Here are today’s Invitational Tournament contestants:

– Alison Betts, a creative executive originally from San Jose, California
– Andrew He, a stay-at-home dad from Concord, California; and
– Matt Amodio, a quantitative researcher from New York City.

Jeopardy!

REMEMBER JANUARY 2026? // IN A “B” COUNTRY // ETYMOLOGICALLY YOURS // WATCHING MOVIES IN MOVIES // GOING BACK TO HIGH SCHOOL // BY INVITATION ONLY

DD1 – 800 – IN A “B” COUNTRY – Cricket is the national sport of this Caribbean nation & Anglicanism is the predominant religion (Alison lost 1,000.)

Scores at first break: Matt 3,200, Andrew 6,000, Alison 0.

Scores entering DJ: Matt 3,2800, Andrew 8,400, Alison 1,400.

Double Jeopardy!

PLAYS & PLAYWRIGHTS // SCIENCE GOULASH // STATE CAPITAL ENTERTAINMENT? // 6-SYLLABLE WORDS // TAKE YOUR MARBLE // & GO HOME

DD2 – 1,200 – PLAYS & PLAYWRIGHTS – Set in a fictional town in the South, this 1955 courtroom drama was based on the Scopes trial; a film would follow (Matt took the lead by doubling to 12,400.)

DD3 – 1,600 – TAKE YOUR MARBLE – After some effort, “The Brutalist” director Brady Corbet got to film in the quarries of this Italian marble mecca (Andrew lost 6,000 down to 5,600 vs. 14,000 for Matt.)

RMatt took the lead with a double-up on DD2, Andrew then missed DD3, so Matt remained in front into FJ at 19,200. Andrew recovered well enough to stay within two-thirds of Matt’s score at 13,600 while Alison had 2,600.

Final Jeopardy!

MEN OF RELIGION – A 1660 book quoted Mary, Queen of Scots as saying she feared this man’s prayers more than an army of men

Only Matt attempted to respond to FJ and was incorrect. Andrew made a strategic small wager and it paid off when Matt made the standard cover bet from the lead. Andrew dropped 38 to advance with 13,562.

Final scores: Matt 11,199, Andrew 13,562, Alison 2,600.

Ken’s Korner: After the contestants missed four straight in the category related to actors and entertainment whose names contain state capitals, Ken admonished them to “study your state capitals”, even though the issue obviously was not knowing the entertainment subjects rather than the names of capitals. Joking again, perhaps? It’s hard to tell.

Correct Qs: DD1 – What is Barbados? DD2 – What is “Inherit the Wind”? DD3 – What is Carrara? FJ – Who was John Knox?