A DANGER! The player surpassed the three-day champion title on Wednesday night after sharing a scare involving waist-high quicksand.
Actor and writer Davey Morrison faced defending champion Neilesh Vinjamuri and engineer Wendy Zaballos.
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Ken Jennings opened tonight’s match by noting that Neilish had his first final episode without an escape, setting an ominous tone.
The game was also crucial for Neilish as a fourth win would make him eligible for the next Tournament of Champions.
Before Neilish lost, the soon-to-be new champion surprised viewers and the host in the interview segment.
Ken began by asking how Davey once “escaped what?”
“Quicksand,” the player responded while Ken said, “Really!?”
‘NOBODY TO ASK FOR HELP’
Davey continued, “I was looking for a location for a film project and I took one step into the mud and I took another step and I was waist-deep in thick, sticky swamp that I couldn’t get out of.”
“You’re with us today,” Ken noted, “How do you escape the quicksand?”
“So I deduced what you should do, which is – I can’t – I can’t get to dry land,” the player explained.
“And you can’t fight your way out, no one was around to call for help.”
“And then I tried leaning back and lifting my legs to see if my weight would be more evenly distributed if I could land, and it worked, and I did it.”
Ken commented in surprise that the tip might be more useful than any trivia of the night: “This might be the most important thing we learned on Jeopardy! Today!”
NEW CHAMPION ALERT!
After Danger! round, all three players were in the game, and Neilesh led with $6,200 thanks to the Daily Double, Wendy had $4,200 and Davey $3,000.
In Double Jeopardy!, Davey found the second Daily Double early and went all-in for his $5,800, giving him a sudden and large lead.
Davey was defeated by a Novel Change a Letter category, which allowed Neilesh to regain a small lead in Final Jeopardy.
Neilesh had $15,400, Davey $12,800 and Wendy trailed with $5,800.
The US place name clue was: “This national forest name means “fool” and may be one Apache group’s name for another group; it is also a problematic TV character.”
Only Davey gave a correct answer of “What is it: Dizzy?” making it the new Jeopardy! champion with $15,500.
Looking very happy, he raised his hands in disbelief.
Neilish looked disappointed and missed the ToC limit – although he will go home with a combined total of $53,099 and plenty to be proud of.
FAN REACTIONS TO THE VICTORY
Fans took to social media, where they reacted to the upset victory and the new champion.
“I like Davey because he seems as convinced of the correctness of his answers as I am, which is to say, not even remotely,” joked one fan on Reddit.
“I thought Davey corrected himself in time about the mice and the chicken and was hoping the judges would take it down during the break,” wrote another. “Congratulations to him for fixing the final scratch!”
“YESYES! Good game today!” wrote a third on X, celebrating the new champion.
“Stop rocking back and forth! #DrivingMeCrazy!” a fourth posted about Neilesh’s tendency to change on his podium.
Davey will return on Thursday’s episode to see if he can turn his upset victory into a streak.
If he wins after Friday, July 26th, when Season 40 ends, he will be the returning champion when Season 41 begins on September 9th, 2024.
WHAT IS IT: THE SCHEDULE
The 40th season of Jeopardy! ends on Friday with summer reruns taking place.
As the program prepares for its annual summer break, eight players have qualified for the next ToC so far.
The qualifiers are Isaac (9 wins), Drew Basile (7 wins), Adriana Harmeyer (15 wins), Alison Betts (5 wins) and Dr. Amy Hummel (5 wins), and Lisa Ann Walter from Celebrity Jeopardy!
With four wins, Grant DeYoung and Amar Kakirde are also likely to participate.
That said, the $250,000 annual figure is undergoing a change.
The 2025 ToC will include players from this and next season and will take place in the winter, in the middle of Season 41.
Season 41 will premiere on September 9, 2024 and run until July 25, 2025.
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This story originally appeared on The-sun.com read the full story
