‘Jeopardy!’: One Contestant Not Allowed to Compete in Final Question

Spoiler Alert

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[The following post contains MAJOR spoilers for the Tuesday, April 1, episode of Jeopardy!]

Bryce Wargin, from Kansas City, Missouri, returned for his second game of Jeopardy! after defeating six-day champion Josh Weikert. He faced two new competitors, one of whom did not qualify for Final Jeopardy. Wargin had a one-day total of $15,400.

The post-market surveillance coordinator played against Conner Huey from Bremerton, Washington, and Kristen Ramsey from Storrs, Connecticut, on Tuesday (April 1) night.

The first round didn’t start out too well for the newbies. Wargin was the only one on the plus side after 15 clues — Wargin had $6,200, Huey had -$800, and Ramsey had -$400.

Huey, a student, incorrectly answered the first Daily Double, causing him to go into the negatives. The clue read, “An animated short set to this piece by composer Paul Dukas eventually grew into the film Fantasia.” He didn’t know the answer and lost $600, giving him a total of -$600. The correct answer was The Sorcerer’s Apprentice.

“Remember Mickey with the hat?” host Ken Jennings said to him.

By the end of the round, Wargin answered 16 questions correctly and none incorrectly for a total of $9,200. Huey only answered two correctly and two incorrectly, giving him -$600. Ramsey, an assistant professor, had seven correct answers and one incorrect answer for a total of $3,000. Wargin had a huge lead after 30 clues.

In Double Jeopardy, Wargin found the first two DDs of the round within the first four questions. For the first one, he wagered $3,400. The clue was, “Independent from 1918 to 1940, this country regained its independence from the USSR in 1991.” Wargin answered, “What is Estonia?” which was correct, giving him a total of $13,400.

Two clues later, he found the second one. The clue read, “This liquid substance with no cells or clotting factors makes up more of the blood than plasma does.” Wargin did not know the answer, which was “What is serum?,” dropping to $10,800, after wagering $3,000.

By the end of the round, Wargin had answered 26 questions correctly and three incorrectly, with a total of $18,800. Ramsey had $6,600 after answering 16 questions right and five questions wrong. Huey answered three questions right and three wrong, keeping his total -$600.

As per the show’s rules, if a contestant is in the negatives by the time they reach Final Jeopardy, they are not allowed to compete in it. Only Wargin and Ramsey had a chance to answer the question. The question read, “Three mighty city-states roughly forming an equilateral triangle were Venice, Florence, and this one where the Viscontis and Sforzas ruled.”

Both Wargin and Ramsey answered with “What is Milan?” which was correct. Ramsey added $2,190 to her total, giving her $8,790. Wargin wagered $5,000, giving him a total of $23,800. He is now a two-day champion with a total of $39,200. He will return on Wednesday (April 2) and face two new competitors.

“What a game by Bryce today, 26 correct responses!!! hope he goes on a long run,” a Reddit user said.

Former Jeopardy! player Mike Budzinski wrote, “Congrats on a very strong performance! I will be curious to see how far you go!”

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