‘Jeopardy!’ Contestant Wins After Breaking James Holzhauer-Era Record

Spoiler Alert

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[Warning: The following post contains MAJOR spoilers for the Wednesday, October 22, episode of Jeopardy!]

Champion Tom Devlin faced two new challengers on Jeopardy! on Wednesday (October 22) after beating a record dating back to the James Holzhauer era during his debut win on Tuesday.

During the terrific October 21 episode Devlin overtook contestant Adam Levin’s score from 2019 when he faced Holzhauer and achieved the highest-ever non-leading score entering the game’s 61st clue, according to the  The Jeopardy Fan website. Devlin set a new record on Tuesday with an impressive $27,200 going into Final Jeopardy before ultimately beating then-reigning champion Dargan Ware.

In Devlin’s second game on October 22, he played against Emmanuel Calivo, from San Jose, California, and Katy Lentz, from Mauldin, South Carolina. Devlin, an attorney, has a one-day total of $22,599.

The reigning champion had the lead until Calivo, an airport customer service agent, found the Daily Double. He had $200 and wagered up to $1,000. In “Happy 80th, United Nations!,” the clue read, “Since 1948, more than 4,400 of these U.N. personnel have given their lives in the line of duty.” “Who are the Blue Helmets?” Calivo responded, moving up to $1,200, and second place.

By the end of the round, Devlin had the lead with $9,000. Calivo was in second place with $3,000. Lentz, a university brand manager, was in third place with $2,200.

In Double Jeopardy, Calivo found the first DD. He was in third place with $4,600 and wagered $2,600, which would move him up to second if he were right. In “Who Speaketh in the King James Bible,” the clue read, “‘I do not know the man.’” “Who is Thomas?” he answered, which was wrong. The correct response was Peter, and he dropped down to $2,000.

Calivo also found the second DD. He had $4,000 and wagered $3,000. In “Friends in Dry Places,” the clue read, “I’m the guy to show you the arid intermountain West region bordered by the Rockies on the east & these 2 ranges on the west.” “What are the Cascade Mountains and the Sierra Nevada?” he answered correctly. Calivo improved to $7,000.

Devlin led with $20,600. Calvio had $9,400. Lentz was in third place with $5,800.

The category for Final Jeopardy was “Travel U.S.A.” The clue was “The website for this hotel includes mini-biographies of Harold Ross, Edna Ferber & Alexander Woollcott.” The correct response is “What is the Algonquin?” Only one of the contestants got it right.

Lentz responded with “What is the Chelsea?” She wagered $0, so she ended with $5,800. Calvio’s answer was “What is the Plaza?” He wagered $6,400, ending with $3,000. Devlin had the correct response and wagered $0, ending him with $20,600. He became a two-day champion with a total of $43,199.

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