Andy here!
Remember to tune in at 6:00 PM Eastern tomorrow when our live panel discusses the quarterfinals! Our scheduled panelists (though always subject to change) include Jim Coury, Jared Hall, Sandie Baker, and Arthur Chu!
Today’s contestants: Mark Japinga, Sandie Baker, and Jared Hall!
My mother, watching this game beside me, was definitely cheering for Mark!
Who will be the nine semifinalists?
J! round categories:
COLLEGE KNOWLEDGE
FUNNY PEOPLE
CITY OF BIRTH
LETTER PERFECT
AUTHORS
NOT A POP GROUP, YET A POP GROUP
Jared started out by hopping over the board in search of a Daily Double!
Jared took awhile to figure out the writers wanted both answers for COLLEGE KNOWLEDGE $1000 (One of these 2 “directional” schools is in Evanston, Illinois; the other, on Huntington Avenue in Boston). He eventually got two answers out!
Sandie seemed flustered at times — at one point, she attempted to answer without ringing in!
Jared found the Daily Double under CITY OF BIRTH $1000! Scores were:
Mark $3,600
Jared $2,200
Sandie $800
Jared went for the full $2,200! His clue: Arianna Huffington. His correct response put him at $4,400 and the game to its first break!
Mark spoke of the “I Heart Japinga” Tumblr.
Jared’s pub quiz team name: Alex Trebek’s Moustache
Back to the game, Sandie got the first 3 in LETTER PERFECT!
NOT A POP GROUP, YET A POP GROUP was fun — here was the $800 example (Nationality of Jenny Lind & Stieg Larsson; last name of a Hugh Laurie TV M.D; the Cosa Nostra)
After 30, the scores were:
Mark $5,400
Jared $5,000
Sandie $3,000
DJ! round categories:
SHAKESPEARE’S FOOLS
FURNITURE
LATIN AMERICAN HISTORY
KILLER TV
READING THE METER
FROM THE…
Sandie started out strong in KILLER TV and nearly took over the lead! Once Jared took control, though, his board hopping started again!
FROM THE… $2000 had the first Daily Double; it was Mark’s to play! Scores were:
Mark $9,000
Jared $6,600
Sandie $5,800
Mark bet $2,500. His clue: From the German for “form” or “shape”, it’s used to mean the overall mood or quality of something. His correct response put him at $11,500.
Mark kept his buzzer mojo going after the Daily Double and jumped to a bit of a lead! However, SHAKESPEARE’S FOOLS $2000 had the final Daily Double — and Jared found it! Scores:
Mark $12,700
Jared $9,800
Sandie $7,000
Jared bet $4,000. His clue: “The more fool I” says Touchstone on arriving at his new forest home in this comedy. Jared’s response was “All’s Well That Ends Well” and he fell to $5,800.
At the end of DJ!, the scores were:
Mark $13,900
Jared $9,800
Sandie $9,000
FJ! category: OPERA CHARACTERS
Interestingly, all 3 players’ scores are high enough to qualify for the semifinals — but they don’t know that!
FJ! clue: In an 1893 opera that was its composer’s greatest success, Peter & Gertrud are the parents of these 2 characters
Sandie 9000 + 6500 = 15500
Jared 9800 + 7000 = 16800
Mark 13900 + 1103 = 15003
Your 9 semifinalists:
Monday: Ben Ingram
Tuesday: Arthur Chu
Wednesday: Joshua Brakhage
Thursday: Terry O’Shea
Friday: Jared Hall
Wildcards:
Sandie Baker
Mark Japinga
Rebecca Rider
Julia Collins
The semifinals begin Monday!