‘Jeopardy!’ Champion Scott Riccardi Takes a Risky Swing in Final Moments

‘Jeopardy!’ Champion Takes a Risky Swing in Final Moments — Did It Pay Off?

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Seven-day returning champion Scott Riccardi continued his winning streak on Monday, July 14, marking the second-longest run Jeopardy! fans have seen this season. Only Laura Faddah has done better so far, with eight games under her belt. One more win, and Riccardi ties her record while padding his already impressive $182,901 total.

Standing in his way were two determined challengers: analytics manager Amanda Hopkins from New Providence, New Jersey, and tutor Paul Swain from Vancouver, Washington, both ready to end his run and start one of their own.

Riccardi lost his lead to Swain early in the first round, as Swain quickly took control of the board after correctly answering the $800 clue in the category “A Sticky Situation”: “Sticky toffee puddy, a classic British dessert is a dark sponge cake make with chopped these, perhaps the medjool kind.” With his response, “What are dates?” Swain took the lead with $1,400.

Hopkins soon nabbed second place with a clue in the “Dough” category: “Prince Mieszko I, who ruled in the 10th century, is on Poland’s note worth 10 of these currency units.” With her answer, “What is złoty?” Hopkins earned $600 and pushed Riccardi into third place.

However, Riccardi, the Pride of Somerville, regained the lead thanks to the same category when he got the $1,000 clue correct: “Ask someone to share a few bob in Kenya or Uganda and you might get the currency call[ed] this, like the old British coin.” With his answer, “What is a shilling?” he brought his total back up to $2,400 and reclaimed the lead.

While in control of the board, Riccardi found the first Daily Double in the “Words of Weather” category under $800. Making it a true Daily Double, he wagered everything on the following clue: “Don’t look for this hyphenated companion when dark clouds roll in.” “What is a fair-weather friend?” With that correct answer, Riccardi pulled ahead of his competitors with $4,800.

By the time of the first break, Riccardi was in the lead with $5,800, followed by Swain with $2,200 and Hopkins with $1,600.

During the interview portion of the show, after Swain shared a story about his love of backgammon, Hopkins explained that this was not her first time on television, and that she might already be famous, at least to a select few. “This is the third country I’ve been on television in,” she admitted. “I’ve been in the background of a news segment on wine making in the country for Georgia. And I have eaten squid on Japanese television.”

“Is that the kind of thing they do on TV in Japan?,” asked host Ken Jennings.

“So this is the least I’ve been fed in any TV appearance, so far,” joked Hopkins.

As the game resumed, Riccardi maintained his lead while Swain and Hopkins battled for second place. In “A Sticky Situation” for $400, the clue “Amazon Prime Video’s comedy ‘The Sticky’ is about a Canadian farmer who plots to steal millions of dollars of this sticky sweet product,” proved to be a turning point. Swain missed the clue with his answer, “What is honey?,” dropping his total from $2,200 to $1,800. Hopkins responded correctly with “What is maple syrup?” and brought her total up to $2,600.

By the time the trio entered Double Jeopardy, Riccardi was well ahead with $9,000, followed by Hopkins in second with $3,000 and Swain in third with $2,200.

Swain’s luck seemed to be turning, however, when he found the second Double Jeopardy in the category of “Fizzy Drinks” for $1,200. Making it a true Daily Double and a change to gain some ground, Swain bet $3,800 on the clue, “When does a bittle alkaloid extracted from tree bark equal refreshment? When it’s this distinctly flavored ingredient in tonic water.”

Unfortunately, Swain was unable to answer and ran out of time, leaving him with $0. The answer was “quinine.”

It was then Riccardi’s turn to try his hand at the Daily Double as he found the third and final tile in “World’s Fair Host Cities” for $1,600. Playing it safe so as not to put his $18,200 lead in peril, Riccardi only bets $4,000 on the clue, “Always willing to host a g’day, this city at the head of Port Phillip Bay stepped up in 1880 and got sporty for the Olympics in 1956.” With his answer of “What is Melbourne?,” Riccardi total increased to $22,200.

Hopkins’ game hit a fizzy snag in the “Fizzy Drinks” category for $1,600 when she fizzled out on the clue: “It contains safrole, an aromatic oil, banned by the FDA in 1960; before that, it was the ‘root’ in most commercial root beer.” Her guess, “What is sassperilla?,” missed the mark and sent her score bubbling down to -$600. The correct answer was “sassafras.”

By the end of Double Jeopardy, Hopkins had slipped to -$200 and didn’t advance to Final Jeopardy, though she did leave with the consolation prize of third place and a story about being on TV that doesn’t involve food. Swain moved on to the final round with $3,600, ready to face Riccardi, who stormed into Final Jeopardy with a towering $34,200.

In the category of “Awards,” the Final Jeopardy clue was: “In the 50-year history of Saturday Night Live, he’s the only cast member to have won an Oscar, and it wasn’t for a comedy.” Swain guessed, “Who is Bill Murray?” but it was incorrect. Having wagered his entire $3,600, he dropped to $0. Riccardi didn’t fare any better, responding with just a “?”. The correct answer: Robert Downey Jr., a long-forgotten cast member from the 1980s who won for his role in Oppenheimer.

Riccardi had wagered a bold $15,800, bringing his final total down to $18,400. Not his biggest haul, but enough to secure the win, hold onto his title, and tie Laura Faddah for the longest streak of this season with eight games. His eight-day total now stands at $201,301, a number that had Riccardi grinning from ear to ear as Jennings read it aloud.

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