Game Recap – Jeopardy! Greatest of All Time, Match 4 (Tuesday, January 14, 2020)

15 Comments on "Game Recap – Jeopardy! Greatest of All Time, Match 4 (Tuesday, January 14, 2020)"

1. Marty Cunningham | January 15, 2020 at 11:44 am |

   What a great Tournament! Amazing game 2! As Alex cautioned, “it ain’t over til it’s over” and boy, did that Final ever prove him right. Shakespeare has often been a staple for Final in tournaments and can be either a king-maker or a dream-breaker and this was a little bit of both. Again, it’s not really if you know the answer, but rather how quickly can you recall it, and I could not come up with the answer, but when Alex confirmed it, you tend to say, “oh, yeah, that.” Would be intrigued to know if Brad actually knew the answer. They provide the contestants with scratch paper and a marker in case the telestrator pens ever quit working during Final, so that contestants could still write down an answer; kinda wish the producers could tell the contestants, especially in big events, to still write down a guess if they are going to write another message for their ‘answer’.
   Also loved how long Ken and Brad hugged at the end of the game. Those two have really been through a lot together. I think they have probably faced each other in various tournament plays about 5 or 6 times, so they must have developed some kind of friendship over the years. Plus, they are, basically, the 21st century faces of Jeopardy! contestants, and the style of play now can in part be attributed to them. Nice, too, to see Ken start to adapt James’ “all-in” style of wagering, even if he seemed uncomfortable at times, or unsure if it was the right thing to do without hearing the clue. And good to see James loosen up a bit as this tournament progressed.
   Still would have liked to see Brad win a game, and maybe a match, but he is still a big part of the games’s history, even if it may seem like he might be done with tournament play after this. Best of luck to all three of them in whatever new endeavors they find from this experience. It has been fun to watch you all play!

2. Marty Cunningham | January 15, 2020 at 12:19 pm |

   And, another thing to consider. Last year, at this same time, James may have just been getting his phone call to go to LA and tape an episode of the show! I think his shows were taped last March and April. What a whirlwind year it has been for him! Amazing cash windfall and instant celebrity status. And an amazing shot in the arm for the show, too.
   Harry Friedman, who is leaving as EP at the end of this season, is responsible for both Ken and James’ success, because Harry lifted the 5-game cap on winners that had been in place, even from the old version with Art Fleming. Brad played his first games under the old system, so he only won about $ 50,000 during his initial 5-day run and won all the rest in Tournaments, including one big payout of $ 2 million that really boosted him ahead of the others.
   So we have had most of this century to watch Brad and Ken through the years. Best of luck to all three of them in whatever new adventures await each of them.

3. Jeffrey Blumenkopf | January 15, 2020 at 2:16 pm |

   During the 2nd half of the final game, Ken got the first daily double. Surprisingly, Ken did not select clues that could have gotten him the second daily double. Why did Ken allow James to take the second daily double?
   James ended up taking the daily double, doubled his score and then had a chance of winning the game! Ken should have looked to pick up the daily double and then put a modest wager on it.

4. Evan B. | January 15, 2020 at 9:00 pm |

   I was thinking about Andy’s “kudos to Brad for staying out of the way” thought. He was clearly aware that his finding a DD in match 3, game 2 was beneficial to Ken because it limited James’s ability to accumulate enough points to overcome Ken’s large lead from game 1 (made the “you’re welcome” aside to Ken after finding it). It’s an interesting quirk of the format that a player in Brad’s position of having no chance in the match because of the size of his deficit is incentivized get involved or get out of the way in order to benefit the player who hasn’t already won 2 matches in order to extend the contest. My initial thought was that this was a flaw because it creates a situation where all the contestants might not be fully competing, but considering the ratings that ABC was garnering I suspect that they would consider it a feature that a contestant might attempt to extend the competition by helping a particular opponent.

   • Glenn | January 16, 2020 at 11:35 am |

     I think that Andy was sharp to discern this; and is probably correct. It would be equivalent to folding in poker with a good hand, to help out someone else at the table who really needed a win. All three of these players have class to match their talents. I wish them, all the best in their futures!

5. Dave B. | January 16, 2020 at 4:42 pm |

   Going into the tournament, James had been dominant, doing things we had never seen before. Although a very good player (such as Emma) might occasionally be able to beat him in a single game if things broke right, I thought it improbable that anyone would defeat him in an extended competition format. But Ken responded to the challenge, raising the level of his game and adopting a more aggressive betting strategy. It took his very best to overcome James, and he was up to the task. Most impressive!

   Despite his past successes, this was not a good tournament for Brad. He only buzzed in first 17.11% of the time. Even so, he drew more DDs than Ken or James, giving him an opportunity to build some points. But he only got 4 of 10 correct. He also was only 3/7 in FJ.

   In the end, a remarkable and memorable clash of the titans. It’s great that Alex was able to host it, given his medical difficulties.

6. Noumon Munir | January 17, 2020 at 2:12 am |

   when will the statistics page be updated?

7. Glenn | January 18, 2020 at 11:02 am |

   One more thing: Who remembers Adam Levin and Nate Scheffey??? For those who may not remember, Adam and Nate played against James during his run. Either could have prevailed, but James was fortunate enough to escape with a timely find of a DD, and the correct response. It makes me wonder how they–and others who may have been close to topping Ken and Brad–may feel. It’s sad that great players only get obscurity for having the misfortune of meeting one of the GOATS when they were picked to appear on the show. WOULDN’T IT BE GOOD IF NATE, ADAM, AND 13 OTHERS COULD HAVE A TOURNAMENT? (credit here for Andy for maintaining the recap archive, which helped me to remember Adam and Nate)

8. TheWave | January 20, 2020 at 1:54 pm |

   I am trying to come up with the rationale for James’ bet of 11,381 (just under half his total) for Match 4, Game 1. He’s trailing in the match and the game. He has to be way above 50% to get the question right (even if doesn’t love the It’s all Greece to Me category). He doesn’t need to worry about finishing 3rd rather than 2nd (payouts are the same for both). Doesn’t he need to go all in?

   • Andy Saunders | January 20, 2020 at 2:19 pm |

     He doesn’t “need” to go all-in, but he knows that Ken likely will. Thus, if Final Jeopardy! is a Triple Stumper, James ends up significantly better off than if everybody’s scores resets to 0.

     Also, for what it’s worth, even if James had gone all in, James still would have lost the match, as James would not have had a runaway match. going into Final Jeopardy! in Game 2.

9. TheWave | January 20, 2020 at 7:49 pm |

   Thanks Andy. I am not sure it’s likely that Ken is going all in (despite his fun in trying to copy James’ all in gestures). Ken could have wagered 15K or 20K and still maintained a lead if James doubled up. You are correct that it wouldn’t have mattered in the end (as James missed FJ in Match 4, Game 2), but the point remains that it’s a peculiar bet size for the situation (especially in light of James history of making big bets). James got out-Jamesed by Ken, no?
   I suppose that James may have been confident about his ability to make up ground in Game 2, which he did (but based on the other 3 matches, that wasn’t a given).

10. Rosanne | January 23, 2020 at 10:48 pm |

    I’d rather see James some day take over as MC of Jeopardy. He is very courteous and polite and has a good sense of humor. He doesnt brag about his winnings like the other guys. And he is young enough to be on the show for a very long time. GO JAMES!!

11. Chris M. | January 31, 2020 at 6:35 pm |

    Can anyone explain why the Jeopardy! website has not updated the stats in their Hall of Fame page regarding amount of winnings of these three greatest players ever? This should have happened weeks ago.

    • Andy Saunders | January 31, 2020 at 7:09 pm |

      There’s a contact section of their website where you can send them an email. I’d suggest trying that.

12. Chris M. | January 31, 2020 at 7:33 pm |

    Thank you. I actually did that approximately 2 weeks ago, but got no reply. I assume that this tournament is going to count with respect to the contestants’ all time winnings. I notice the Watson tournament did not count even though Ken won $300,000 and Brad won $200,000. I’m not sure why it didn’t.