‘Jeopardy!’: Can Reigning Champ TJ Fisher Make the Tournament of Champions?

Spoiler Alert

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[Warning: The following post contains MAJOR spoilers for the Tuesday, October 7, episode of Jeopardy!]

TJ Fisher, from San Francisco, California, was going for his fourth Jeopardy! win, which would qualify him for an upcoming Tournament of Champions. However, his fourth game came as host Ken Jennings made a snafu on Monday’s episode, saying that Fisher would go for his third win.

Five straight wins guarantee a contestant a spot in the ToC, but in previous years, four wins can also make it to the tournament if there aren’t enough people who have qualified. So the difference is significant. He is also the first champion in a while to win more than one game. Fisher hoped to take part of his winnings, which total $59,924 so far, to help reopen his community theater.

Fisher, a marketing specialist, played against Slade Gilmer, from Russellville, Alabama, and Claudine Lewis, from St. Louis, Missouri, for his fourth game.  The game started out well for him as he answered the first clue correctly and then found the Daily Double on the second clue.

He wagered $1,000 in “Going from Quitting to Retired.” The clue read, “This adjective describes a quest that’s doomed to fail.” Fisher answered correctly with “What is quixotic?” giving him $1,600.

Fisher still kept the lead by the first 15 clues with $4,800 and seven correct responses. He doubled that to $8,200 by the end of the round. Lewis, an elementary school teacher, had $4,600. Gilmer, a paint quality team member, was in third place with $2,800.

In Double Jeopardy, history repeated itself as Fisher found the first DD on clue two. Except this time, it didn’t go well for him.

With $9,800 in his bank, he wagered $3,500. In “U.S. Cities,” the clue read, “This second-most populous Illinois city is nicknamed ‘City of Lights’ because of early street lamps, not a natural phenomenon.” He answered incorrectly with “What is Moline?” The correct response was Aurora, which dropped him down to $6,300. Fisher still kept the lead, but not by much.

He redeemed himself on the second DD, which he found on clue 20. This time, Fisher only wagered $100 since he had the lead. The clue in “The 16th Century” read, “Simplifying navigation, this Flemish cartographer made his eponymous 2-dimensional world map.” He answered correctly with “What is Mercator?” giving him $15,200.

He only answered two more questions in the rest of the round, but kept the lead with $16,800. Lewis had $5,800. Gilmer was in third place with $5,200.

The Final Jeopardy clue was a triple stumper once again. In “Science Records,” the clue was “It was introduced in 1992 & the record 43.3 was set in the high Andes, where stratospheric ozone levels are naturally low.” The correct response was “What is the UV index (ultraviolet index)?”

Giler wrote, “What is cloud level? Happy b’day Will!” He wagered $3,200, leaving him with $2,000. Lewis’ response was “(What is lifelong dream?)?” She dropped to $1,500 after wagering $4,300. Fisher’s answer was “What is the greenhouse ca?” He only wagered $200, giving him a final total of $16,600.

Fisher’s four-day total is $76,524. He won four games, so he has a great chance of being in an upcoming ToC. Find out tomorrow if he goes for win five to guarantee him a spot.

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