Game Recap – Jeopardy! Greatest of All Time, Match 3 (Thursday, January 9, 2020)

25 Comments on "Game Recap – Jeopardy! Greatest of All Time, Match 3 (Thursday, January 9, 2020)"

1. Jay | January 10, 2020 at 7:28 am |

   Brad has rendered the DD moot and, as someone pointed out earlier, that has favored the person leading the match. Interesting how James has been animated with the other two contestant, Brad just seems stunned and Ken all business. Ken, looking like a GOAT it’s almost palpable.

2. Todd | January 10, 2020 at 10:29 am |

   Please help – I’m confused by the betting on game 3 – Going into FJ, James had 7,400 + 27,200 = 34,600, Ken had 17,600 + 51,200 = 68,800. Why didn’t James bet it all, where he could have caught Ken? Did I add wrong? What am I missing?

   • Andy Saunders | January 10, 2020 at 10:46 am |

     Todd:

     Players are not allowed to bet their Game 1 total in Game 2. James was only allowed to bet 7,400.

     • Todd | January 10, 2020 at 10:56 am |

       Andy – Of course! Thanks very much for clearing that up.

3. Bob Chang | January 10, 2020 at 10:45 am |

   Predicting Ken in 4, maybe Ken in 5. He’s all business and at the top of his game, having fully adjusted to James’s game.

   Interviews where he says “I’m always a Brad’s maid” never a Brad.” and him saying Jeopardy! is a young man’s game and he may not be as quick at the buzzer is a smokescreen that he is quicker and more accurate than ever. His wagering 25,600 in the first FJ with a lead to essentially wrap up the match is like hell freezing over–what I thought I’d never see! Same with his all-in 8600 DD in game 1, first match to turn the tide. He’s reinvented himself to a new, improved Ken.

   James could come back and win two matches, but definitely advantage Ken. I don’t see Brad winning any games. Fully agree his getting a disproportionate 9 DDs (4 right, 5 wrong, net -11,000), half the 18 DDs, despite buzzer < 20% is a statistical anomaly that’s helped the winner in all three games.

   • Marty Cunningham | January 10, 2020 at 12:39 pm |

     Brad’s finding so many of the DD’s, regardless of his responses, has really taken away some of James’ play. Everytime Brad or Ken finds a DD, it is one less for James to find, and play his normal style. I thought I saw James kind of drop his head after Brad or Ken found one of the DD’s on Thursday’s show, as though he was either sad about it or upset that he did not find it. Plus, I think James has actually zeroed out on a couple DD’s that he did find, which I don’t think ever happened during his earlier appearances. Nice to see James’ backstory piece and learn more about who he really is. Audiences have seen enough of Brad and Ken over the last decade or more to feel comfortable with them whenever they are on. James has still seemed cold and almost mechanical in his play sometimes, but he needs to remember the old adage that “people don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care.” Interesting that he was the only one of the three who highlighted charity work as a result of his Jeopardy! fame. And he did fairly well with his imitation of Dhruv Gaur, tanking his regular FJ response for a shout-out to Alex. And i am not sure if James or Brad really did know the FJ answer about the directors, or if they had already planned their responses before the clue because they knew Ken could not be caught.
     Brad may have come to realize that he might not win, but he can still play the “spoiler”, as he kind of joked at with his “You’re welcome” comment to Ken after finding a DD, which meant that James did not find it. It would be nice to see him one match, but at this point, it seems like Ken may take it all next Tuesday. There has been talk about whether former players, who are great at answering the clues, would be as good at giving them (i.e. to replace Alex) since there is a shift from being a player to being the host. Ken had alluded to his podcast so he may be more comfortable (and accepted) as a possible host than Brad or James.
     Hard to say what may happen at the end of this tournament, but I think Alex will do his best to at least finish out the regular season 36, which should wrap taping in May, and then the new producer might have some changes to make. They are already promoting the online test so they are still looking for contestants for future seasons.

     • Jim Thompson | January 10, 2020 at 1:59 pm |

       Agree that James has had a chance to show less familiar viewers the great side of his personality. Along with his LV charities and FJ shout-out to Alex, a nod to Ken for helping James prepare with Ken’s Jeopardy books. Plus a very sportsmanlike congratulation.
       He’s also shown the ability to relate well, such as with the “Pat Saj” line-out to keep his FJ response from becoming too maudlin.

4. spud | January 10, 2020 at 12:50 pm |

   Andy,

   As there appears to be some confusion about this, do you know if the next match will be aired Friday 1/10 or Tuesday 1/14? The program guide on my cable box says Tuesday but I’ve read several articles that say Friday. Thanks for your help!

   • Andy Saunders | January 10, 2020 at 12:50 pm |

     Tuesday.

     • spud | January 10, 2020 at 12:58 pm |

       Thanks for the swift reply! I must say, I and my friends and family have been enjoying this tournament more than the Super Bowl! I’m really glad that Alex had the chance to enjoy it before he retires. Greatest of all time!

5. Steve Probst | January 10, 2020 at 3:29 pm |

   Speaking of mispronouncements, sulci is pronounced “sul-sigh” not “sulkie”.

6. Mike W | January 10, 2020 at 5:06 pm |

   Hey, Andy – I think when you wrote “Brad found a Daily Double on the first clue of Double Jeopardy in 4 straight games”, you had Match 1 and Match 2 switched around in your head. He “only” accomplished that feat once in Match 2. Ditch the word “straight”, and you’re … uh … straight.

   Interesting to note he always finds them under a $1600 clue. Then again, maybe he’s just playing the odds: in this tournament, the DJ! DDs have been under a $1600 clue 58% of the time (vs. $2000 33%, $1200 8%).

   PS: This website is so cool. Thank you for all the work you’ve put into it.

   • Andy Saunders | January 10, 2020 at 7:25 pm |

     Thank you!

7. Vader47000 | January 10, 2020 at 8:46 pm |

   The ratings for these games on ABC have been phenomenal and total viewers have gone up each night, with over 15 million for match 3 (a big number for broadcast in today’s multimedia environment).

   I wouldn’t be the least bit surprised if ABC pulled a “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire” and started ordering more gimmicky Jeopardy tournaments, if not simply a weekly “super” edition of the show to go along with their other prime time game shows, but likely someone other than Alex hosting it (Will Ferrell, maybe?). Of course, without the GOAT hook they’d need some sort of marketing hook to retain interest with the inevitable viewership declines. Weekly celebrity Jeopardy, perhaps?

   • Jim G. | January 10, 2020 at 10:06 pm |

     I don’t think adding celebrities would ultimately do much ratings-wise. When prime time Millionaire flamed out after being so super hot at first, the conventional wisdom was that it was due to over-exposure…airing up to three or four nights a week. I’ve always thought it was because they aired so many celebrity episodes. Celebrities playing for charity is nice, but it’s not compelling…my interest level for any game show declines when it’s not average Joes playing for the big money, be it Jeopardy!, Millionaire, or any show. Ken, James, and Brad are celebrities now, but they’re playing for a million bucks for themselves, and even for them that’s still life-changing.

     • Vader47000 | January 13, 2020 at 12:27 am |

       Apparently ABC is interested in bringing Ken, James and Brad back for something else, even if not Jeopardy related. Not sure what it could be. Have them play Wheel of Fortune? Create a new game show?

       I would think sentiment over Alex and his health news might be partly responsible for some of the viewership

       • Elizabeth Harris | January 14, 2020 at 3:09 pm |

         I would love to see the three of them in The Chase, the game where James first came to public attention.

8. Brad (not Rutter) | January 10, 2020 at 9:54 pm |

   I can’t see celebrity jeopardy working in primetime over the long haul, but it would be cool to see them try. The ratings for this are huge because its genuinely amazing to see these trivia masters go head to head. Personally I would love to see James get a head to head rematch with Ken (yes, I am writing James off) with no daily doubles and some type of amended final jeopardy so as to minimize the element of luck. It could be this generation’s Fischer vs. Spasky, without the international element.

   • James Allen | January 11, 2020 at 2:18 am |

     I’ve heard these kind of suggestions before regarding the rules and it irks me every time I hear it. The fact of the matter is without the DD’s and FJ! it wouldn’t be Jeopardy! You know, the game these guys are famous for playing? You might as well ask Fischer and Spassky to play without those pesky queens on the board (too powerful a piece, you know.)

9. Bob Chang | January 11, 2020 at 10:29 am |

   if it goes to 6 or 7 matches (yes, Brad picking up the pieces to win a match or two, even more miraculously win), I see a rematch, “GOAT—The Rematch!”. Hey, it happens in sports like boxing all the time. If the ratings continue high until the end, and Alex is able, I see it happening within a year. But without Alex hosting and Brad present it wouldn’t be Jeopardy! as we know it.

   Currently, the difference between Ken and James In this tournament so far is not clear even though someone has to win. But without Brad, no one else has the pedigree to be in the debate as one of the top three.

   If Ken or James win in 5 and its close, another remote matchup is them versus Watson. I think Ken and James would give a stronger performance, possibly even win in man verses machine, round 2! However, I mean versus the original processor. But if IBM upgrades to produce a Watson 2.0 with 10x the processing power and better algorithms Ken and James would likely be toast!

   • Vader47000 | January 13, 2020 at 12:32 am |

     I’m pretty sure they’re onto Watson 10.0 by now. Last I heard the Wagson algorithms were being used for medical diagnosies. I’m not sure what it would take to redeploy for trivia

10. Brad (not Rutter) | January 11, 2020 at 10:58 am |

    I’ll push back. Wouldn’t it be sort of novel and interesting to see a 2 way jeopardy? What we seem to have in this tournament is mike tyson vs muhammad ali, with joe frazier stepping in once every thirty seconds to land a jab on one of the guys. I know three way is “the nature of jeopardy,” but if you’ve isolated the 2 best trivia minds and are trying to find the best, maybe it shouldn’t be.

11. Bob Chang | January 11, 2020 at 1:09 pm |

    I agree! If Ken and James are clearly the top 2, why not! If so, let the rematch happen quickly. If the winner changes, there could even be a rubber match! But I don’t see either happening without a healthy enough Alex.

12. Marty Cunningham | January 13, 2020 at 2:39 pm |

    Very good, and interesting, comments for the middle period of the GOAT Tournament.

    No! Do not try to make this a regular thing. I think the timing is good now, because of James’ recent phenomenal success, and partly too because of Alex’s health. There really is a good case for which of these three could be the best player. And people who have been in and out of watching the show over the years may want to get one last glimpse at Alex. Jeopardy! has always worked the best when it has stuck to its most basic format. I don’t regularly watch Millionaire, but every time I tune in it seems like they have added a new element to the game, like a new lifeline, etc. Keep these PrimeTime events for special occasions, like this “Greatest” tournament.

    Whether he does win on Tuesday this week, or it does go clear to Friday, the math seems to favor Ken. He said he feels at home on the set and holding a clicker; he should. He has stood behind one of those podiums more times than Brad and James combined! And, out of the 8,000+ shows that have already been taped Ken has appeared on 1 percent of those, the only contestant to even account for a full percentage point of appearances! Ken has seemed very relaxed, which I have found, does help to keep the fun in playing the game.

    Still, this tournament has been a great master class in how to play the game, hosted by the best, and played by three of the best who have had an impact on the game. After 36 seasons and 8,000 shows of this version, whoever does win this deserves to be called the greatest.

    • Vader47000 | January 13, 2020 at 2:54 pm |

      The stats show that Ken and James are neck and neck in terms of questions answered. The difference in Ken’s two match wins basically amount to the same two factors: Ken hitting a big early Daily Double, and Brad exposing the DDs early in DJ to prevent James from coming back.

      That’s not to say it’s the only factor since even without DDs he holds a slight edge. But it will be interesting to see who luck favors in the next game(s)