Warning: This page contains spoilers for the February 24, 2025, game of Jeopardy! — please do not scroll down if you wish to avoid being spoiled. Please note that the game airs as early as noon Eastern in some U.S. television markets.
Here’s today’s Final Jeopardy (in the category American Authors) for Monday, February 24, 2025 (Season 41, Game 121):
Enlisting in the Army in 1917, he was sent to Camp Sheridan in Montgomery, where he met the woman who would become his wife
(correct response beneath the contestants)
Today’s Jeopardy! contestants:
Luigi de Guzman, an attorney from Arlington, Virginia
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Amy Schneider, a writer from Oakland, California
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Avi Gupta, a law student originally from Portland, Oregon
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Andy’s Pregame Thoughts:
Week 2 of the 2nd Jeopardy! Invitational Tournament—or, the term that I have also begun to enjoy, the JIT—begins today by featuring the return of another player relegated from last year’s Jeopardy! Masters: Amy Schneider. She faces off against Luigi de Guzman and Avi Gupta, and her skills need no repeating: you do not win 40 games unless you are one of the all-time greats of this game, and she is the favorite to advance out of this one. That being said, one thing that I will say is that I think a lot of viewers underestimate just how strong of a player Luigi can be—he was very strong in his initial run, and he made the Tournament of Champions semifinals after just barely squeaking past Juveria Zaheer in the quarters. Anyone of Luigi’s caliber is 100% capable of a victory here. I would also be remiss in pointing out that Avi Gupta—who was strong enough to win a Teen Tournament—is also a big wild card at this point. He could absolutely play as strong as Raymond Goslow did last Thursday and end up with a victory himself!
Oh, and if you’re here tonight because you are a bigot and are looking for a place to scream about how much of a bigot you are? Hate-watching and love-watching count identically in the metrics!
(Content continues below)
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Correct response: Who is F. Scott Fitzgerald?
More information about Final Jeopardy:
(The following write-up is original content and is copyright 2025 The Jeopardy! Fan. It may not be copied without linked attribution back to this page.)
Heartbroken by a previous rejection, F. Scott Fitzgerald dropped out of Princeton University and enlisted in the United States Army. When stationed at Camp Sheridan in Montgomery, he met Zelda Sayre; within two years of their meeting—and shortly after the publication of Scott’s debut novel This Side of Paradise—the two were married.
I think that this Final is probably going to be difficult for the home viewer—I do remind you that this is a higher-level tournament and the clues are tougher—but I also think that it is very fair at this level of play to think that the players might know that Zelda Fitzgerald was one of Montgomery’s important socialites during that era; this is the sort of “ask more difficult things about a topic that the viewers already know” that I have alluded to previously in this tournament. And sometimes—especially at this level—you just have to know things, and can’t skate by on “tease-out metrics“.
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Game Recap & Tonight’s Game Stats:
Looking to find out who won Jeopardy! today? Here’s the Monday, February 24, 2025 Jeopardy! by the numbers, along with a recap:
Jeopardy! Round:
(Categories: Some Art, Some Science; Quotable 21St Century Films; Acronyms & Abbreviations; I Can Buy Myself Flour; Sport A Phrase; Severance)
The Daily Double stayed hidden early as Luigi and Amy got off to the best start. After 15 clues, the scores were Luigi $4,800 Amy $3,600 Avi $1,400.
Statistics at the first break (15 clues):
Luigi 7 correct 1 incorrect
Amy 6 correct 0 incorrect
Avi 2 correct 0 incorrect
Today’s interviews:
Luigi accidentally lied to his neighbors over JIT.
Amy has now adapted her book for younger readers.
Avi is now in the second year of law school.
Luigi continued his strong play, finding the Daily Double and using it to help him get close to $10,000 after 30 clues.
Statistics after the Jeopardy round:
Luigi 15 correct 2 incorrect
Amy 10 correct 0 incorrect
Avi 4 correct 0 incorrect
Scores after the Jeopardy! Round:
Luigi $9,600
Amy $5,200
Avi $2,600
Double Jeopardy! Round:
(Categories: Forests; Small, Medium, Large; Portmanteaus; Look Ma, No Wheels!; Celebrities; History To A “T”)
Amy found DD2 and bet for the lead; Avi brought himself back into contention by doubling up on DD3, but Luigi picked up 12 correct in the round and had a crush-sized lead going into Final Jeopardy.
Statistics after Double Jeopardy:
Luigi 27 correct 4 incorrect
Amy 17 correct 2 incorrect
Avi 11 correct 2 incorrect
Total number of unplayed clues this season: 26 (0 today).
Scores going into Final:
Luigi $23,600
Amy $14,200
Avi $11,600
Final Jeopardy today saw two Faulkners and a Hemingway; Luigi’s lead going into Final means he’s a semifinalist!
Tonight’s results:
Avi $11,600 – $7,233 = $4,367 (Who is Faulkner? Thank you!)
Amy $14,200 – $10,000 = $4,200 (Who is Faulkner? Hemingway?)
Luigi $23,600 – $4,801 = $18,799 (Who is Faulkner?) (Semi-Finalist)
Other Miscellaneous Game Statistics:
Daily Double locations:
1) QUOTABLE 21st CENTURY FILMS $600 (clue #20)
Luigi 6800 +1200 (Avi 2400 Amy 3600)
2) HISTORY TO A “T” $1200 (clue #4)
Amy 7200 +5000 (Avi 2600 Luigi 9600)
3) FORESTS $1200 (clue #9, $25600 left on board)
Avi 4600 +4600 (Amy 13000 Luigi 12000)
Overall Daily Double Efficiency for this game: 187
Clue Selection by Row, Before Daily Doubles Found:
J! Round:
Avi 4 3 2 3
Amy 3 5 3 3 2 2
Luigi 5 4 4 5 4 4 5 5 2 3*
DJ! Round:
Avi 2 3 3*
Amy 2 3* 2 2
Luigi 4 5
Average Row of Clue Selection, Before Daily Doubles Found:
Luigi 4.17
Avi 2.86
Amy 2.70
Unplayed clues:
J! Round: None!
DJ! Round: None!
Total Left On Board: $0
Number of clues left unrevealed this season: 26 (0.21 per episode average), 0 Daily Doubles
Game Stats:
Luigi $23,000 Coryat, 27 correct, 4 incorrect, 52.63% in first on buzzer (30/57), 0/0 on rebound attempts (on 3 rebound opportunities)
Avi $8,200 Coryat, 11 correct, 2 incorrect, 15.79% in first on buzzer (9/57), 2/3 on rebound attempts (on 6 rebound opportunities)
Amy $10,400 Coryat, 17 correct, 2 incorrect, 26.32% in first on buzzer (15/57), 3/3 on rebound attempts (on 5 rebound opportunities)
Combined Coryat Score: $41,600
Lach Trash: $5,400 (on 5 Triple Stumpers)
Coryat lost to incorrect responses (less double-correct responses): $7,000
Lead Changes: 2
Times Tied: 0
Player Statistics:
Avi Gupta, career statistics:
141 correct, 17 incorrect
10/11 on rebound attempts (on 23 rebound opportunities)
33.75% in first on buzzer (135/400)
5/5 on Daily Doubles (Net Earned: $21,000)
5/7 in Final Jeopardy
Average Coryat: $13,086
Amy Schneider, career statistics:
1833 correct, 143 incorrect
93/113 on rebound attempts (on 273 rebound opportunities)
42.04% in first on buzzer (1697/4037)
81/96 on Daily Doubles (Net Earned: $262,800)
46/70 in Final Jeopardy
Average Coryat: $20,414
Luigi de Guzman, career statistics:
232 correct, 35 incorrect
11/14 on rebound attempts (on 37 rebound opportunities)
44.99% in first on buzzer (229/509)
13/15 on Daily Doubles (Net Earned: $42,800)
6/9 in Final Jeopardy
Average Coryat: $19,778
Andy’s Thoughts:
- It should be noted that while Amy would have been within two-thirds had she gone all in on DD2, she still would have had to worry about covering Avi in Final Jeopardy (holding everything else constant). Additionally, Luigi would have had a runaway had he gone in all-in on DD1.
- Today’s box score will be linked to when posted by the show.
Final Jeopardy! wagering suggestions:
(Scores: Luigi $23,600 Amy $14,200 Avi $11,600)
Avi: In order to have any chance of victory, you need to bet at least $7,200. (Actual bet: $7,233)
Amy: Standard cover bet over Avi is $9,001—but you might as well go all-in to force a cover bet from Luigi; after all, Luigi did lose in regular play from a non-cover bet. (Actual bet: $10,000)
Luigi: Standard cover bet over Amy is $4,801. (Actual bet: $4,801)
Updated JIT odds:
Matt +450
Roger +520
Luigi +640
Jaskaran +670
Raymond +740
Emily +1200
Ben +1400
Juveria +2200
Robin +2500
Shane +2600
Ray +4100
Seth +5800
Jackson +7700
Ryan +8500
Claire +16000
Finals length odds:
2 games: +170
3 games: +110
4 games: +340
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I knew the timing worked for Hemingway, but I guessed that the wording would have been different since he had multiple wives. I unfortunately didn’t work my way around to Fitzgerald in time.
Was able to figure this out from the date and knowing that Zelda Fitzgerald was a southern belle. I predict that at least two of these contestants will get this right.
Given the year, 1917, I figured that it had to be a Jazz Age author who served in World War I. I wasn’t sure if Fitzgerald served, and I knew Hemingway had, so I went with Hemingway. I had also considered Faulkner and Williams, but neither of them “felt right” for the clue. Seeing that Fitzgerald was correct, I was kicking myself, because he was my first choice, and had I known that Zelda came from the South I would have probably gone with him instead.
The Army part of the clue made me think of James Jones but I was off by a couple of decades.
The only reason I was able to get this one immediately was my classes and I just finished “The Great Gatsby” and we talked about their…cough…fraught relationship.
Also, sad for Amy but Luigi just seemed on a different level today. He played up to the competition.
I picked Hemingway over Fitzgerald.
Maybe, it’s just me, but I thought all of the various bits in the clue were well-known facts about F. Scott Fitzgerald. I had the correct response by the time I hit the first comma. Of course, it didn’t hurt that both F. Scott and Zelda are buried in a cemetery less than a mile and a half from my home. That may be why I am more familiar with this information about him than some others might be and why I thought it would be a triple get instead of a triple stumper.
By the way, belated congratulations to Luigi on a well-played game with over 52% “in first on buzzer” against two excellent players. Luigi will be a formidable opponent for anyone in the next round.
I wonder if, in the heat of the moment, some people get Faulkner and Fitzgerald mixed up if the clue does not concern any of their works? [I do in just regular circumstances, but I am not on their level, though I was closer to their level 30 years ago 😞.] Today, in trying to think of details about authors that might fit the clue (including Hemingway), I forgot that it was specifically about authors and came up with Eisenhower🙄!
I went with Sinclair. I looked him up a few minutes ago and see he was told old. Oh well.
Great game tonight where all 3 contestants would have won had they gotten FJ correct and the other 2 missed. I enjoy great Jeopardy games like this.
If anyone knows, what was Avi’s joke about the board that had the crowd laughing? It happened so quickly that I missed it.
Tomorrow night’s game is the one that I have been most looking forward during this JIT and that’s because 2 of my favorite players in Ray Lalonde and Ryan Long will be playing. It will be my 1st time seeing Robin Carroll play and Andy’s model has her favored, so she’s clearly formidable against my 2 guys.
6 Quarterfinals down and 3 to go and then we get the first Semifinal on Friday.
Avi joked “Most unearned board control ever” before selecting PORTMANTEAUS $400; both $800 and $1,200 in CELEBRITIES (which were selected immediately before) fell for Triple Stumpers, with Amy also negging on the $1,200 clue.
Ah, thank you MasterDoge…..too funny!
What was the clue about an author named Ann. I want to read the book that was referenced and I cannot recall!
Called perhaps the most unnerving true crime book ever, “The Stranger Beside Me” is Ann Rule’s account of working at a suicide hotline with a nice young man who turned out to be this serial killer
Jeff!
I too am looking forward to tonight’s match – as I am a proud Philadelphian!
Woohoo! I have a friend on Ephrata, PA 🙂