‘Jeopardy!’ Contestant Speaks Out After Dramatic Comeback Win

Spoiler Alert

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[Warning: The following post contains MAJOR spoilers for the Monday, September 29, episode of Jeopardy!]

A dramatic comeback win caused a new Jeopardy! champion to emerge, plus the reigning champion spoke out about the game and a shocking ending.

Prasad Patil, from Burlington, Massachusetts, returned for his second game on Monday after shocking host Ken Jennings with a wild comeback. He won the game in Final Jeopardy with $35,600.

Today, the assistant professor of biostatistics faced off against two new opponents — Rebecca Thompson, from Buffalo, New York, and Zach Knecht, from Spring Hill, Florida.

Patil took the lead early on, after he knew most of the “Second Chance QB” category. He had $5,200 by the first commercial break while his opponents hadn’t hit $1,000 yet.

Patil found the Daily Double in the second half of the round with $6,200 in his bank. He wagered $3,000 in “Writing Material.” The clue read, “Magazines were once differentiated as either shiny ‘slicks’ or these, cheaply made with rough wood.” He answered correctly with “What are the pulps?” This brought his total to $9,200.

Thompson, a French teacher and researcher, and Knecht, a law clerk, did better in the second half, but could not catch up to Patil, who had $11,400. Thompson had $2,200. Knecht was in a close third with $2,000.

In Double Jeopardy, Knecht found the first Daily Double on clue three. He wagered all of his $2,400 in “A World of Mountains.” The clue read, “Found in Table Mountain National Park, Lion’s Head & Lion’s Rump are peaks overlooking this coastal city.” He hesitated before guessing, “What’s Portland?” The correct response was Cape Town and South Africa. Knecht dropped down to $0.

The next category, “Near and Far Phrases,” has fans calling the clues “poorly written.” The first two clues were Triple Stumpers, with the contestants looking confused at the board. However, Patil got the third clue — “Near: A house of 1 block east of Dohney Drive might be marketed as ‘Beverly Hills’ this, from Latin for ‘to lie near.’” He answered, “What is adjacent?” The last two clues in the category were Triple Stumpers as well.

“Some poorly written categories in this game, especially the near/far one in DJ. Needlessly confusing,” a Reddit user said.

Knecht then found the last DD in “Caveat.” He had $1,600, but wagered the allotted $2,000. The clue was “Rattlesnakes warn us by shaking their tails; the sound is the motion of this fibrous stuff that makes up hair and nails.” “What’s keratin?” he answered correctly, bringing him to $3,600 and second place.

By the end of the round, Patil had a $5,000 lead with $13,400. Knecht was not too far behind with $8,400. Thompson was in third with $3,400.

The category for Final Jeopardy was “Medieval Names.” The clue read, “He was accused of killing William de Heselrig & also pled not guilty to being a traitor, saying he was never a subject of the King of England.” Only one contestant correctly answered with “Who is William Wallace?”

Thompson answered, “Who is Braveheart?” She wagered $500, giving her a final total of $3,300. Knecht had the correct answer and wagered $5,001, making his final total $13,401, a $1 lead over Patil. Patil answered “Who is Beckett?” and dropped down to $9,999 after wagering $3,401. Knecht became the new champion and will return for his second game on Tuesday, September 30.

Patil spoke out on Reddit about the final clue. “Both of them were also right on the money with the final, which I just could not parse,” he said.

“I had the time of my life appearing on Jeopardy! and am bummed I’ll never get to play again because it was incredibly fun to compete on the big stage. But I made it into the club of Jeopardy! Champions (perhaps just inside the door), and they can’t kick me out! I think,” Patil ended.

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