‘Jeopardy!’ Fans React After Scott Riccardi Goes for Win No. 10

Spoiler Alert

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[The following post contains MAJOR spoilers for the Wednesday, July 16, episode of Jeopardy!]

Scott Riccardi returned for his tenth Jeopardy! game on Wednesday, July 16. He currently has a nine-day total of $233, 501. Riccardi, from Somerville, New Jersey, passed Roger Craig as the top 20 all-time in terms of regular-play winnings, according to Jeopardy! recap site, The Jeopardy Fan. Will he climb up the leaderboard and win game 10, or will his luck run out? Read on to find out.

Riccardi, an engineer, played against Ivanna Lopez, from Tampa, Florida, and Dave Richelsoph, from Washington D.C., on Wednesday. “That’s exactly what Scott Riccardi is trying to achieve today — superchamp status,” host Ken Jennings said at the beginning of the episode. He beat out Isaac Hirsch‘s record, who won only nine games one year ago.

The beginning of the game was a battle between Riccardi and Lopez, a librarian. Lopez came out on top with $4,000 before the first commercial break, but Riccardi wasn’t too far behind with $3,600.

On the second clue back, Riccardi found the Daily Double. He was tied at $4,000 with Lopez, and he wagered $2,000. In “Military Bases,” the clue read, “Nevada’s Naval Air Station Fallon is now home to the elite program known as this; it trains pilots with a need for speed.” Riccardi answered quickly and correctly, “What is Top Gun?” He took the lead with $6,000.

At the end of the round, Riccardi maintained his lead with $7,800. Lopez had $6,600. Richelsoph, a program manager, was in third with $3,400.

In Double Jeopardy, the reigning champion maintained the lead. Riccardi found the first Daily Double on clue nine. He had $13,400 and wagered a risky $8,000 in “Scientists.” “In 1742, he described his new temperature scale to the Swedish Academy of Sciences” was the clue. “Who is Celsius?” Riccardi answered correctly, giving him a wide lead with $21,800.

Richelsoph found the last DD halfway through the round. He was in third with $3,800 and wagered $3,600. In “American Families,” the clue read, “This family name is on a school of medicine at the University of Chicago & on the most prestigious of architecture awards.” “What is Pritzker?” he answered correctly. Richelsoph moved to a closer third with $7,400, compared to Lopez’s $12,200.

By the end of the round, Riccardi had a wide lead of $28,600. Lopez was in second with $13,800. Richelsoph had $8,600.

The category for Final Jeopardy was “USA.” The clue was, “Its creator imagined it as a place for young and old, offering ‘nostalgia of the past with exciting glimpses into the future.’” The correct response was Disneyland, with two of the contestants answering correctly.

Richelsoph was one of them and wagered $5,201, giving him a final total of $13,801, currently $1 more than Lopez. She did not answer correctly and said, “What is Epcot?” Lopez wagered $3,800, dropping her down to $10,000 and third place. Riccardi also answered the Happiest Place on Earth and wagered $0. He ended with $28,600 and won his tenth game.

“A new superchamp with 10 wins!” Ken Jennings said. “He’ll be back tomorrow for win number 11.” Riccardi’s 10-day total is $262,101. This means that he jumped up three spaces and is now the 17th all-time Jeopardy! winner in regular play, beating out Ben Chan, who has $252,600, according to The Jeopardy Fan (check all-time winning sidebar). Riccardi only needs to win $2,902 in his next game to move up to 16th place.

Fans reacted to Riccardi’s “superchamp” win on Reddit. “Scott is now a double-digit winner! Out of the 18 players who have made it to double-digit wins, Scott has the 11th highest 10-day total,” a fan said.

“FINALLY! We get a Super Champion this season! Congratulations, Scott!!!!” said another.

“SUPER CHAMP,”  a third added.

“First Superchamp of Season 41 (and just in the nick of time, with less than 2 weeks to go), and first since Adriana Harmeyer almost exactly a year ago. That’s now 10 seasons in a row with at least one Superchamp. Last time with none was Season 31,” a Reddit user said.

“Scott, representing my home state, is now a super-champion. Way to go, Scott!!! He has a good chance of making it to September,” a fan wrote.

“Congratulations, Scott, for winning Game no. 10. He navigated the game to a safe runaway to guarantee Game no 10. Now his biggest test comes tomorrow. No Ultra Champion has lost Game 11. All of the ultrachampions so far have won their 11th game. Can he become a legitimate ultrachampion by winning Game no. 11 tomorrow?” one last fan said.

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