‘Jeopardy!’: Win Comes Down to Nail Biting Final Question

Alex DeFrank returned for his second game of Jeopardy! trying to get his second win under his belt with $42,402 currently in his bank. The game was a close call with anyone taking it during the final question as he faced two new contestants.

The Brooklyn, New York, native played against Brett Aresco, from Fairhope, Alabama, and Clare Murray, from Toronto, Ontario, Canada. DeFrank started in the lead as he answered two $200 questions correctly. Aresco then gave DeFrank a run for his money when he began to answer questions that were higher in value, putting himself in the lead.

Aresco, a writer and content strategist, gained even more of a lead when he correctly answered the first Daily Double of the game and went all in. “In a 2015 no. 1 hit ’cause baby, now we’ve got’ this. ‘You know it used to be mad love’,” the clue read. “What is ‘Bad Blood’?” he answered, referencing the Taylor Swift song, and doubled up to $2,800. DeFrank, an inventory specialist, answered some questions incorrectly putting him into the negatives. He soon got more money in his bank by answering a few more right and gained his second-place spot back.

After the first commercial break, DeFrank answered enough questions correctly to only be $200 behind Aresco. On the last question of the round, both DeFrank and Aresco got it wrong, bringing their banks down. Murray, an articling student, did not answer, leaving her at $600. By the end of the first round, she was in last place, DeFrank was narrowly in second with $6,600, and Aresco led with $7,000.

In Double Jeopardy, DeFrank took the lead by nearly $3,000. However, he lost it when he got the DD wrong. “The people of Uruk hide their kids & hide their wives whenever the title king rolls up & they start glazing Anu to create Enkidu,” the clue read. DeFrank blew out a breath and said that he didn’t know the answer. Host Ken Jennings told him that it was The Epic of Gilgamesh. He wagered $5,000, bringing him to $3,600, back to second place.

Murray answered the last DD of the game. Making it a true Daily Double, she wagered all of her money. “Built by the Portuguese in the 16th century, Fort Jesus was established to protect this Kenyan Port City,” the clue read. “What is Nairobi?” she answered, which was incorrect and brought her down to $0. The correct answer was Mombasa.

However, throughout the round, she answered a handful of questions, putting her back on the board. It wasn’t enough to catch up to her game show opponents, though. By the end of Double Jeopardy, Arseco led with $9,800. DeFrank was in second with $8,800. Murray was in last place with $2,800. However, Final Jeopardy can change everything.

The category for Final Jeopardy was “Toys & Games.” “Preparing for a course on descriptive Geometry & researching the 5 platonic solids led a professor to invent this,” the clue read.

Murray responded incorrectly with “What is Quirkle?” She wagered $2,800, which brought her final total to $0. DeFrank correctly answered, “What is Rubik’s Cube?” He wagered $5,200, giving him a total of $14,000. Aresco answered with “What is Tetris?” He wagered $8,000, dropping him to $1,800. DeFrank won his second game with a total of $56,401. He will face two new opponents in his third game on Tuesday.