‘Jeopardy!’ Contestant Says Pressure of Show ‘Takes Away’ IQ Points After Opponent’s Runaway Win

Spoiler Alert

Jeopardy.com

[Warning: The following post contains MAJOR spoilers for the Wednesday, September 10, episode of Jeopardy!]

Jeopardy! contestant Ian Morrison confessed that nerves on stage can knock a few IQ points off. Returning for his second game, he faced a contestant with a runaway win. Did he make it to game three, or did his nerves get the better of him?

Morrison from Aurora, Colorado, played against Leslie Oakerson from Red Bank, New Jersey, and Paolo Pasco, from San Diego, California, on Wednesday, September 10. The reigning champion had a one-day total of $22,009 after beating Jonathan Hugendubler in his third game. Morrison tried to up that total in Wednesday’s game.

The beginning of the game was a battle for first place. Morrison, an airline ramp agent, was in the lead for most of the round, but Oakerson,  a financial services manager, pulled ahead with $3,000 when she answered most of the Downton Abbey clues.

During the interviews, Morrison revealed that he dabbles in Jeopardy! cosplay and has dressed as Ken Jennings, Alex Trebek, and Matt Amodio at parties and Halloween.

Pasco, a puzzle writer, found the Daily Double of the round. He was in third place with $1,200 and made it a true Daily Double. In “Presidential Doin’s,” the clue read, “Gave the ‘Atoms for Peace’ speech at the U.N., came up with a doctrine after the Suez crisis.” “Who is Truman?” Pasco answered incorrectly. The correct response was Eisenhower, so he dropped down to $0.

Morrison maintained the lead with $4,000 at the end of the round. Oakerson was not too far behind with $3,600. Pasco remained in third with $2,400.

In Double Jeopardy, Pasco moved to first place after answering four of the five “Anagrams” clues correctly. He found the first DD of the round with $9,600 in his bank. Pasco wagered $3,300 in “She Wrote That.” The clue was “‘He is jubilant as a flag unfurled–/Oh, a girl, she’d not forget him./My own dear love, he is all my world,–/& I wish I’d never met him.’” Pasco hesitated and guessed, “Who is [Emily] Dickinson?” He was wrong. The correct response was Dorothy Parker. Pasco dropped down to $6,300, but still maintained the lead.

Four clues later, he found the last DD. This time, Pasco had $8,700 in his bank and wagered $2,100. In “From the National Weather Service Glossary,” the clue read, “I: ‘A line connecting points of equal pressure.’” He answered correctly this time with “Isobar,” raising his total to $10,800.

The next few clues were Triple stumpers. Morrison then gained momentum and answered multiple clues correctly. However, it wasn’t enough for him to take first place. He ended the round with $10,000. Oakerson had $1,200. Pasco had the lead with $14,800.

The category for Final Jeopardy was “Historic Phrases.” The clue read, “In 1914, Belgium’s queen gave this phrase a political meaning, saying one had descended between her and Germany.” Two of the contestants answered correctly with “Iron Curtain.” One of them was Oakerson. She wagered $1,000, giving her a final total of $2,200. Morrison, the reigning champion, responded, “dark cloud.” He wagered $7,991, leaving him with $2,009. Pasco had the answer right and added $5,201 to his total, giving him $20,001. He was the night’s winner in a runaway game.

Pasco will be back tomorrow for game two. But Morrison had something to say about his performance before that. He took to Reddit to say that the game show isn’t as easy as it looks. “Paolo is a buzzsaw, simple as that. My final wager was an attempt to cover his wager in case he got it wrong, plus a little extra to round out my 2-game total,” he said. “But even though the Iron Curtain was the first thing I thought of for the clue, it seemed too easy/obvious. Paolo wagered enough to cover me anyway, so even if I had responded correctly, I still would have lost.”

“You can scream all the answers through the TV or win a round of drinks at pub trivia, but being on the mic takes away 10 IQ points. I’m proud that I finally made it on and even happier and more surprised that I beat Jonathan! This was a dream come true, and I hope I’m in the running for Champions Wildcard.”

Jeopardy!, weekdays, check local listings, stream next day on Hulu and Peacock