of it. The clue in “British War History” was “This war between Britain & Spain began in 1739 following the capture of a British ship & an assault on its captain.”
“What is the war of Jenkins’ Ear?” he answered, which was correct. This gave him the lead with 14,000 points.
Groce ran into some trouble when she found the second DD on clue 12 in “Festivals & Holidays.” She had 14,000 points and wagered all of her points.
The clue was “The Fête Nationale du Quebec is also known as the day of this biblical purifying guy; respond en Francaise, S’il vous plait.”
“Who is Jon de Baptiste?” she answered. Host Ken Jennings said it was incorrect since the “de” was not needed. This dropped her down to zero.
Fans thought Groce was robbed. “Victoria Groce was robbed,” a fan said in a Facebook group.
“That left me very disappointed,” another said.
“I agree. That was ridiculous,” a third added.
“Agree,” another commented.
“I wish Victoria had won,” a fan commented.
“I was so very disappointed for her & I kept hoping they’d come back & make a correction for her. But no!” a fan wrote.
“Yes. That one stung,” a fan said. However, some fans justified it, saying that “de” was incorrect and that she made a bad bet.
At the end of the round, Raut led with 19,600. Pasco had 4,800 points. Groce found her way back onto the board with 2,000.
The category for Final Jeopardy was “19th Century British Poetry.” The clue was “The famous opening line of this long poem continues, ‘But still will keep a bower quiet for us, and a sleep full of sweet dreams.’”
Groce’s response was “What is the Prelude?” She was wrong and wagered 222 points, leaving her with 1,778. Pasco wrote, “What is…?” He wagered zero, giving him 4,800 points. Raut’s response was “What is crossing the bar?”
The correct response was Endymion. Raut wagered 9,999, giving him 9,601, making him the winner.
Disney/Christopher Willard
Raut received three points, giving him in total. Pasco received one, giving him four. Groce got zero, leaving her at three.
Pasco and Raut are tied at the top, followed by Groce and Zaheer with three. Then, He and Nguyen were tied with one. Tune in on Thursday for two more quarterfinal games.
What did you think of the ruling for Groce? Let us know in the comments section.
Jeopardy! Masters, Tuesdays through Fridays, through September 8, 8/7c, ABC