After a very close finish to our first week of postseason play in 2025, Week 2 of Second Chance features nine more players who came very close to victory their first time out on the show.
Monday, January 6, 2025
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Jonquil Garrick-Reynolds Ottawa, Ontario, Canada  16 correct, 6 incorrect 0/1 on rebound attempts (on 6 rebound opportunities) 33.33% in first on buzzer (19/57) 0/1 on Daily Doubles (Net Earned: -$1,000) 0/1 in Final Jeopardy Average Coryat: $11,400 Jonquil came very close to ending Drew Basile’s run on Day 2 back in June. |
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Steve Miller Eugene, Oregon  18 correct, 4 incorrect 1/2 on rebound attempts (on 6 rebound opportunities) 29.82% in first on buzzer (17/57) 2/2 on Daily Doubles (Net Earned: $6,000) 0/1 in Final Jeopardy Average Coryat: $11,800 On May 28, Steve led going into Final Jeopardy against 4-day champion Amir Kakirde, but a difficult Final Jeopardy saw Abby Mann win instead. |
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Drew Goins Honolulu, Hawai’i  22 correct, 4 incorrect 2/2 on rebound attempts (on 3 rebound opportunities) 38.60% in first on buzzer (22/57) 1/1 on Daily Doubles (Net Earned: $2,400) 0/1 in Final Jeopardy Average Coryat: $15,200 On September 25, David Erb needed a late $10,000 Daily Double to help defeat Drew, who picked up an astounding 22 correct responses that day. |
Overall Thoughts: Drew’s amazing stats, against David Erb to boot, means the prediction model puts him as the favorite in the opening semifinal. It gives Drew a 43.2% chance of winning to Steve’s 33.3% and Jonquil’s 23.5%.
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Tuesday, January 7, 2025
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Enzo Cunanan Orlando, Florida  18 correct, 3 incorrect 0/0 on rebound attempts (on 1 rebound opportunity) 31.58% in first on buzzer (18/57) 1/2 on Daily Doubles (Net Earned: $2,800) 1/1 in Final Jeopardy Average Coryat: $14,800 Enzo put up $16,400 going into Final Jeopardy against Adriana Harmeyer in Adriana’s 11th game back in June. |
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Zoe Grobman Philadelphia, Pennsylvania  18 correct, 5 incorrect 1/2 on rebound attempts (on 5 rebound opportunities) 31.58% in first on buzzer (18/57) 1/2 on Daily Doubles (Net Earned: $900) 1/1 in Final Jeopardy Average Coryat: $12,200 Zoe out-Coryatted ToCer Rishabh Wuppalapati in Rishabh’s first game back in October in a game that also saw Champions Wildcard contender Eamonn Campbell defeated. |
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Josh Heit Silver Spring, Maryland  19 correct, 1 incorrect 2/2 on rebound attempts (on 6 rebound opportunities) 27.59% in first on buzzer (16/58) 0/1 on Daily Doubles (Net Earned: -$3,400) 1/1 in Final Jeopardy Average Coryat: $13,400 In what is likely one of the most obvious Second Chance picks ever, Josh lost in a tiebreaker to Drew Basile back in June in what was Drew’s third victory. |
Overall Thoughts: There was a significant amount of consternation online when these pairings were announced, with a number of armchair pundits feeling that this semifinal was overly strong compared to some of the others. Interestingly, the prediction model doesn’t quite seem to agree. It thinks Enzo has a 41.5% chance of victory, compared to 30.5% for Zoe and 28.0% for Josh.
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Wednesday, January 8, 2025
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Sam Cameron Fargo, North Dakota  19 correct, 3 incorrect 2/2 on rebound attempts (on 3 rebound opportunities) 31.58% in first on buzzer (18/57) 0/1 on Daily Doubles (Net Earned: -$5,000) 0/1 in Final Jeopardy Average Coryat: $18,000 Sam put up stellar numbers against Greg Jolin in Greg’s second game back in November. |
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Ferdinand Percentie Altamonte Springs, Florida  22 correct, 8 incorrect 1/2 on rebound attempts (on 4 rebound opportunities) 42.11% in first on buzzer (24/57) 3/3 on Daily Doubles (Net Earned: $10,000) 0/1 in Final Jeopardy Average Coryat: $16,200 Ferdinand was leading 5-time champion Amy Hummel going into Final Jeopardy back in April, but a missed Final gave Amy her fourth victory. |
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Lindsay Denninger Smithtown, New York  20 correct, 5 incorrect 2/2 on rebound attempts (on 7 rebound opportunities) 35.09% in first on buzzer (20/57) 1/2 on Daily Doubles (Net Earned: $1,600) 0/1 in Final Jeopardy Average Coryat: $11,800 Lindsay was leading ToCer Neilesh Vinjamuri back in July, putting up 20 correct responses, before a missed Daily Double and an overly aggressive Final Jeopardy bet led to her defeat. |
Overall Thoughts: The prediction model, which always enjoys seeing good performances on Daily Doubles, thinks Ferdinand is the favorite in this semifinal, giving him a 40.9% chance of winning, compared to Sam’s 31.4% and Lindsay’s 27.6%.
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Predictions again!
Semifinal #1: Drew – The only thing that sucks about the postseason is that there’s a not particularly low chance of your favorites being matched together and guaranteeing that two of them won’t make a return. Jonquil, Steve, and Drew are three of my favorite non-winners since regular play returned in mid-April of last year, so the fact that two of them will be eliminated right off the bat is not a fact I like. But feelings aside, I have to agree with the prediction model; Drew’s got a VERY good shot at advancing, and I wouldn’t be surprised to see him win out the week.
Semifinal #2: Enzo – As much as my heart is cheering for Zoe, it might be somewhat difficult for her to advance playing against these two. Enzo’s very strong stats against Adriana, alongside his past quizzing experience, is why I think he’s the favorite for this game. If nothing else, though, Josh’s inclusion in this event is probably a good advertisement for learning buzzer strategy!
Semifinal #3: Sam – I think the $18,000 Coryat against Greg Jolin speaks for itself. I get why the prediction model rates Ferdinand so highly here, but if he can’t find the Daily Doubles, he might be in quite a bit of trouble.
This is gonna be a fun week 🙂
Predicted Finalists:
SF1: Drew Goins
SF2: Enzo Cunanan
SF3: Sam Cameron
Predicted Winner:
Sam Cameron
Only went 1/4 on my predictions last week. I’m excited see how this week of Second Chance plays out.
Predicted Finalists:
SF1: Jonquil Garrick-Reynolds
SF2: Zoe Grobman
SF3: Ferdinand Percentie
Predicted Winner:
Ferdinand Percentie
Went 2/4 on my predictions last week.
Thanks for the breakdown!
Thanks to Andy for this useful and informative preview.
Thanks to MasterDoge for his well thought out insights [as always].
Picks:
1. Drew Goins
2. Enzo Cunanan
3. Sam Cameron
Winner: Drew Goins (22 correct!) does that not say enough