‘Jeopardy!’ Has Tournament of Champions Problem After Champ’s Shock Exit

[Warning: The below contains MAJOR spoilers for the Thursday, December 5 episode of Jeopardy!]

Jeopardy! fans expected, if not assumed, that bolo-tie-boasting Stevie Ruiz was dressed for success to win a third game on Thursday. So it was a shock when he was handily defeated by newcomer Dave Bond. Many fans were left questioning the quality of the Final Jeopardy clue and how producers would fill out the 2025 Tournament of Champions, which is now one player short.

Ruiz entered with a two-day total of $35,987, and Ken Jennings shared that the “impressive” champ’s tie was a trivia prize that seemed to be paying off. He faced Lisa DiLeo, a business support analyst from Garwood, New Jersey, and Bond, a retired grant writer from West Henrietta, New York.

In the Jeopardy! round, it was Bond who came out swinging. After sharing that he proposed to his wife in a bunny suit, he dropped to $0 from a True Daily Double. However, he bounced back to narrowly lead with $2,600, while Ruiz and DiLeo had $2,000. It seemed like anyone’s game, and based on previous shows, the champ would likely take charge once more.

In Double Jeopardy!, DiLeo found the second Daily Double but lost $2,000 on the “Entertainment Hyphenates” clue, missing “Counter-strike” (not a gamer!). From there, Ruiz and Bond battled it out, with the third Daily Double still in play. Instead of hunting for it, the champ stuck to finishing a category, leaving Bond to discover it.

Bond did so under “Geographic Name Changes.” With $7,600 to Ruiz’s $8,400, Bond shocked everyone by wagering $7,000. “Oh wow,” Jennings reacted. He nailed it as “Ho Chi Minh,” vaulting into a commanding lead. By Final Jeopardy, it was a runaway: Bond had $25,200, Ruiz $12,000, and DiLeo $2,400.

The “Brand Names” clue read: “They’ve been described as having the unique scent of ‘slightly earthy soap with pungent, leather-like clay undertones.’” DiLeo didn’t finish a response, Ruiz guessed “Play-Doh,” and Bond went with “Birkenstock,” prompting Jennings to joke that his Birkenstocks smelled different. It was a triple stumper—no one got “What Are: Crayola Crayons.” Bond lost $200 but still won with $25,000. “Quite a haul!” Jennings concluded.

Fans flooded the Reddit thread for the episode shocked by Ruiz’ defeat as they saw a longer streak for him.

“Dang I really thought Stevie was gonna be here for a while,” one Redditor wrote.

“Gonna be sad to see Stevie go. Just a few days ago some of us on the board were complaining about all the hip-hop/rapper Triple Stumpers as of late. And he came in and made us forget that for awhile. He wasn’t the hero deserved, but he was the one we needed,” wrote another.

“Not sure why Stevie wasn’t hunting for the last DD in round 2. Really cost him especially considering how easy it was,” wrote a third.

Others pointed out Ruiz’ defeat meant that only 20 of the 21-contestant playing field for the 2025 ToC is filled and the cut-off is tomorrow’s episode, so producers were left with an incomplete roster.

“We all thought Stevie was going to win his third game today, so who takes the 21st spot in the 2025 TOC?” wrote a fourth.

“My guess is that the 21st will go to the Champions Wildcard 1st runner-up,” speculated a fifth. “That makes the most sense to me!” agreed a fifth.

“Actually, my guess is that Lisa Ann Walter is actually able to return in time for the 2025 TOC after it was previously announced that she would be unable to return for that TOC,” Matt Carberry wrote referring to the Celebrity Jeopardy! winner who had to bow out of the ToC. The blogger, whom TV Insider is happy to attribute the theory to, added, “Because I guess she decided to skip her production of Abbott Elementary so she could compete.”

Other fans in the thread took issue with the Final Jeopardy clue, pointing out there was nothing in the clue or category to pin it on crayons (or “crans” as Jennings put it).

“Really weak FJ,” an additional fan wrote. “No factual information to go on, just someone else’s description of a subjective sensory experience?”

“I would not have made the connection without the brand, and even then I was questioning whether the company made a different product I wasn’t aware of,” agreed one more.

A final fan wrote, “I was thinking Yankee Candle, because from a clue-writing perspective, why would you describe the scent for a product that is not meant to be smelt? Crayons are for making something visual, and as far as I know the smell isn’t a well-known feature of them.”

What did you think of the game and Final Jeopardy? Were you expecting Stevie Ruiz to keep going? What will producers do with the ToC and a spot unfilled on cutoff date (the postseason airing starting on December 30)? How did no one know Ohana means family? Let us know in the comments section!

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