‘Jeopardy!’ Contestant Speaks Out After ‘Super Mario’ Controversy

Spoiler Alert

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[The following post contains MAJOR spoilers for the Thursday, April 10, episode of Jeopardy!]

Jeopardy! almost had a controversy on its hands after the producers ruled a contestant wrong for an answer that was technically correct. They changed the ruling, and the contestant got their money back. But did it help them win the game?

Andrew Hayes, from Tulepo, Mississippi, was back to defend his title and win his second game. He had a one-day total of $25,200 after blowing previous champion Mike Dawson away in Final Jeopardy on Wednesday. Hayes, a law student, played against Dave Widmayer, from Portland, Oregon, and Kate Donahoe, from Modesto, California, on Thursday, April 10.

The game started off with five Triple Stumpers, and Widmayer, a trivia host and chemist, was in the negatives after answering two questions incorrectly. However, he scored some luck when he found the Daily Double on question six. The clue read, “Midwest transplants included Robert Stroud, known as this–inaccurately, as he couldn’t bring his canaries from Leavenworth.” Widmayer answered, “Who was Birdman of Alcatraz?” and added $1,000 to his total. After that, he answered seven questions correctly before the first commercial break.

With only five questions left in the round, one question sparked controversy when it was ruled wrong. “Released in 1996, the ’64’ version of this video game series gave its star new abilities like backflips & triple jumps,” it read. Widmayer answered, “What is Mario?” after being prompted by host Ken Jennings to give an answer. However, the host told him that was wrong, and he lost $400. He had to answer with “Super Mario Bros.” or “Super Mario.”

However, when Jeopardy! came back from commercial, Jennings told Widmayer that the judges deliberated and decided to give him the money for “Mario.”

“Glad they eventually reversed the ruling and accepted Super Mario instead of Super Mario Bros, but it’s crazy that that (or just Mario) wasn’t already on the list of acceptable responses,” a Reddit user said. “Their sole intended correct response of Super Mario Bros is actually the one that I’d have to debate about whether it’s even acceptable. Super Mario Bros. may sometimes be used to refer to the Super Mario series as a whole or to the Mario series/franchise as a whole, but more properly, it’s a subset of Super Mario, which is itself a subset of Mario, and Super Mario 64 is not part of that sub-subset.”

However, Widmayer spoke out on Reddit and responded to the commenter. “While I tend to agree, this did let me cross off a low-key J! Goal, which was to get to be part of a score correction,” he said.

Widmayer not only got to cross off a Jeopardy! goal, he also had a lot to live up to because both of his parents are alumni of the game show. His dad competed on Season 8, and his mom was on a later season.

At the end of the first round, Widmayer led with $4,800. The reigning champion, Hayes, had $2,400. Donahoe, also a chemist, was not far behind with $2,200.

Double Jeopardy had four Triple Stumpers but no controversial rulings. Hayes found the first DD of the round. The clue read, “North of the Arctic Circle, Mount Kebne rises nearly 7,000 feet as the tallest peak in this nation.” He answered with “What is Sweden?” which was correct, and added $3,000 to his total early on.

Three questions later, Widmayer found the second DD. “On Daniel Day-Lewis’ Latin filmography: Novem (Nine), Per Sinister Meus (My Left Foot) & In Nomine Patris.” He answered correctly with, “What is In the Name of the Father?” Widmayer added $4,200 to give him $12,600.

Widmayer continued to dominate the competition and answered 23 of the 30 questions correctly. He ended Double Jeopardy with $20,200. Hayes had $13,000. Donahoe had $5,400. Unless Widmayer answered incorrectly and made a crazy wager in Final Jeopardy, he looked to be the night’s winner.

The Final Jeopardy question was in the category “World Museums.” The clue read, “Located on Cromwell Road & home to more than 2.8 million objects, it bears in part the name of a cousin of a British Queen.” Donahoe answered with “What is Tate?” which was wrong. She wagered $5,398 and ended with $2. Widmayer answered with, “What is the Royal Alexandrian?” This was wrong. He wagered $5,801 and ended with $14,399. At this point, he was still ahead of Hayes, but Hayes answered correctly with “What is the Victoria and Albert Museum?” he wagered $7,201 and his final total was $20,201, making him the night’s winner.

He is now a two-day champion with a total of $45,401. Hayes will face off against two new contestants on Friday, April 11.

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