(not that I wanted this day to come!)…the last day of the Tournament of Champions. I am sad that we will not see these guys again. This has been a great two weeks, hasn’t it?
To refresh your memories: Vijay Balse led going into Day Two with 9200. Stefan Goodreau was in second place with 5800, and Jason Zollinger had no money, only because he wagered everything on Final Jeopardy and missed it.
Did you guys know these triple-stumpers from today’s game?
Caused by… for 1000: “Hypovolemic, a type of shock.”*
Fashionable Words for 200: “It’s the animal name for a high-heeled shoe or a slipper with no back.”*
1970s TV Casts for 2000: “Buddy Ebsen, Lee Meriwether and Mark Shera; a Quinn Martin production.”*
Jason found all three Daily Doubles today. The first one was the second clue of the game! When Jason found the first Daily Double of the Double Jeopardy round, he wagered everything again on the clue in Treaties, and this time it paid off. The clue: “The Montreux convention of 1936 returned control of these 2 straits to Turkey.”* He then had 8000, to Vijay’s 4800 and Stefan’s 6200.
When Jason found the second Daily Double of the round in German Literature, there was one category left on the board. He had 13600, Vijay had 6800, and Stefan had 15800. Jason lost 3000 on this clue: “During WWI, he fought on the western front and was wounded several times; he later wrote a 1929 novel about it.”* At the end of Final Jeopardy, then, he had 10200, Vijay had 8800, and Stefan had 17000.
The Final Jeopardy category was From Novel to Film. No surprise, the clue was hard: “First published in 1880 and made into a film in 1907, 1925, and 1959, it was the first work of fiction blessed by a pope.”* Vijay and Jason answered correctly, and Stefan missed it. He noted that he had not gotten a Final Jeopardy right in the whole tournament! He wagered 4001, which would have won him the tournament if he had answered correctly. Since he did miss it, he had a total of 18799 for the two days. Jason wagered 8700 bringing his total to 18900. Did you see the shocked expression on Jason’s face? I think it was because he still came in second even though he started with nothing today.
Vijay wagered 5000 on Final Jeopardy, making his two-day total 23000, and making him the Champion of the Tournament and recipient of $250,000. Mr. Trebek reminded us that Vijay had taken the test 6 times in 16 years, and said it “paid off handsomely.” Vijay said, “Yes, it did.” Yesssss! Congratulations, Vijay!
I believe we are now back to the regular shows. Three-time champ Buddy Wright returns. (He has left a comment here!)
And act soon (like, NOW!): Tell me what you want to know from Tournament of Champions contestant Stephen Weingarten. I will be interviewing him soon! Also, I’m looking for someone to fill in for me on this blog for two weeks in June.
*loss of blood, mule, Bosporus and Dardanelles, Erich Maria Remarque, Ben-Hur, Barnaby Jones