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[The following post contains MAJOR spoilers for the Wednesday, April 9, episode of Jeopardy!]
In the latest episode of Jeopardy!, Mike Dawson, the reigning three-day champion, attempted to secure his place in the Tournament of Champions’ wildcard slot during his fourth game. With an impressive total of $57,000 accumulated over three days, Dawson sought to increase this amount. However, a risky wager during Final Jeopardy ultimately left him with a total that did not significantly improve his standing. Achieving four wins would put Dawson in a favorable position for the Tournament of Champions, but a loss could eliminate his chances altogether.
On April 9, Dawson faced off against Andrew Hayes, a law student from Tupelo, Mississippi, and Courtney Martin, a public defender from Cedarburg, Wisconsin.
The initial round saw a couple of challenging clues that left all contestants stumped. The first stumper read, “Fan outraged that Paul Sheldon killed off this character from the famed romance series,” with the correct response being “Misery.” The second clue was, “Solomon welcomes her in the painting seen here,” referring to the “Queen of Sheba,” which none of the players could answer.
Despite starting with a strong lead, Dawson found himself trailing after a misstep on the game’s first Daily Double. He decided to risk all his $4,400 on the clue, “During the Civil War, more battles were fought in these 2 neighboring states than in any other.” Unfortunately for him, his answer of “What are Maryland and Virginia?” was incorrect, as the correct response was Virginia and Tennessee. This mistake dropped Dawson’s score to $0.
Leading the board at that point was Hayes with $2,400, followed closely by Martin at $2,200. By the end of the first round, Dawson had managed to answer 11 questions correctly, but still ended up with $2,000, compared to Martin’s $2,600 and Hayes’ total of $5,800.
In the Double Jeopardy! round, seven stumping questions kept the contestants on their toes. However, Hayes excelled, discovering both Daily Doubles and amassing 15 correct responses. With his cautious wagering, he quickly took control of the game and maintained a large lead as the round progressed.
For the first Daily Double of Double Jeopardy!, the clue read, “With stumps 10 feet across, these trees were ‘the redwoods of the East’ until a fungus nearly eradicated them in the 1900s.” Although Hayes initially struggled to answer, he ultimately guessed “What is the Dutch Elm?” which turned out to be incorrect. This mistake cost him, reducing his score from $9,000 to $8,000, with the correct answer being “American chestnuts.”
Hayes rebounded during the second Daily Double when he correctly answered the clue, “A term for Nicaraguan rebels led Stephen Fried to coin this word for a couture designer or a supermodel superfan.” His response, “A fashionista,” was correct and added $2,000 to his total, bringing it to $11,600.
By the end of Double Jeopardy!, Hayes had answered 27 questions correctly and was left with a total of $25,200. Dawson had 15 correct answers but also three incorrect, resulting in a score of $2,400. Martin scored $4,200 with seven correct answers and one wrong.
The final question posed, “An online article about this landmark said, ‘The stones themselves look like they are crying’ & mentioned ‘Tears of… pain, hope & joy,’” revealed that only one contestant, Martin, answered correctly with “What is the Wailing Wall?” Martin wagered $601, bringing her final total to $4,801. Dawson gave “What is the MLK?” as his answer and risked $2,398, ending with just $2, while Hayes incorrectly answered “What is Mt. Rushmore?” but did not wager anything, securing his victory.
As a result of this game, Dawson did not qualify for the Tournament of Champions, ending his run with a four-day total of $57,002. Hayes will return for the next episode on Thursday, April 10, facing two new challengers.
In reaction to Hayes’ performance, a user on Reddit remarked on his impressive total, noting, “Well d**n, Andrew.”
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