DANGER! Masters champion Victoria Groce has revealed the moment she knew she would win the game, after fearing her chances of taking home the Trebek Trophy were slim.
Last Wednesday, Victoria defeated Masters Season 1 champion James Holzhauer and finalist Yogesh Raut after two close games during Jeopardy! Masters season 2 finale.
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During the most recent episode of Inside Jeopardy! podcast, Victoria opened up to hosts Sarah Whitcomb and Michael Davies about her big win.
When talking about participating in season 2 of the trivia competition, facing veterans like Mattea Roach and Matt Amadio, Victoria revealed that she went in with moderate expectations.
“As far as expectations go, they were very low. I think of it almost more like golf in life than chess, in the sense that you have minimal control over what your opponents do,” she admitted.
Victoria explained: “I can try to have a good time. I can try to be careful not to get into things I don’t know. I can try to be strategically aggressive and make good bets, but ultimately I can’t control if I’m getting beat up too much in the Bell.
“I can’t control whether my opponents score a daily double and make a smart bet on it. These are things I have limited control over. So in terms of expectations, they were close to zero.”
When Sarah questioned how Victoria managed to win Jeopardy! Masters, after not participating in the game show for “nearly twenty years”, Victoria confessed that she was “not in Jeopardy!” shape.
“I was in competitive trivia shape,” she revealed.
“I stay up to date with current events and everything else, The Chase, other interesting things that I compete in. I study regularly,” Victoria added.
The danger! The champion continued, “I had a lot of things to prepare for that were specific to Jeopardy!, but in terms of just having a broad knowledge base for trivia competitions, that’s an everyday thing for me.”
Michael then asked her about the game format of the final, which Victoria described as “complicated” and stated: “You can’t win a two-day final on the first day, you might come close to losing it.”
During the final, players competed in just one episode in a two-game total points contest, meaning whoever scored the most between the two games would be named champion.
As the points system was not being used, the winner was determined by the highest combined score from both matches.
GAME, SET AND MATCH
Later in the podcast, Victoria revealed the moment she was “pretty sure” she would “break the game.”
“As soon as I hit the last Daily Double… I was sure that if I kept the amount small, it would crash the game. And I felt triumphant,” she said.
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Victoria asserted her dominance in the second Double Jeopardy! as she got an early lead and both Daily Doubles.
Before the episode ended, Victoria revealed that she suffered a health problem that led her to quit her job and how curiosities soon became her “lifeline”.
“Ten years ago, I took a month off from work that I couldn’t afford to take because I was having migraines basically every day and I wanted to see if anything would help, she told the hosts.
As for expectations, they were quite low. I think of it almost more like golf in life than like chess, in the sense that you have minimal control over what your opponents do.”
Victoria Groce
Victoria continued, “I had to stop going back to school. I had to stop volunteering where I was volunteering. Basically, if I wasn’t going to work and take care of my son, I wasn’t going to do it.
“I returned to trivia as a way to maintain my sanity.
“I couldn’t really stand up and work in the lab, but I could lie in bed and read a book, and that’s when I started getting back to trivia and that’s been a lifeline for me through all of this. .”
A GREAT FINAL
On Wednesday, Victoria thwarted James’ chance of a repeat Masters victory with a final total score of $55,400 after two close games.
The danger! The champion received $500,000, the coveted Trebek Trophy, and $100,000 to the charity Partners in Health for her tournament victory.
Fans celebrated Victoria’s X win, with one fan excitedly tweeting in all caps: “James Holzhauer’s reign of terror is officially over bringing Victoria the crown (I love James).”
Just like the semifinals, the final cleared the classification to equal conditions.
As soon as I hit the last Daily Double… I was sure that if I kept the amount small, it would block the game. And I felt triumphant.”
Victoria Groce
Victoria, Yogesh and James competed in a two-game total points contest, with the winner being determined by the highest combined score from both matches.
Before the Final Risk! the scores were Victoria with $34.00, Yogesh with $15,799 and James with $8,800.
Danger! Universe
Danger! it first aired in 1964 until 1975. Then, the nighttime version began in 1974. Since then, spinoffs of the game show have appeared. Here they are all:
Danger! – (primetime) 1974 to present, weekdays on ABC at 7pm.
Tournament of Champions – 1984 to present, features the top champions who have appeared on the show since the last tournament.
Celebrity Danger! – From 1992 to the present, celebrities compete against each other to raise money for charity.
Danger! Masters – 2023 to present, features six notable recent Jeopardy! champions competing against each other.
Danger! National College Championship – From 2022 to present, undergraduate students from 36 colleges and universities across America compete to win $100,000.
Other versions of Jeopardy! disappeared over the years.
All three correctly answered “Henrietta Lacks” to the clue “The New York Times wrote of this woman who died in 1951: ‘Though she was forgotten at the time, part of her lived on.'”
James, admitting defeat, added, “Final boss death music” and began imitating Mario’s death noise.
Alongside the correct answer, new champion Victoria wrote: “Great games everyone. See you next year!”
The final scores were Victoria with a combined $55,400, Yogesh with a total of 45,910 and James with a two-game score of $38,017.
After hugs and handshakes were shared, Victoria joined Ken on Jeopardy! pulpit to receive the Trebek Trophy.
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This story originally appeared on The-sun.com read the full story
