‘Jeopardy!’ Fans React After Champ’s Big Gamble on Final Question

Spoiler Alert

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[Warning: The following post contains MAJOR spoilers for the Tuesday, September 23, episode of Jeopardy!]

Jeopardy! contestant Steven Olson took a big gamble on the final question of Wednesday’s (September 23) episode. His wager was risky as the question was a triple stumper.

Olson, from Princeton, Illinois, played against Hester Bass, from Santa Fe, New Mexico, and Justin Ames, from Jersey City, New Jersey, on Tuesday. Olson has a two-day total of $46,406 after a runaway win on Monday.

The beginning of the game was a fair fight between Olson, a band director, and Bass, a writer. Olson had $3,600, and Hester had $3,400 before Olson found the Daily Double on clue 14.

He made it a true Daily Double in “The Answer is 42!” The clue read, “The first of their kind, they were printed in Mainz, Germany, in the 15th century with Latin text in 42-line columns.” “What is the Gutenberg Bible?” Olson answered correctly, doubling up to $7,200.

Olson answered 16 clues correctly in the round, giving him a total of $11,200. Bass had $3,600 after six correct clues and one incorrect. Ames, an employment attorney, answered six right and two wrong to give him $2,400. Both contestants had the chance to catch up to Olson.

However, in Double Jeopardy, Olson found both Daily Doubles on clues four and seven. With $12,400, he wagered $8,000. In “Composers,” the clue was, “Plaques on neighboring London houses honor Jimi Hendrix & this German-born composer, a much earlier resident.” The band director answered correctly with “Who is Handel?” He improved to $20,400.

Three clues later, the second DD in “Discovery” read ” Since its discovery by James Clark Ross in 1831, this location has migrated steadily toward Russia.” He had the lead with $22,000 and wagered only $1,000. “What is the North Pole?” he answered.

“Can you be more specific?” host Ken Jennings asked him.

“What is the magnetic North Pole?” Olson reanswered.

“It is the magnetic north pole, not the geographic one. That’s right,” Jennings responded. Olson improved to $23,000.

By this point, Bass and Ames couldn’t catch up even if they answered every clue right. Olson ended with 27,800 before Final Jeopardy. Bass had $3,200. Ames moved to second with $4,000.

The clue for Final Jeopardy was in the category “Children’s Books.” The clue was, “Realizing he couldn’t draw horses, the man behind this 1963 book drew the title characters purely from his imagination.” None of the contestants correctly answered, “What is Where the Wild Things Are?”

Bass dropped down to $700 when she answered, “What is Harold and the Purple Crayon? Thanks everyone!!).” She wagered $2,500 from her total. Ames’ response was “What is Black Beauty?” He wagered $2,401, dropping him to $1,599. The reigning champion answered, “What is My Little Pony???” He was wrong, so he dropped down to $10,683 after wagering $17,117.

Although it was not a huge total, $10,683 did give Olson his third win. He will be back tomorrow, Wednesday, for his fourth game. Olson has a three-day total of $57,089.

Fans reacted to the Final Question. “Unintentionally tricky FJ clue? It pretty much says, ‘guess any children’s book, but don’t guess a book about horses!’ But then two smart people go with a horse and a pony. Kind of like when you’re told don’t touch x and then all you want to do is touch x?” a Reddit user said.

“That was a risky wager from Steven,” said another.

“When Final Jeopardy is Children’s Literature, you can predictably count on it having something to do with Where the Wild Things Are. Someone on the Clue Crew must really love that book,” a The Jeopardy! Fan commenter said.

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