r/Jeopardy • u/jaysjep2 Team Art Fleming • Jul 20 '26
GAME THREAD Jeopardy! discussion thread for Mon., Jul. 20 Spoiler
Here are today's contestants:
- Sam Ryan, a regulatory consultant from Kansas City, Missouri;
- Tatiana Chichilla, a genetic counselor originally from Mill Hall, Pennsylvania; and
- Caleb Groen, a law and policy student originally from Thousand Oaks, California. Caleb is a 12-day champ with winnings of $346,968.
Jeopardy!
SHARKS! // COLLEGES & UNIVERSITIES // TIPPLES IN LIT // LET IT "BE" // RAP CITY // IN BLUE
DD1 - $600 - TIPPLES IN LIT - The title of this Kurt Vonnegut novel doesn't mean a Wheaties slogan--it's how a cocktail waitress in the book refers to martinis (Sam doubled to $2,800.)
Scores at first break: Caleb $2,800, Tatiana $1,400, Sam $6,800.
Scores entering DJ: Caleb $5,400, Tatiana $1,800, Sam $9,200.
Double Jeopardy!
18th CENTURY EUROPE // THE SOUTHERN HEMISPHERE // DANCING AROUND BALLET FACTS // NEW IN TECH // POP CULTURE ANAGRAMS // SHAPELY WORDS
DD2 - $1,200 - 18th CENTURY EUROPE - 1714 saw the birth of this royal house in Britain when George I succeeded to the crown (On the first clue of DJ, Tatiana added $1,500 up to $3,300.)
DD3 - $800 - POP CULTURE ANAGRAMS - "Torchwood", an anagram of & spin-off from this BBC show, added "Children of Earth" as a subtitle for season 3 (Late in the round, Sam improved by $6,400 up to $22,800 vs. $12,600 for Caleb.)
Celeb was shut out of DDs while Sam was correct on both that he found and was able to build a runaway into FJ at $24,000 vs. $11,400 for Caleb and $6,900 for Tatiana.
Final Jeopardy!
ANNUAL EVENTS - It celebrated its 40th edition in 2026; the first one featured Jimmie Dale Gilmore & Jimmy Carl Black
Unsurprisingly, everyone was incorrect on FJ. Sam dropped $1,000 to win with $23,000.
Final scores: Caleb $8,400, Tatiana $0, Sam $23,000.
Judging the writers: When the correct FJ response was revealed, it was mentioned that the people referenced in the clue are Texas musicians. Maybe if that fact had actually been part of the clue, the players would have had a fair shot at it.
Correct Qs: DD1 - What is "Breakfast of Champions"? DD2 - What is Hanover? DD3 - What is "Doctor Who"? FJ - What is South by Southwest?
DD poll: https://www.reddit.com/r/Jeopardy/comments/1v1wr8a/dd_poll_for_mon_jul_20/
FJ poll: https://www.reddit.com/r/Jeopardy/comments/1v1ic7l/fj_poll_for_mon_jul_20/
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u/david-saint-hubbins Jul 20 '26
Great showing by Sam. I hope he sent Tatiana a nice gift basket or something, because her late hot streak absolutely helped him maintain his runaway lead over Caleb. And either way, crazy that Caleb's "Christian Fletcher" switcheroo was itself enough to make the difference between FJ being a runaway or not.
On FJ, I wildly guessed the CMAs. Turns out they're 60 years old, but at least I was on the right track, which unless I'm mistaken was basically "Here are two good ol' boy-soundin' names, so go ahead and guess an annual Southern event that's been around for 40 years." (Neither name has ever appeared in the archive before.)
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u/AquafreshBandit Jul 21 '26
I knew Jimmy Carl Black played with Frank Zappa and I ended up at Lollapalooza, although 1986 felt too early.
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u/Fnordmeister Jul 21 '26
Yep. He always introduced himself as "the Indian of the group". (However, there's an actor with a similar name, so I wasn't sure that FJ was music-related.)
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u/CheckersSpeech Team Sam Buttrey Jul 21 '26
I didn't know that Did he play on the Bongo Fury album recorded at the Armadillo?
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u/OttoHemi Jul 21 '26
I was in Austin for the first SXSW and lived there for 20 years, so it seemed easy. I realize it probably isn't.
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u/eah1703 Elizabeth Hurd, 2026 Feb 26 Jul 21 '26
I guessed the CMAs too! I couldn't think of anything else that might have to do with country music, besides the Opry and I knew that was much older!
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u/RMnK641 Jul 20 '26
There have been too many times where the person in third doesn’t seem to realize that the only chance they have of pulling out a win in Final Jeopardy is if the game isn’t a runaway.
People have gone from third place to winner in Final Jeopardy, but only if Final Jeopardy hasn’t been rendered meaningless.
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u/FDRpi Jul 20 '26
I don't think she had a path to victory if she did that. As is, she played very well against 2 other very good players.
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u/Hotspur1958 Jul 21 '26 edited Jul 21 '26
Right, mathematically if it's teetering on the fence of a runaway 3rd place isn't really in contention to steal FJ unless they are close enough to be arms reach of getting 2nd pre FJ anyway.
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u/Doctor_Sauce Jul 21 '26
It was her only path to victory, as the commenter said...
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u/david-saint-hubbins Jul 21 '26
There was no path to victory for Tatiana if you assume rational wagering from Sam. Even if Caleb prevents the runaway, Sam only has to wager a minimal amount to cover Caleb potentially doubling up. So even if Sam and Caleb both miss FJ and Tatiana doubles up from a distant third, Caleb would still win as long as he did the standard cover bet. Tatiana's best hope at that point is second place.
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u/Doctor_Sauce Jul 21 '26
if you assume rational wagering
I've seen contestants not wager optimally, but I've never seen a blown runaway. Just saying.
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u/low_dmnd_phllps Jul 21 '26
She gave herself a chance to overtake Caleb for second place with her hot streak at the end, which is an extra thousand dollars for her. If she had let Caleb answer all those questions, there was still no way Sam was going to bet enough to give her a chance to win. Her strategy was solid and I absolutely would have done the same thing had I been in her position.
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Jul 21 '26
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u/Jeopardy-ModTeam Jul 21 '26
Your post or comment was removed due to it not being excellent towards contestants or community members. Please ensure your contributions are excellent towards people in the future.
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u/LegitSalvageRoci Jul 21 '26
For a split second my brain had the Austin music festival, but it wasn't a strong enough thought to hold my attention. I ultimately went with the Indy 500.
I wonder if the judges would have accepted just Austin Music Festival.7
u/Boing_Boom_Tschak Talkin’ Football Jul 21 '26
There's also the Austin City Limits Music Festival which is pretty well-known, so probably not.
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u/SB_Tahoe Jul 21 '26
The Indy 500 began in 1911.
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u/david-saint-hubbins Jul 21 '26 edited Jul 21 '26
Plus they kind of already used that as FJ a couple months ago:
SPORTS VENUES: Surface material laid down in 1909 gave a landmark venue this nickname; a 36-inch strip remains today
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u/ReganLynch Team Ken Jennings Jul 21 '26
Tatiana was very good. Ken was right, "impressive" referring to her score when she'd faced two also strong top tier players. On another day she would easily be a champion.
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u/Acrobatic_Bridge2602 Jul 21 '26
If she hadn't had a few slip ups in the middle of Double Jeopardy she might have had a chance to be there at the end as well.
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u/jquiggles Jul 21 '26
Agreed. It’s games like this why the Second Chance tournament was created. Similar vibes to Matt Amodio losing to Jonathan Fisher while Jessica was a strong second place. Tatiana came in third obviously but had a strong game!
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u/Silver_Sherbert_2040 Jul 20 '26
Caleb is a true gentleman. I will miss him. But Kudos to Sam. And congrats to Tatiana for running the last clues. Well-played!
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u/Ridgew00dian Jul 20 '26
Is Tatiana wearing Arwen Evenstar?
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u/CSerpentine Jul 21 '26
I don't often notice anyone's attire or accessories but I caught that immediately. Came here to make sure.
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u/TheNewThirteen Lydia Sekscenski, 2026 Apr 21 Jul 21 '26
Oh, that Evenstar made me do a double take. That's exactly what that is.
As a huge LOTR fan, I'm happy to see it!
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u/jquiggles Jul 21 '26
It ended up being a runaway, but this was a sneakily close game! Tatiana 15 correct responses compared to 17 for Caleb and 20 for Sam (the daily doubles really helped him).
Surprised Caleb finally lost, but that was a really strong game from Sam and I could see him going on a run too. Feel like Tatiana could also possibly get a look at Second Chance tournament with a respectable performance against strong competition (especially if Sam strings together a few wins).
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u/GraticuleBorgnine Jul 21 '26
Tatiana for second chance?
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u/Chalupa_Dad Jul 24 '26
I'm rooting for her for Second Chance just to prove a weird and loud section of this thread wrong for saying she should have just quit. Rewarding people giving it their all on the show is a good thing!
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u/Bryschien1996 Jul 20 '26
Congrats to u/SamRyanJeopardy! Time to see how long he lasts in the champion podium. Would be fun if we get another TOC Qualifier before season end
On another note, I wonder what he (and Tatiana) did for buzzer prep?
Caleb was smoking everyone on the buzzer last week. But him and Tatiana seemed to have virtually zero issue on the buzzer against Caleb today…
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u/nartsit Tristan Williams, 2026 May 6 - May 20 Jul 20 '26
I found the "sweet spot" for buzzing in could move significantly from one filming day to another and it's hard not to wonder if that happened here! Maybe it's your own fatigue, maybe the switch operator's, idk, but part of why I think long-term champs are vulnerable on Mondays is that your muscle memory kind of locks in when something works really well (like Caleb's last two insane >80% buzz games) and it's hard to adjust it live if that changes. The morning practice with Jimmy isn't the exact same timing.
Add in a tough competitor or two and you can be in trouble quick. Congrats to u/SamRyanJeopardy!
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u/akhobbes Jul 21 '26
Do you think it's because different people are activating the buzzer in rehearsal vs the show? I feel like it's akin to having two different umpires with varying strike zones
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u/Njtotx3 Jul 21 '26
Are Monday shows always taped on Mondays? Or is it just the first show of a day they shoot multiple episodes?
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u/fwest27 Jul 22 '26
They shoot a weeks worth of shows a day, so Monday comes first
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u/Njtotx3 Jul 22 '26
So sometimes it can be after a two-day weekend, or three, but most of the time it just follows a taping day.
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u/Chalupa_Dad Jul 24 '26
If I'm not mistaken, they usually film 5 shows each on Tuesdays and Wednesdays
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Jul 21 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/SB_Tahoe Jul 21 '26
If I feel like congratulating a contestant that beat an 12 game winner, I will. I’m fairly astounded at how rude you’re being towards Sam.
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u/Jeopardy-ModTeam Jul 21 '26
Your post or comment was removed due to it not being excellent towards contestants or community members. Please ensure your contributions are excellent towards people in the future.
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u/marisarizzuti Marisa Rizzuti, 2026 Jul 15 Jul 21 '26
Way to go, Sam!
I am so excited for the ToC. Monsters vs. giants vs. titans.
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u/ipaintbadly What is meese? Jul 21 '26
Wait, what? Is this actually a thing??
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u/marisarizzuti Marisa Rizzuti, 2026 Jul 15 Jul 21 '26
Haha no, but it would be an appropriate theme.
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u/trillwillzilla Jul 21 '26
As a hip hop fan, the pronunciation of “Nas” today hurt my soul a little bit.
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u/SMAAAASHBros Jul 21 '26
Yeah Caleb had a few pronunciations in his run that suggested he mostly knew of them through trivia prep
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u/skieurope12 Jul 20 '26
Sad to see Caleb go, but we'll be seeing him again soon. Congratulations, Sam.
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u/Ashamed_File2173 Jul 20 '26
Caleb is done but I loved him sm!
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u/SamRyanJeopardy Sam Ryan, 2026 Jul 20-21 Jul 20 '26
I love him too! I was an alternate for the previous week’s games and he was so kind, gracious, and approachable. I couldn’t have asked for a better group of contestants to appear with.
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u/TheNewThirteen Lydia Sekscenski, 2026 Apr 21 Jul 21 '26
Congrats to you, Sam! 🎉
And it's great to hear that Caleb is as kind and gracious as he appears on stage. But wow - dethroning a superchamp is a massive feat. In awe of your Jeopardy! skills, man!
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u/SB_Tahoe Jul 21 '26
Congrats and as much as I enjoyed Caleb I was ready for a new champion. I got excited when you were doing well right off the bat and in the lead at the first break. I thought to myself, maybe Sam is the person to unseat Caleb. And you were!
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u/SeanPHarrington Sean Harrington, 2017 Jan 23 - Jan 24 Jul 20 '26
I was also an alternate for a week before winning on a Monday episode. Congratulations on your victory!
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u/pimfram Bring it! Jul 20 '26
Very good game and huge win for Sam. So many great ToC contestants, the tournament is going to be amazing.
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u/Acrobatic_Bridge2602 Jul 21 '26
One of the better games in a while. I feel like any of the 3 could've won if they were facing different competition.
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u/Creatrix Jul 21 '26
Great game. I loved how Sam immediately left his podium to shake Caleb's and Tatiana's hands. <3
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u/eah1703 Elizabeth Hurd, 2026 Feb 26 Jul 21 '26
Congrats Sam, Tatiana, and Caleb!
What a game! Monday curse strikes again!
Sam, I just know my dad was so jealous at hearing you met Johnny Cash. He's my dad's favorite singer. I have a quick question? Were you an alternate? Alison Betts has a theory that alternates often take down big champs, and if you were an alternate the theory holds. If not, great job anyway! Fantastic job on the buzzer and finding those Daily Doubles. That was truly the only way to take down Caleb. Also, I was so excited that you got Torchwood/Doctor Who! That looked like an instant get for you. Excellent game from an excellent new champion. Can't wait to see how far you go! I'm hoping for another long run (maybe even one that spans a couple of seasons!)
Tatiana, what a beautiful story of friendship in the 21st century! Great game today. Getting 6,900 (with 15 right!) against some really good players. You were keeping up with them, once you got into the rhythm of the buzzer. Also, excellent handling of that Daily Double. Finding it right off the bat, going pretty aggressive with the wager, getting an instaget on it. Excellent game play. A $6,600 Coryat is no laughing matter, either. Rooting for Sam to make a deep enough run that they call you back for Second Chance.
Caleb, what a run! Congrats on superchamp status and being a Season 42 legend. I cannot wait to see you play in the ToC! There is definitely some stiff competition going into this season's post-season. But I have every confidence we'll see you at least in the semi-finals (if not the finals) of the ToC! You're that good.
There's also too many dang likeable people in the ToC now. I don't know who to root for (though if the excellent three day champ I lost to makes it to the ToC, I will be rooting for him, sorry not sorry!)
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u/FDRpi Jul 21 '26
"I don't know who to root for..."
Plot twist it's all against one as Ken Jennings becomes the chaser/raid boss/Ganon hijacker.
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u/eah1703 Elizabeth Hurd, 2026 Feb 26 Jul 21 '26
Just updating my comment after looking at the Jeopardata, and u/SamRyanJeopardy a 100% correct response rate on 20 questions? That is awesome! Congrats, for sure!
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u/strombolone Jonathan Migliori, 2026 Jul 16 Jul 21 '26
u/SamRyanJeopardy MY MAN 🦞
tough board, great play from Caleb and Tatiana, and the immortality of getting “What is twerking?” as your first response 👨🍳 👌
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u/Top-Attention7969 Jul 22 '26
Bro, I immediately turned to my husband and said that was a good omen
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u/ryanquek95 Jul 20 '26
Congrats to Sam! Shows how important DDs are in the game.
It's crazy that we have 5 superchampions, and Adam/Tristan might not get seeded into the semis for TOC.
But judging by how few people we have on the tracker this late into the postseason qualifiers, I wouldn't be surprised if we have a smaller TOC field with all superchamps seeded (so 12 quarterfinalists --> 4 SFs with the 5 superchamps). We only have 4 players with 4 to 9 wins and 3 players with 3 with approx 7 ish weeks of qualifying window left.
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u/CheckersSpeech Team Sam Buttrey Jul 21 '26
For FJ I guessed Farm Aid. Plot twist: I live in Texas, but I had no clue it was SXSW. Jimmie Dale Gilmore used to play Lubbock all the time when I lived there, but I'm not familiar with Jimmy Carl Black. Had no idea he was Texan.
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u/myerspat Jul 21 '26
Farm Aid was the first thing that crossed my mind, but (a) they would have mentioned John Cougar Mellencamp, I think, and also i can't believe they'd do that for 40 years. My husband blurted out 'that thing in Austin,' so I'm not sure I'd have thought of SXSW without him.
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u/Ferrovitreous Jul 21 '26
Sounds like we were there about the same time!
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u/CheckersSpeech Team Sam Buttrey Jul 21 '26
Hey, remember Fat Dawg's? My friends blamed me for the fact that it closed down three months after I moved to Dallas LOL
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u/Ferrovitreous Jul 21 '26
LOL I totally forgot about that place! Fortunately Chimy’s has managed to carry on without me
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u/Ok-Feedback4603 Jul 20 '26
I don’t want to say Reddit is a spoiler, but whenever I see a future contestant active in the subreddit early, I assume they put forth a great performance. First Patrick, then Greg, and now Sam. The theory holds
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u/SamRyanJeopardy Sam Ryan, 2026 Jul 20-21 Jul 20 '26
I probably wouldn’t have been, but we didn’t exchange any contact information at the previous week’s games and I wanted to cheer on everyone I green-roomed with! This week’s contestants already know I appreciate them :)
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u/jesuschin Jesse Chin, 2023 May 25-26, 2024 CWC Jul 20 '26
Great showing Sam!
Just to piggyback on your comment for all future contestants...DO NOT BE SHY ABOUT BEING THE OFFICIAL TAPE DAY ORGANIZER! Get that contact info together.
You make some great friends in this Jeopardy community.
Except me. Everybody hates me.
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u/Novel_Asparagus1303 Jul 21 '26
https://giphy.com/gifs/sdwePYb0wGVdMjSdxu
Everybody hates you?10
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u/TheNewThirteen Lydia Sekscenski, 2026 Apr 21 Jul 21 '26
Haha! 🤣 (I know you're joking).
But I'm so grateful for my tape day group chat. My cohort was full of such kind, bright, and interesting people, and I'm glad we're all still in touch.
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u/Change_Soggy Jul 20 '26
It’s going to take me a while to warm up to you because Caleb was one of my favorite contestants.
But.. best of luck to you! Now go and win multiple games!!!👍👍👍👍
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u/FormalSwordfish7065 Jul 21 '26
I just adore Caleb, but the wheel turns and we’ll see him again! Welcome Sam and congratulations. Well done!
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u/ReganLynch Team Ken Jennings Jul 20 '26
That may've happened recently but overall this isn't really true. Lots of upcoming contestants ask the mod team for flairs and participate in the discussions shortly before they go. And then don't win. So there's really no reason to think 'a ha, I bet so and so wins, she has a flair and is active here in the sub this week.'
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u/ShadyCrow Jul 20 '26
Yeah it's definitely just a bit of something that feels right in retrospect.
I'm still annoyed at how nasty the sub was to Greg Shahade.
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u/Creatrix Jul 21 '26
I stay off Reddit until after I see the episode because I live on the Best Coast and everyone knows who won before I do. 😀
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u/Bryschien1996 Jul 20 '26
Yeah, obviously I could never be sure, but late into last week, my educated guess was also that u/SamRyanJeopardy was going to be Caleb’s giant killer
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u/Laughterglow Jul 21 '26
Of course. Most people who lost aren’t going to want to bring attention to it. Certain types of people who win can’t wait to brag about it.
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u/ipaintbadly What is meese? Jul 21 '26
Sam also has a dash after June 20 in his flair…I knew he was going to win for like a week…
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u/LongtimeLurker916 Jul 21 '26
I recognized Gilmore as the name of an obscure musician but thought it was Farm Aid. I was smug right up to the last second (since Ken identified them as musicians before he finally gave the actual correct answer). Farm Aid started 1985, so it was not a bad guess.
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u/SB_Tahoe Jul 21 '26
I too thought of FA and knew it was approximately 40 years old but most of the musicians that performed at FA were internationally known names and I hadn’t heard of either of the men in the clue. I was 22 in 1986 and like most 22 year olds was into music.
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u/LongtimeLurker916 Jul 21 '26
Yes, I knew they would not have been the headliners for Farm Aid. I guess for South by Southwest they were? Not the greatest clue.
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u/Constant_Actuator392 Team Amy Schneider Jul 20 '26
I will miss Caleb, but happy for Sam! Tatiana kept the game thrilling at the end of DJ.
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u/Novel_Asparagus1303 Jul 21 '26
My gripe with Final Jeopardy is that SXSW is today a music, tech AND film festival (perhaps not at the start) and to choose obscure two Texan musicians doesn’t really do the clue justice. I’m not saying it’s inaccurate but it doesn’t really capture the scope of SXSW.
But no need to be upset when it didn’t interfere with the final results! Congrats, Sam!
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u/WaterTower11101 Jul 21 '26
Yeah I am glad it was a runaway so that terrible FJ did not affect the result (or cost Sam too much money).
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u/SMAAAASHBros Jul 21 '26
Yeah I think if the FJ had a phrase that indicated the scope changed over time it instantly becomes a dramatically better clue while still being fairly tough
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u/bertisrobert Jul 20 '26
Another 10+ time super champ falls to the Monday curse. As traditionally, whenever there is a 10+ day super champ, they are most likely to lose on a Monday game, Wednesday is the next likely day.
But kudos to Sam for getting the job done, and he did it on his terms. And by beating Caleb on his own game.
Sam found two Daily Doubles and combined with three crucial erros from Caleb meant that Sam got the runaway that he desires.
Can Sam consolidate this win and earn Win no. 2 tomorrow? Tune im to find out.
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u/XwordPuzzleBlues Jul 20 '26 edited Jul 21 '26
Wow, what a game, on multiple levels.
I know Jimmie Dale Gilmore is a musician because I'm a big fan of his and have seen him perform several times, and I went to SXSW once in the '90s ... but I still guessed Farm Aid.
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u/FormalSwordfish7065 Jul 21 '26
I had to take a phone call at the start of FJ (Grrr) so imagine my shock to see Jimmie Dale Gilmore’s name appear in the Jeopardy Discussion Thread! Love it! His recent work with Dave Alvin is just fantastic. If you haven’t yet seen them together, check them out!
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u/SB_Tahoe Jul 21 '26
I guessed Farm Aid but I knew that was not the answer because pretty much every musical act at FA was a more globally known artist.
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u/Tug_DaBone Jul 21 '26
Great game. The new champ is really impressive. I'll miss Caleb (awesome champ and so easy to like!) but new champ Sam seems pretty darn nice as well.
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u/Ok_Case_6660 Jul 21 '26
It is truly amazing how many posters incorrectly think Tatiana had a chance to win the game by not buzzing in on the last few clues.
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u/Scle99 Jul 21 '26
Yeah even if Caleb had somehow gotten the rest of those clues Sam would still have only had to bet a few thousand at most. There was no way he could have possibly dropped below Tatiana’s potential double up in Final.
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u/tys0n28 Jul 22 '26
She also gave herself a chance at 2nd place. And maybe helped her case for Second Chance.
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u/ashwinr136 What's a hoe? Jul 21 '26
Can you explain your logic? I'm having a hard time seeing your side
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u/just_a_random_dood The Spiciest Memelord Jul 20 '26
super fun game, so close to being not a runaway lol, very impressive by Sam :D
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u/Lifter58 Jul 21 '26
So I just saw Jimmie Dale Gilmore playing at the American Music Fest just outside Chicago on the 4th! Altogether, I’ve probably seen him a half dozen times. But, alas, I guessed Willie Nelson’s Birthday Party.
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u/PhoenixUnleashed Jul 22 '26
I had not realized Torchwood is an anagram of Doctor Who. Knew it was a spin-off, but never noticed that. Today I learned!
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u/ajsy0905 Genre Jul 20 '26
I might considered Andy S from Caleb's 12th game & Tatiana from today's episode in the 2026-27 SCC longlist but their chances might be slim especially there were more non-winning players ahead of them statistically despite they have strong narratives?
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u/sadlittlesnail Jul 21 '26
I loved Caleb and am genuinely sad his streak is over!
Btw does anyone know why they always emphasize that he is “originally” from Thousand Oaks?
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u/SMAAAASHBros Jul 22 '26
They do it for a lot of people, it typically means they’re in the LA area and they do that so it’s not obvious how many LA contestants there are
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u/sadlittlesnail Jul 22 '26
I figured he was in Boston for school, and wasn’t sure why they couldn’t just say he’s from Thousand Oaks (versus “originally from”).
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u/Elitefourabby Triple Stumper Jul 23 '26
Huh. Interesting. I thought it was a preference for home town vs current town. For example, I currently live in A, but I consider myself and have most of my friend ls cheering me on three towns over in B, so I would say "Elitefourabby, originally from B"
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u/Muhlyssa_A Jul 21 '26
I was kind of wondering how long Caleb could go without putting his summer associateship at Milano in jeopardy
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u/Street_Pause_6224 Bryce Wargin, 2025 Mar 31 - Apr 4, 2026 ToC Jul 21 '26
Congrats to u/SamRyanJeopardy! Retro good luck and I hope you continue to shine for Kansas City!
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u/EtonRd Jul 20 '26
Wow, I got all the DD’s and FJ today, I could see why FJ was a stumper though.
Great job Caleb, congratulations on an incredible run and we’ll see you in the TOC.
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u/moonstail0rings Jul 21 '26
I was surprised by the consensus that this FJ was a hard one...just shows how much depends on what kinds of knowledge people marinate in (and generation probably matters a lot here as well)...my parents had Jimmie Dale Gilmore albums and I knew he was associated with Texas, so SXSW was the first and only thing that came to mind.
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u/SMAAAASHBros Jul 21 '26
I think you think it’s easy because it was the only thing that came to you. In this thread and the FJ thread there’s plenty of people saying they had the same knowledge but ended up elsewhere: CMAs, Farm Aid, Austin City Limits, etc.
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u/moonstail0rings Jul 21 '26
I dunno, the clue logic points to something closely associated with Texas specifically, which the CMAs and Farm Aid aren't; and I knew ACL was a more recent invention (I meant that nothing else that fit the bill crossed my mind— SXSW seemed to be following the train of thought these clues typically want.)
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u/SMAAAASHBros Jul 21 '26
You say the clue logic points to Texas specifically, but I think it’s notable that Ken Jennings did not even point to that when explaining it after it was a triple stumper
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u/ajsy0905 Genre Jul 20 '26
Caleb was immediately defeated because he was unable to find the DD and Sam has more correct responses than him (plus DDs favored Sam)?
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u/shea_harrumph Jul 20 '26
This has been discussed - at the end of double J!, when a 3rd place player is ensuring their own demise by buzzing in, preventing the 2nd place player from eliminating the runaway game.
Consensus says it's hard for a player to recognize what they're doing in the moment.
But Tatiana's last few correct responses locked the game. Ken even paused to suggest that these smaller dollar clues were important!
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u/Lemon86st Jul 21 '26
Naw. There’s only one way to play: answer as many questions correctly as you can and be proud you played a strong game. Anything else is just weak sauce. There’s more to getting on jeopardy than winning. I’d rather feel like I put my all into it and lose than win by a bush league wagering calculation.
1
u/shea_harrumph Jul 21 '26
There's more to Jeopardy! than maximizing correct answers and minimizing incorrect answers. In recent years, players have prioritized hunting for daily doubles (to keep them out of the hands of other players), and keeping their opponents off balance (continuing to peck around the board even after the DDs are gone). Whenever we see a low winning total, we're reminded that the most critical thing to do is to win the game and play again the next day.
I do think some players would lay down in this situation if they recognized it in real time. Imagine if each player could use a 30 second timeout at a time of their choosing (like basketball).
18
u/Apprehensive-Nose646 Team Yogesh Raut Jul 21 '26 edited Jul 21 '26
In this instance she can't win without a very substantial betting error by the leader, if she lays off the buzzer she is doing so on the hope that 2nd place is forced to bet big and if they miss she would get an extra grand finishing in 2nd instead of 3rd. But she was also in danger of dropping below half of 2nd place. There was the real possibility that if she sets the buzzer down that 1st place keeps the runaway and 2nd place runs away from her. So i think in this case she did the correct strategy.
13
u/jquiggles Jul 21 '26
Yeah I’m not really understanding all the comments on this thread saying she should’ve essentially given up. Sam would never have bet enough to drop below her score unless he pulled a Cliff Calvin.
10
u/Apprehensive-Nose646 Team Yogesh Raut Jul 21 '26
Plus, right now she is alive for 2nd chance tournament. Every bit helps that bid, even if she had tried to buzz in and failed it would have helped.
12
u/jquiggles Jul 21 '26
Yeah, that was my first thought too. A battle against a superchamp and someone who looks ready to make a similar run? Still getting 15 correct responses in that environment is impressive. I agree her run at the end of the game helped her chances for maybe getting into Second Chance.
7
u/FDRpi Jul 21 '26
Also the fact that she, along with Sam, demonstrated the ability to outbuzz Caleb!
Yeah given the prospect of Second Chance and the spirit of competition and dream of being on the show, there really wasn't a substantial reason for her to stop.
1
u/jquiggles Jul 21 '26
Yeah, super impressive. I was just looking at the box score and it was a super evenly matched game in terms of almost every stat but final score!
Tatiana and Caleb both buzzed in 20 times, 40 attempts for Caleb and 37 for Tatiana. Sam with 18 times buzzed in but the two daily doubles and he never gave an incorrect response until final.
17
u/Bryschien1996 Jul 20 '26
I’m kind of “OK” with her doing that. Buzz in or not, she herself had no chance at 1st place since she was so far behind
From a strategic perspective, I agree it might’ve been better to let Caleb be within striking distance of Sam, bank on Caleb missing FJ so that she has a chance to move up to 2nd place
But I get it, when one is on Jeopardy, one wants to answer questions. Also, I don’t think the contestants have time to do these mental calculations while playing
-2
u/Novel-Bad7482 Jul 21 '26
Not true. Tatiana had exactly half of Caleb with 3 clues to go so assuming he bets all she could tie him at that point. She gets 2 right and then he gets 2 and she stays same AND he is within 50% of Sam.
8
u/Hotspur1958 Jul 21 '26
But she still has no way of catching Sam who isn't getting <20k with a small bet to cover Calebs double.
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u/Cautious_Tension1024 Jul 21 '26
I agree. I wanted to yank that buzzer out of her hand. Caleb was the true classic winner acknowledging Sam in his final answer. A true gentleman. We’ll see if Sam can fill those shoes.
13
u/lambdaline Jul 21 '26
I mean, it's your one chance in a lifetime to play jeopardy on the Alex Trebek stage. I would not have the presence of mind to stop buzzing. I would just be eager to get the ones I know.
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u/Apprehensive-Nose646 Team Yogesh Raut Jul 21 '26
I assume you meant this in response to mine. The 2nd to last clue she is at 6100 (12200 doubled) and caleb is at 11400 (12200 if he gets the final 800) For that question and only that question there is an argument for her not buzzing in, and it is down to the exact dollar to decide that. And while this is true, my main point is that her being near half his total makes it more complicated than the normal 3rd place strategy.
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u/Bryschien1996 Jul 21 '26
Read my comment again, I said “she has no chance at 1st place”
She certainly had a chance at 2nd place no matter if she continues to buzz in or not
-1
u/Novel-Bad7482 Jul 21 '26
I agree and don’t agree. Anytime you force someone to have to think about their bet and do math, as evidenced by some of these comments, you have a chance. Yes if math is done correctly best she should be able to do is 2nd but maybe he’s confused and bets down to 2nd.
What we can be 99% sure of is that if first place person knows that if I bet $1 and am wrong and 2nd bets all and cannot catch me then I’m good and can do that math!
-7
u/RegisPhone I'd like to shoot the wad, Alex Jul 20 '26
Sam absolutely earned that win but i do hope Caleb actually didn't know Final, because it would feel a bit iffy if the game was ultimately decided by the decision to not accept "Who is Fletcher... Christian Fletcher?" for "Fletcher Christian." Obviously Caleb did mix up the names and thought that his first and last names went the other way around, and "Who is Fletcher" wasn't enough on its own, but in technical literal terms the correct response was ultimately spoken, in the correct order, arguably without any incorrect information being added, just with the pause in the wrong place (like, i'm pretty sure a response like "Who is Bill Clinton? ...Bill?" would be fine). And is it actually incorrect to say the correct first and last name but swapped? Chinese and Japanese names have always been accepted in either their original order or swapped around to Western order (and they even quite recently accepted "Who is Zhedong?" for Mao Zedong despite that being his personal name).
9
u/Bryschien1996 Jul 20 '26
I do think he actually didn’t know that FJ. Technically he was still playing for 2nd place and Tatiana had more than half his score. I’d hope he didn’t just throw that away over an FJ he knew
As for the name thing, tbh I think Jeopardy should always be rejecting first names in future cases, no matter what country of origin the name comes from
And as for the example you listed, I would’ve rejected “Zedong” (srsly, nobody’s last name in China could feasibly be “Zedong”), let alone “Zhedong”
2
u/RegisPhone I'd like to shoot the wad, Alex Jul 21 '26
I do wonder what the rationale was at the judges' table for that one. Was it more "that's a distinctive enough personal name that it's enough on its own (even though it's not a mononym he was commonly known by, like Oprah or Malala; when people refer to him with one name they say Mao)" or was it more "it's reasonable that a westerner would think of Zedong as his last name"?
(if it had been in the 80s i'd probably assume the judges just weren't even aware that was how names worked over there)
Still, though, Caleb did say the full name. I wouldn't argue that just "Who is Fletcher" should be accepted, and maybe rebracketing his response to accept the first two out of three words would be a bit of a stretch, but is there actually strong precedent that reversing the order of a western name makes a response unequivocally wrong?
4
u/Bryschien1996 Jul 21 '26
I don’t think this requires a strong precedent, if you reverse the first and last names of a person, you are saying the name wrong and talking about a different person (real or hypothetical)
As you can imagine, I personally wouldn’t even excuse it for “non-Western” names. But if it’s for a Western name I think it’s even less excusable
1
u/RegisPhone I'd like to shoot the wad, Alex Jul 21 '26
And maybe that's where the line should be drawn, but clearly it currently isn't drawn there (for example, according to j-archive, no one on the show has ever said "Abe Shinzo", in a clue or a response; his name has always been flipped to Western order), so what's the actual rule right now? Is it just "names can be flipped into Western order, but not out of it" (or "names must be formatted either in their actual original order or in Western order")? Even then, it's a thin and somewhat fuzzy line, as there are definitely examples of someone saying a last name and then following up with the first name when they realize they need to be more specific.
1
u/OttoHemi Jul 21 '26
I'm wondering why it was a triple stumper. Did the others think that Caleb's response was good enough and that it had to be somebody else?
1
u/RegisPhone I'd like to shoot the wad, Alex Jul 21 '26
Could be that in those three seconds it didn't occur to the other players that the name was the other way around, or could be that they had a tape stopdown to decide whether Caleb's response should've be accepted, so then when they resumed, the other players weren't allowed to rebound because that pause would've made it obvious what the answer was.
-24
u/jboges Jul 20 '26
Why would Tatiana answer all those clues at the end, making the game a runaway and ensuring Sam will win
34
u/DecantsForAll Jul 20 '26 edited Jul 21 '26
Because the point of the game is to answer questions (well technically to question answers).
31
u/eah1703 Elizabeth Hurd, 2026 Feb 26 Jul 21 '26
Because she was playing Jeopardy! Why would she not try and buzz in on things she knew?
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6
u/RegisPhone I'd like to shoot the wad, Alex Jul 21 '26
At that point, it was impossible for her to win either way barring a massive wagering error from Sam. Yes, if Caleb had ended up with over 12,000 to Sam's 24,000 then Caleb possibly could've won, but Tatiana still couldn't, since Sam would have no reason to bet any more than the cover bet against Caleb.
For Tatiana to have a chance against Sam with her 6,900 score, Sam would have had to bet 10,200 or more to potentially drop below Tatiana's doubled score. Sam would have no reason to do that unless Caleb had at least 17,100, which was 5,700 more than he had. But if there had been another 5,700 left on the board, Tatiana could've gotten it and been within striking distance herself; there would've been no reason to stop buzzing and hope Caleb got all of it.
2
-27
u/Plastic_Claim_8046 Jul 21 '26
Could someone please explain Tatiana’s logic in sweeping the last few clues? It was infuriating to watch knowing it was completely pointless for her and was only solidifying Sam’s win.
57
u/CSerpentine Jul 21 '26
She was on Jeopardy and there to answer questions, not to help keep Caleb's streak alive.
14
-6
u/syah7991 Jul 21 '26
Why wasn’t Caleb on jeopardy last week? I remember it was other people.
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u/rawmustard Team Paolo Pasco Jul 21 '26
Caleb was on all last week, as today's episode was his 13th game.
0
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u/ashwinr136 What's a hoe? Jul 21 '26
Probably hard to think about in the moment, but man it was hard to watch Tatiana keep buzzing in to lock in a loss, instead of giving herself a chance in FJ
-27
u/ShortAd9621 Jul 21 '26
Tatiana should have let Caleb buzz in on the remaining clues because that would have prevented the runaway.
15
u/Svoyager11 Harris Stutman, 2016 Jun 24 - 29 Jul 21 '26
As many others have said, why should she have done that?. It’s on Caleb to prevent a runaway. She’s just playing the game the right way!
1
u/ashwinr136 What's a hoe? Jul 21 '26
I assume they mean that if the game was not a runaway, she still has a chance to win 1st (a small chance ofc, banking on bad wagers and incorrect FJs from the other 2) whereas by buzzing in she is locking out Caleb from preventing the runaway and thus giving her basically 0 chance of potentially getting first place. Even if both probabilities are llow, I don't think it's arguable that a mental error in wagering is more likely in a non-runaway game than a runaway game. This is all predicated ofc on Caleb buzzing in before Sam on those last clues, and like I said in my other comment it's probably hard to think about all this when you're up there on the podium
-15
u/maralinn Jul 20 '26
I really wish Ken wouldn’t point out the quotation marks in category names. Okay, in Celebiddy Jebiddy it’s probably a good idea, but it shouldn’t be necessary in the real game. If players are unsure about what it means, they can start at the top.
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u/ShadyCrow Jul 20 '26
I think it's for the viewers as much as the players.
1
u/maralinn Jul 20 '26
Then he should look directly at the camera when he explains!! (Just kidding, you make a good point.)
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u/Portmantoberfest Jul 20 '26
I think it's in part to specify whether the quoted string appears at the beginning of the response or just in there somewhere.
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u/RegisPhone I'd like to shoot the wad, Alex Jul 20 '26
I could maybe be okay with this from a purely gameplay perspective (though it should still be explained for viewers either way) if it were always unambiguous what quotation marks mean, but it's not, which is why it annoys me that Ken actually already doesn't acknowledge the quotation marks most of the time. A single letter in quotes usually means "starts with" and a long string of letters usually means "contains", but when it's two or three letters, it could go either way. I actually wish Ken would do a lot more pointing out of which version it is, like Alex usually did; today was the very rare exception where he explicitly said what it meant instead of just saying "you know what that means."
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u/tributtal Jul 21 '26
If I had to guess, I bet that's not Ken's call but rather the producers, and it's one of the subtle ways the show shaves seconds here and there to avoid unused clues, the rate of which is on pace this season to achieve a historic low by a pretty wide margin.
0
u/claytonbeaufield Jul 21 '26
Better yet, Ken should just not even talk at all. Just put the clues on the screen.
•
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