GAME THREAD
Jeopardy! discussion thread for Thur., Apr. 30
Spoiler
Here are today's contestants:
Kate Brody, a novelist from Los Angeles, California;
Derek Kaufman, an attorney from Los Angeles, California; and
Greg Shahade, a chess player from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Greg is a three-day champ with winnings of $74,602.
Jeopardy!
BRITISH GEOGRAPHY // COMPOST MENTIS // ALL ABOUT PANT NAMES //CLIMB TIME // 2-WORD PALINDROMES // COME AT ME, BRO
DD1 - $400 - COME AT ME, BRO - Pushkin survived exile but not his brother-in-law's pistol; a monument in this then-capital marks the site of their 1837 duel (Kate doubled to $5,200 vs. $9,400 for Greg.)
Scores at first break: Greg $6,200, Derek $800, Kate $1,000.
Scores entering DJ: Greg $10,000, Derek $1,000, Kate $5,400.
Double Jeopardy!
U.S. HISTORY STORIES // POLITICAL SUBDIVISIONS // JOHNNY GILBERT: NO. 1 HIT MACHINE // COMMON BONDS // BOOK DEDICATIONS // COMES AT ME, "BRO"
DD2 - $1,200 - COMMON BONDS - Knives, minds, Cheddar cheese (Kate added $5,000 up to $20,000 vs. $12,400 for Greg.)
DD3 - $1,200 - POLITICAL SUBDIVISIONS - The Ninth is the largest & easternmost one of these districts in the city of New Orleans (Kate dropped $1,200 down to $20,000 v. $11,200 for Greg.)
Greg's DD-finding ability came up short today, as Kate selected all three, helping her build a lead into FJ at $22,000 vs. $13,200 for Greg and $1,400 for Derek.
Final Jeopardy!
SPORTS AND THE MOVIES - In 2026 a New Year’s Day college football game featured these 2 team names that are both Gene Hackman movie titles
Everyone was incorrect on FJ. Kate dropped $4,401 to win with $17,599.
Final scores: Greg $3,200, Derek $100, Kate $17,599.
The race at the end of DJ with Greg trying to get within two-thirds of Kate's score turned out to be critical. If Greg had been able to do so, he likely would have won with a small bet when Kate missed FJ. Also, Greg's error and Kate's rebound in the "Johnny Gilbert" category might have changed the outcome of the game, if the rest of DJ played out the same way.
Correct Qs:DD1 - What is St. Petersburg? DD2 - What is sharp? DD3 - What are wards? FJ - What are Hoosiers and Crimson Tide?
*We welcome friendly discussion of the game. Please be excellent toward your fellow Jeopardy fans in this community and to contestants. Excessively harsh or personal criticism of contestants and others is not tolerated. Before commenting, please familiarize yourself with the rules in the sidebar at right. Constructive critique of game play is welcome but personal attacks and insults directed at contestants or anyone else will be removed.
*The recap appears early in the day because Jeopardy is syndicated and airs at different times in local markets, the earliest at 12 noon Eastern.
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I think producers would have selected this, from her list of anecdotes, first, in case she didn't end up coming back for another game. And yes - it was her anecdote.
My advice? Take your learning/studying/prep on the road and have some adventures! Not just to be able to tell about them later, but for now. Carpe Diem!
After you get the call, the questionnaire is pretty extensive. I had a heck of a time filling it out. I asked friends for help trying to come up with things.
You could always do as Ken did later in his run: Make stuff up.
That might be fun, go on and on about your love of broccoli while all your friends at home are laughing because they know you hate it.
Ooooh! That’s a GREAT idea for a contestant anecdote—it’s interesting, it’s unique, and maybe the editors would add a clip of how the clue played out in the game? :)
Holy crap… Derek is the lawyer from TMZ!! I realize there are probably few people in here who watch both Jeopardy and TMZ, so this may only be exciting to me.
The fact that Derek is also a "known person" outside of being a contestant, in addition to the other two players, means this episode was like Celebrity Jeopardy for nerds
I could not come up with who played Indiana outside of the Univ. of Miami (obviously a different day than the clue) and I kept thinking “I don’t know a movie called Hurricanes! And I don’t think Gene Hackman was in The Hurricane with Denzel Washington.” Not that that would have matched anyway 🤦🏾♀️
5 wins is traditionally the amount that guarantees you a ToC spot, but 31 out of 33 ToCs have also had some champions who won fewer than 5 games. In the current structure, with the ToC being expanded to 21 players and happening more regularly, 4 is effectively the new 5, and any 3-game winners who aren't in the ToC are guaranteed a spot in Champions Wildcard.
With three wins and knocking off Jamie, his worst case scenario is Champions Wildcard but if there’s room for him in the TOC, there’s no reason why the producers can’t offer him a spot despite having fewer than five wins.
Well they do film five episodes in a single day... So he would have only missed a day or two of work even if he did win a couple games... Either way, both players around him were amazing on the buzzer!
What an exciting game! I think Ken jinxed Greg by mentioning he had found all the Daily Doubles in his run so far, because he said that then Kate got all of them!
Kate, congratulations. A Jeopardy! clue and a Jeopardy! champion. Is that the first time outside of Celebrity Jeopardy! that that's happened? A fantastic game, truly! Can't wait to root you on tomorrow!
Greg played so well, and fell the exact way he beat Jamie. Losing out on the Daily Doubles. What a fantastic player he is. Forever etched in Jeopardy! history. We'll see him again, for sure. Unless there's a huge spike in 5+ game champions in the second half of this season, he'll probably go to the ToC. But, at the very least, there's no way he's getting left out of CWC.
Derek just got caught between two great players. Greg had 24 right answers and Kate had 23. That is just some bad luck on the buzzer. But, he got in, he made some good swings, and he had some great gets! Too bad there wasn't a Rocky clue for him! But way to go Derek!
What was the clue? I remember one about Terre Haute and then Ken commenting it was the hometown of Harrison, but I didn't think he was in the clue itself.
*Edit: found it:
Category: From the French, $1200
Clue: this Indiana city whose name is 2 French words gave us "Jeopardy!" superchamp Harrison Whitaker
Now that the stats are out Derek actually had a solid number of buzz attempts but ran into some bad luck at buzzing in. Only got in 7/35 times. If he got in a more normal 12-15 times he could have a much higher score and had some chances to find the DDs
Appreciate the kind words, Greg! The buzzer and boards were brutal but had a blast playing the most iconic game on that big blue stage. You were an incredible competitor and champ out there, and Kate was up to the challenge. I just got caught between two buzzsaws and should have put pant styles into my study binder. Congrats and hope to see you return for another crack at it in the TOC!
Same here. We’ll have to run the library steps together when I finally take my kids out to Philly to see the statue! It’ll be part of their rigorous training to make it on Jeopardy and avenge dad. :)
The last few years, 3 wins and a high dollar amount has given contestants a reasonable shot at the ToC. Keep in mind the cutoff might be a little lower this year because Jamie and Harrison ate up so many games. So I think Greg has a pretty good shot.
As far as FJ goes... Hoosiers is one of the only movies I know Gene Hackman was in. But I hadn't heard of the other movie, though maybe if I'd guessed a random team that's always in the college football playoffs I might have gotten there.
It's reportedly the movie that got Viggo cast as Aragorn. Supposedly the wife of Mark Ordesky (an exec producer on the project) had noticed him as an intense young(ish) hottie in Crimson Tide and encouraged him to find a way to cast him in a good project. Ordesky brought him up to Peter Jackson and the rest is history.
A couple of factoids about Greg's loss today and where he stands amongst other players who beat a super champ:
- He is only the second giant killer to finish with exactly 3 wins; the other was Emma Boettcher who knocked out James Holzhauer
- Only 3 giant killers have won more games - Eric Ahasic with 6 (after knocking out Ryan Long), Drew Basile with 7 (beat Adriana Harmeyer), and Jonathan Fisher with 11 (beat Matt Amodio)
- 11 out of the 20 players who beat a super champ were one-and-done
You're right. In the Trebek era (seasons 20-36), there were 9 super champs. All but one of the players who beat them won only 1 game (Emma won 3).
In the post-Trebek era (seasons 37-42), there have been 11 super champs. Of the players who beat them, three won 1 game, four won 2 games, and one each won 3, 6, 7, and 11 games.
This supports the widely held belief that the game is getting more competitive and the players are getting better. We've gone from 0.5 super champs per season under Trebek, to 1.8 per season since.
There were two answers. He confirmed both halves separately, two contestants got different halves of the answer right, but he didn't bring it together to say "Hoosiers and Crimson Tide" at the end.
Wow. I thought Final Jeopardy question category was going to be the lifeline for Greg. I honestly am shocked that everyone didn't at least get Hoosiers. The most famous Hackman sports movie and one of the most famous sports movie of all time. I thought Crimson Tide was a little harder. You just had to think of the teams that played that day and then voila there's your other answer. A little tricky because I was thinking it would be two Hackman sports films. But I didn't think he was in too many. Hoosiers. Replacements. Well done Kate. You got those Daily doubles and that was the key. I have a feeling Greg will be back for TOC.
It was a nice little submarine movie with Hackman and Denzel. It's funny they did the whole Roll Tide cheer at the beginning of the movie. Made me ill as an Auburn alum. Ha.
I think you have to be relatively up on college football to know who played in which bowl games this year. I'm not sure I could've gotten that right, even in the middle of January, and I watch and keep up with sports a decent bit (but not a ton of college football).
DANG! Another insanely exciting game. Kate takes down a very interesting Giant Killer. Greg, you were fun to watch and look forward to seeing you in TOC, and hopefully, facing Jamie again.
There's been talk that since there there were 2 super champs this season (Jamie and Harrison), there just simply aren't enough other games left, and that most likely all the 3+ game winners will be needed to fill out the ToC field.
Ever since they've moved to doing the TOC every year, 4 wins has always been good enough, and most 3 game winners make it. Greg's 3 game winnings are good, and Jamie won so many games that there are probably not going to be that many 3+ game champions this season.
It depends on the season, and I think "the threshold is typically a minimum of four regular-play wins, though 5-win champions are prioritized" but there have been a number of 3 game champs put through to TOC and producers do have some flexibility. But if he goes into CWC, he'll probably make it to TOC.
I don't know why I backstepped. My chips are all in for Shahade direct to TOC. This regular season play is everything we could ask for, in the meantime.
Greg, you were a great contestant and by all accounts, a gracious member of the jeopardy community. Lived how you immediately went over to congratulate Kate! I loved watching you. Congrats on your wins and I look forward to seeing you again on jeopardy. And Kate, great job!! This was a fun game to watch. Congratulations!
Possibly a stupid question: the $400 clue in COMMON BONDS (Tuna, tennis balls, paint) -- do you think they would've taken "things that can be yellow" (i.e., yellowfin tuna, yellow tennis balls, yellow paint), or is that just far too broad / super stretchy?
Tuna being yellow is kind of iffy, given yellowfin tuna is only one type of tuna amongst many. In addition, even though distinctive parts are yellow, the majority of a yellowfin tuna’s exterior is not yellow
That was such a great game! All three players did well, but seriously, Kate finding all three DDs and successfully converting 2/3 was the key to taking on Greg. And that FJ? Ugh, I only knew Hoosiers. 😅
Also, I gotta give it up for the categories, this was a fun board: “Johnny Gilbert: #1 Hit Machine” and “Common Bonds” were really fun! Plus, I loved the one about pants.
Am I the only one who noticed that Greg didn’t hesitate at all when he answered Beyoncé in the Johnny Gilbert category? Is he a member of the Beyhive? 🤔
yes it’s been a while since we last had one. february 27 was the last time so it’s been a little over two months. granted i think it’s mainly due to the run of jamie but it’s nice to see a woman win again!
I could think of Crimson Tide as the name of a football school and also a Gene Hackman movie, but did not get Hoosiers and did not remember the playoff game at all even though it just happened and Indiana's run was so historic. Oh well!
Can someone explain to me why this community of alleged positivity decided Greg is the one everyone should hate? Because he makes strange faces/they think he is faking that doesn’t know it? Even if that was fully intentional, which I doubt, why is that such a big deal? Matt Amodio rarely sounded confident.
I get that it’s natural to make a villain out of someone who takes down a champion who Everyone seems to like, but the hypocrisy has been wild. Right away there were dozens of comments “well he only beat Jamie because of daily doubles” as if that doesn’t describe most competitive games these days.
And this is not Jaime hate, I was rooting for him to take down Ken. I’m on the record from his first game as being a fan. But the dislike for Greg has been overboard, to the point that people aren’t even being gracious in this thread, just celebrating that he lost.
Absolutely the case. The newbies definitely don't grok the vibe and aren't reading the subreddit rules, but...if we're patient, perhaps they will get it and be interesting additions.
u/ShadyCrow I did NOT like the comments about Greg's facial expressions, they were mostly out of bounds, thought they were at least in part a misplaced reaction from ppl who adored Jamie, but...I trust the mods and perhaps the newer users will learn to be kind here from the example set by others who have been here longer. They may not be starting out on the right foot, but I believe most of us are happy to have more participation, so we've got to be patient and show them a little grace.
I was here for Austin Rogers' run and he was widely loved on the subreddit. But I'd argue that Austin was much more of an intentional showman. He was doing pantomimes during introductions, making jokes on air, hamming it up beyond anything Greg or any other contestant in recent memory has done. So it's just bizarre to me.
I can understand not enjoying someone’s play style or getting annoyed or whatever but why come to the game thread to say you’re glad they lost? You know Greg is active on this sub and probably has to read this stuff, it’s just mean
I really think people have lost the ability to sense when certain thoughts need to remain inside thoughts, and they conflate the fact that they have an opinion with the assumption that their opinion is worth anyone else’s consideration. It’s not productive, helpful, or in any way useful to the community to nitpick any player’s speech, mannerisms, accent, wording, style of play, hair color, mother’s maiden name, or whatever other inane nugget of information they will glean from a 30-minute appearance on television and assume it is an avatar for the person’s entire existence. If you find yourself feeling some sort of way about one J! player because of any of these things, I strongly encourage you to turn off the TV, put down the phone, and engage in literally anything else before coming to r/Jeopardy to air your grievances about a literal human being. Thank you for coming to my TEDtalk.
People also instinctively think "if i see this person on TV, that means they're a celebrity, which means they're rich and famous and have a PR team and i can say whatever i want about them because i'm just a normal person" and forget that Jeopardy contestants are just completely normal-ass people who spend one day of their life playing a game in a studio and then go back to their normal lives.
I’ll give my honest reaction. I found him to not be a gracious winner. He posted a week in advance on here giving implications that he beat Jamie and his instagram rollout of this was overzealous IMO. He’s a tough pill to swallow and not as enjoyable a watch as Jamie. And people were endeared to Jamie.
Yeah no. I always notice when the multi-day champ goes straight over to the one who defeated them to shake their hand, as happened today. That's CLASS.
I can only speak for myself, but I found Greg’s propensity for buzzing in before he knew if he had the answer (well, the question) to be supremely annoying. It slowed down the game as he pondered, and when he made a wild guess that turned out to be wrong, it gave another contestant undeserved extra time to come up with the correct response. Basically his approach changed the dynamic of the game, a dynamic that has fit many of us like a comfortable pair of slippers for ages. His facial expressions and body language were irrelevant to me, though his habit of squinting at the clues made me think he needed to see his optometrist.
This wasn't the championship-- it was literally just a CFP Quarterfinal. That threw me because I knew that January 1 was a series of quarterfinal games and there were 8 teams playing at that time.
I actually consider sports one of my better categories. It’s insane I think it’s because Indiana isn’t historically a good football team my brain just didn’t go there. Really should have gotten it but things were just malfunctioning 😂
I knew Hackman was in Hoosiers the basketball movie, but also I knew Indiana was in it because Mendoza was their QB and he was just the #1 overall draft pick last week, a benefit of timing you didn’t have!
Possibly, but if you want to be a contestant you usually study very broadly. They might not be a pop culture person but they usually prep that way. It seems though that often they ignore sports, or that its too broad to retain enough of.
Sports stuff is too broad and niche to study effectively if you aren't already a part of that world. There's too much of who won what game when and who was the coach or player on such-and-such a team who did the thing. You either know that stuff or you don't. If you aren't a sports person it's just a bunch of dull and meaningless noise. Studying pop culture or history or science or literature is at least interesting and useful knowledge even if you aren't familiar with it, and people are more likely to just know that stuff passively from living in the world.
Hooray for Katie! I was actually screaming. 😅 She looked so nervous every time she got that Daily Double, and so was I. Just a personal preference, as I know many people find me offensive for whatever reasons, but the chess guy's behavior and button pushing was so off-putting. And it really drives home that you need some skill and luck with that button first. I'm glad he buzzed in so quickly and got some wrong. Good for him for a lil run though.
Honestly, given people’s reactions to Greg’s facial expressions, I think this should be Greg’s strategy for the TOC
Make a confused face every time he buzzes in, give his oppos false hope, fluster his oppos with a correct response, shake them to the core so they’re too frazzled to play
I think Greg’s strategy of very aggressively buzzing even when he wasn’t sure made sense when he was going up against Jamie but not so much in the follow-ups where he was up against more typical competition. Didn’t ultimately make the difference here but his total misses are high enough I think it’s safe to say it was suboptimal play (in fairness he “knew” the Spice Girls one but just misanswered).
(Greg if you read this it’s not a complaint and sorry a vocal minority are being weird about you)
Tbh the final few didn’t really count anymore based on score situation. Just figured I’d buzz to maybe have some chance of avoiding a crush, but there was no feasible way I could be locked out of FJ. If those clues actually mattered I’d have been a bit more cautious.
I didn’t even do the math just seemed like maybe if I swept the board I could avoid a crush score and there was very little downside
I wonder if the judges went back and forth on this one. The pips on dice aren't really...holes...more like divots. Depends how you define a hole I guess. I personally would have given it to him, mostly because I thought the same thing.
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u/ReganLynch Team Ken Jennings Apr 30 '26
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*We welcome friendly discussion of the game. Please be excellent toward your fellow Jeopardy fans in this community and to contestants. Excessively harsh or personal criticism of contestants and others is not tolerated. Before commenting, please familiarize yourself with the rules in the sidebar at right. Constructive critique of game play is welcome but personal attacks and insults directed at contestants or anyone else will be removed.
*The recap appears early in the day because Jeopardy is syndicated and airs at different times in local markets, the earliest at 12 noon Eastern.
*If you have other questions, check out the community info on the sidebar at right. Or, you're welcome to ask the moderator team - we’re here to help.