Here are the players for the third semifinal match in the 2022 ToC:
- Andrew, a software developer, heard from both “devils” and “angels” after his Jeopardy! wins;
- Eric, a meteorologist, will go on a honeymoon in Hawaii; and
- Mattea, a writer & podcaster, was recognized on the highway in Canada.
Jeopardy!
THE COUNTY SEAT // LOGOS // THE ARTS // SENIOR MOMENTS // SPANISH WORDS & PHRASES // MANDY PATINKIN
DD1 – $1,000 – THE ARTS – The title of this play by Eugene O’Neill refers in part to a pair of trees that surrounds the Cabot farmhouse (Andrew had $0 and added $1,000.)
Scores at first break: Mattea $1,000, Eric $5,400, Andrew $800
Scores going into DJ: Mattea $4,000, Eric $5,400, Andrew $3,400
Double Jeopardy!
WORLD LEADERS // ELEGIES // JAZZ & BLUES NICKNAMES // RELIGION // “P”s // CARATS
DD2 – $1,200 – WORLD LEADERS – After helping to establish this as an independent country, Eduard Shevardnadze became its president in 1995 (Andrew doubled to $14,000 as his rivals had the same scores with which they started the round.)
DD3 – $1,200 – ELEGIES – 1855’s “Haworth Churchyard” was Matthew Arnold’s tribute to these literary sisters, written soon after the last one passed (Andrew doubled to $33,600, while his opponents had still made no headway in DJ.)
Andrew trailed after round one, then went on a stunning rampage to start DJ, quickly finding both DDs and doubling up twice while improving from $3,400 to $33,600. Eric tried to make a game of it but fell short as Andrew had a runaway into FJ at $39,200 vs. $17,000 for Eric and $7,200 for Mattea.
Final Jeopardy!
LONDON LOCALES – To fight malaria, this former royal estate helped move quinine-producing cinchona plants from South America to India
No one even had a guess on FJ. Andrew dropped $1,337 to win with $37,863.
Final scores: Mattea $7,200, Eric $16,783, Andrew $37,863
Andrew will return to face Amy and Sam in the best-of-seven finals. The first player to win three matches will be the ToC winner.
Odds and Ends
DD wagering strategy: The fact that this game wasn’t over after Andrew’s second double-up shows why being aggressive is often the winning strategy. If Andrew had done what many players with a big lead have done and bet $2,000 on DD3 to protect their position, Eric would have gotten close enough to likely win the game on the FJ Triple Stumper.
Ken’s Korner: He was very defensive of the Mandy Patinkin-presented category when Andrew made the first selection there with “Let’s get it out of the way.”
Correct Qs: DD1 – What is “Desire Under the Elms”? DD2 – What is Georgia? DD3 – Who were the Brontë sisters? FJ – What is Kew Gardens?