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Surprising Outcome on Jeopardy! as Final Question Stumps All Contestants
On a recent episode of Jeopardy!, the world-famous quiz show witnessed a rare occurrence: all three contestants failed to provide a correct response to the final question. This surprising event unfolded on April 3, during an episode where the reigning champion was aiming for his fourth consecutive win.
Bryce Wargin, hailing from Kansas City, Missouri, entered the competition with a total of $59,400 accumulated over three previous games. He faced off against Mary Walheim, a retired risk manager from Berwyn, Pennsylvania, and Alfred Wallace, a librarian from Grand Forks, North Dakota.
Walheim made a striking start, correctly answering five questions in a row. By the time the show took its first commercial break, she had accumulated $3,800, taking the lead over Wargin, who had $1,800, and Wallace, who was trailing with $1,600.
During their interviews with host Ken Jennings, Wargin shared his background of attending a military academy in Indiana, while Walheim recounted her uncle’s experience playing for the original New York Knicks. On the other hand, Wallace highlighted his adventurous experience of going on an oxygen-deprivation flight.
As the game progressed, Wargin found the first Daily Double late in the round. Confidently wagering all his money, he answered the clue about “The Lottery,” correctly identifying it and doubling his score to $8,800. This pivotal moment catapulted him into the lead with $11,600, while Walheim dropped to $4,800 and Wallace remained in third with $2,800.
In the Double Jeopardy round, Wallace quickly found the first Daily Double, where he responded correctly to a question about Brown v. Board of Education, boosting his total to $5,600 and securing second place. However, his luck changed with another Daily Double, where he failed to answer a clue concerning the Gulf of Oman, losing $3,000 in the process.
While Wargin maintained a solid lead throughout most of Double Jeopardy, Wallace mounted a comeback by answering five consecutive clues correctly, narrowing the gap significantly. By the end of the round, Wargin led with $16,000, followed by Wallace at $10,600 and Walheim at $6,000, setting the stage for an intense Final Jeopardy.
The category for Final Jeopardy was “Fictional Characters,” and the clue referred to a character named Boq, described as “not as big as the grown folk… but neither were they very small.” Walheim answered with “What is a Lilliputian?” but was incorrect, wagering $5,999 and reducing her score to $1. Wallace also failed with a vague response of “What are lili?” after wagering $10,000, leaving him with $600. Wargin, who only needed to avoid a large loss to secure his victory, initially wrote “What are lilliputians?” but later crossed it out in favor of “dwarves,” which was also incorrect. He wagered $5,201, finishing with a total of $10,799.
The correct response to the final clue, “What is a munchkin?” stunned all contestants, considering the clue’s reference was tied to the widely popular film Wicked, one of the biggest cinematic hits of 2024.
Wargin’s impressive four-day total now stands at $70,199, putting him just one win away from qualifying as a wildcard candidate for the Tournament of Champions. He is set to face two new challengers on April 4.
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