San Antonio contestant becomes ‘Jeopardy!’ champ, sets stage for return
Joey Quismorio is a new hometown hero after recent “Jeopardy!” win.
Ken Jennings on the Jeopardy! stage.
Christopher Willard/Disney via Getty Images
In the most recent episode of regular season Jeopardy!, Joey Quismorio, a contestant with San Antonio roots, finished in first place. This granted him the title of Jeopardy! champion and earned Quismorio another day of competitive play. Quismorio’s success on the show wasn’t easy, as defending Jeopardy! champ Stella Trout, who won on Tuesday, June 3, was dead set on extending her reign.
The latest episode of Jeopardy! featured contestants Quismorio, Trout and Jay Borsom, with Jeopardy! legend Ken Jennings presenting the clues with his usual gusto. In San Antonio, the episode aired on KENS5 at 4:30 p.m. on Wednesday, June 4. Contestants buzzed in and gave their best answers in the form of a question to general and, at times, obscure trivia knowledge.
Article continues below this ad
Right off the bat, Trout, who had the benefit of selecting first in the Jeopardy! round, chose the $1,000 clue in the category “Give Us The Short Version,” which was the round’s only Daily Double question. The answer to the lizard-related clue came easily to Trout, who pulled into the lead early on as a result. By the first commercial break, Quismorio had just $200 compared to Trout’s $5,400 and Borsom’s -$400.
After the break, Jennings interviewed the contestants briefly, starting with Quismorio, who shared an anecdote about studying the Russian language.
“In fourth grade, Call of Duty: Black Ops came out, and a lot of the campaign revolves around the Cold War, so the USSR is a big part of that. And when I was reading the signs, I just wanted to know what they said,” Quismorio said, spawning a chuckle in Jennings as he moved on to the other contestants.
Article continues below this ad
The Jeopardy! round continued, and by the end of it, Trout ended with $7,200 — a $5,000 lead over Quismorio, who selected the final clue of the round with a nod to Sam Buttrey’s “Bring it!” catchphrase. Borsom remained in third with $1,400, which gave her the chance to choose first in Double Jeopardy!, the second board of clues that are harder and worth twice as much money.
During Double Jeopardy!, it seemed like it was Trout’s game to win as they managed to nab and correctly answer both Daily Doubles back to back. Quismorio was able to select the final clue of the round with another “Bring It!” and ended with $9,400. Trout was ahead with $17,200, and Borsom’s $4,200 kept them in play for Final Jeopardy!, the deciding clue that allowed contestants to wager their earnings for a higher total.
Article continues below this ad
Though Trout was well in the lead, it was only Quismorio who answered the American History clue correctly, finishing with a winning score of $17,201. The upset means we’ll have a contestant from San Antonio for at least one more day, as the show airs new episodes Monday through Friday.
On Thursday, June 5, we’ll see Quismorio face off against challengers Sarah Fuller and Nikhil Joshi when the episode airs at 4:30 p.m. locally on KENS5.