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Liam Starnes Continues His Quest on Jeopardy!
Liam Starnes returned to Jeopardy! for his sixth game amid significant tension as mistakes from his competitors hindered their chances of victory.
The reigning champion from Barrington, Illinois, faced Simon Liebling from Philadelphia and Jenn Gardner from Houston on Friday, April 25. Starnes, a college undergraduate, entered the game with a cumulative total of $103,002 and aimed to add to that amount during his sixth appearance.
Right from the start, Starnes demonstrated his prowess, answering a question about bartending accurately despite being only 20 years old, which surprised host Ken Jennings as Starnes had discussed alcohol-related topics throughout the week.
Starnes took an early lead and further increased his score when he discovered the first Daily Double of the match. With $3,000 at stake, he made the bold choice of wagering it all. The clue, which read, “A true power behind the throne, this church official helped make France the strongest nation in Europe on behalf of Louis XIII,” led him to respond correctly with “Who was Cardinal Richelieu?” He swiftly doubled his total to $6,000.
By the time of the first commercial break, Starnes was at $9,000. Liebling, a resident physician, managed $1,600, while Gardner, an arts administrator, found herself in the negatives with $0.
During the interviews, Jennings revisited Starnes’ notable Jeopardy!-themed birthday party, where he played Wii Jeopardy! and scored a staggering $259,000, though he acknowledged that he had seen the questions beforehand. Starnes expressed skepticism about achieving such a score in a real Jeopardy! game.
As the first round concluded, Starnes led with $11,000, while Liebling had $3,200 and Gardner finally made it onto the scoreboard with $800.
Double Jeopardy Challenges
In the Double Jeopardy round, Gardner stumbled on a pronunciation error that cost her valuable points. The clue stated, “You might say that the reason clownfish like to make homes in these flowery cnidarians is a no-brainer.” Her answer, “What is a sea a-ne-no-me?” misrepresented the correct term, allowing Starnes to chime in with “What is a sea anemone?” and boost his score to $13,000.
Starnes then answered the first Daily Double of the round, wagering $6,000 from his $12,600 bank. The clue, “Topeka, Illinois, lies about 100 miles north of this metro area with a population of 2.8 million,” prompted him to answer correctly with “What is St. Louis?” This propelled him to $18,600.
Shortly after, Liebling discovered the second Daily Double. Although he had $3,600, he opted to wager only $1,000. His clue read, “This jelly-like creature named for its resemblance to a fighting ship is made up of many brainless polyps.” He correctly identified the answer as “What is (Portuguese) man o’ war?” This increased his score to $4,600 but could have been much higher had he wagered more.
Gardner struggled initially but managed to answer several questions correctly, overtaking Liebling in score. Had Liebling made a different decision with his Daily Double wager, he would have been better positioned going into the Final Jeopardy. At the end of the second round, Starnes led with $20,600 while Gardner and Liebling had $8,800 and $7,800, respectively.
Final Jeopardy Results
As host Jennings noted, “Liam’s total will remain out of reach in Final Jeopardy.” The category for the concluding question was “1990s Bestsellers.” The clue posed was, “In this 1995 book, Pilgrim is taken to Tom, whose job it is to utter secrets ‘softly into pricked and troubled ears.’”
Liebling answered incorrectly with “What is The Poisonwood Bible?” wagering $1,001, which left him with a final score of $6,799. Gardner’s response, “What is The Da Vinci Code?” also proved wrong after she wagered $6,900, resulting in a final tally of $1,900. Starnes, too, missed the mark with “What is A Clockwork Orange?” yet he had only wagered $18, landing his final score at $20,582. The correct answer was The Horse Whisperer.
Starnes’ cumulative total over six days now stands at $123,584, and he is set to return on Monday, April 28, to face off against two new challengers in his seventh game.
Discussion among Reddit users highlighted the risky missteps of Liebling and Gardner, with one fan suggesting that Liebling should have wagered all on the Daily Double and that both players should have targeted higher-value clues sooner to compensate for the widening gap. Another user remarked, “That Daily Double wager was risky,” reflecting on the decisions that shaped the outcome of the game.
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