‘Jeopardy!’ Triple Stumper as Champion Ben Granger Goes for ToC

Spoiler Alert

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[The following post contains MAJOR spoilers for the Friday, May 2, episode of Jeopardy!]

Jeopardy! three-day champion Ben Ganger is trying to qualify for an upcoming Tournament of Champions by winning his fourth game. And his fate came down to a Triple Stumper on the final question.

“Our champion Ben Ganger gas three dominant wins so far,” host Ken Jennings said at the beginning of the episode. “When I asked him yesterday about his vast knowledge, he credited something he once heard Jeopardy! legend Mattea Roach say about a ‘sticky memory.’ It’s working out for him so far.”

Ganger, from Goshen, Indiana, played against Sam Sabulis, from Atlanta, Georgia, and Shweta Balasubramanian, from Pomona, California, on Friday (May 2). He came in with a three-day total of $76,415.

The round started off with just Ganger answering questions. He only got one wrong, and there were two triple stumpers. Six questions in, Ganger, a data analyst, found the Daily Double. With $1,200 in his bank, he made it a true Daily Double. In “Radio,” the clue read, “On October 31, 1938, the New York Times reported that ‘many flee homes to escape ‘gas raid from Mars” after this famous broadcast.” “What is War of the Worlds?” Ganger answered correctly, giving him $2,400.

After the Daily Double, Sabulis and Balasubramanian picked up the pace and started to answer questions. However, they were in the hole for a few of them. By the end of the first break, Ganger had a wide lead with $4,000. Sabulis, an attorney, had $1,200. Balasubramanian, a marketing manager, was still in the negatives with -$1,000.

During the interview, Jennings asked the three-day champion how he got into Jeopardy!. “I really got hooked on it during a certain Ken Jennings run in 2004,” he said.

“You’re my fault,” Jennings chuckled.

“It became appointment television in the Ganger household to tune in and watch your next round,” the game show contestant said. However, Ganger revealed that his grandmother is a fan of Jennings’ rival, Brad Rutter because they are both from Lancaster, Pennsylvania. Rutter is the highest-winning Jeopardy! contestant of all time.

“He beat me so many times. That’s a sensible person to be a fan of,” Jennings replied. “Give her my best, and tell her I’m so much nicer than Brad. No, Brad’s great.”

By the end of the round, Ganger still led with $5,600. Sabulis was in second with $1,800, and Balasubramanian was still not on the board with -$200.

In Double Jeopardy, Ganger dominated the round once again. He answered nearly every question in the beginning with Sabulis chiming in on one. However, he got that wrong.

Ganger then found the first DD of the round. With a total of $10,400, he wagered $3,500. In “Governors,” here was the clue, “Her father Ajit Singh Randhawa was a professor at the HBCU Voorhees College in South Carolina.” “Who is Nikki Haley?” he answered, giving him a total of $13,900.

Two questions later, he found the second one. With the same current total, Ganger wagered $5,000. This would still give him the lead if he was wrong. “This capital lies on the Anatolian Plateau, 3,000 above sea level,” was the clue in “A is for Capital.” “What is Ankara?” he answered correctly, giving him $18,900.

At the end of the round, Ganger had $22,500. Sabulis gained a bit more money with $7,000. Balasubramanian finally got on the board with $1,000.

The category for Final Jeopardy was “Boats & Ships.” The clue read, “Nearly a century after her 1851 sporting triumph, she was a rotting hulk finally scrapped in 1945.” Balasubramanian wrote “What is Titanic?” which was wrong. She wagered $680, which made her final total $320. Sabulis answered, “What is SS Rotting Hulk?” That was also wrong. He ended with $5,189, after wagering $2,611. Ganger’s answer was literally “What?” He wagered $2,500, ending with $20,000. The answer was America.

He had a four-day total of $96,415. Ganger now qualifies for an upcoming Tournament of Champions. He will be back on Monday, May 5 to face off against two new champions.

“Ben has been very strong. Congrats to him :),” a Reddit user said.

“Man, Ben is pretty good,” said another.

“Ben has been on fire,” added a third.

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