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Game Recap for Show #7174, 2015-11-19

2015 Tournament of Champions final game 1.

CONTESTANTS
Kerry Greene, a volunteer CASA guardian ad litem from Manchester, New Hampshire
Alex Jacob, a currency trader from Chicago, Illinois
Matt Jackson, a paralegal from Washington, D.C.

OPENING REMARKS
Alex Trebek: Thank you, Johnny. Oh, good crowd here today. Thank you, ladies and gentlemen. As you all know by now, our finals are a two-game affair. Now, in yesterday's semifinal, Matt had a runaway game. He couldn't be caught in Final Jeopardy! The day before, the same was true for Alex Jacob. But on Monday, Kerry won her game not in a runaway. But I have a feeling she's not too worried about these two guys. So, good luck to all of you. Here we go. Let's take a look at the categories...

JEOPARDY! ROUND CATEGORIES
WORDS IN FLOWERS (4/5) (Alex Trebek: And in that [*] category, each response is a word within the name of the flower that indicates something.)
WEBSITES (4/5)
THEIR MAIN INSTRUMENT (4/5)
"ANT" MAN (4/5) (Alex Trebek: Those three letters coming up in each correct response.)
RECENT BESTSELLERS (5/5, including 1 correct Daily Double)
THE TUDORS (4/5)

THE RIGHTS & THE WRONGS
Alex: 13 R (including 1 DD), 0 W
Matt: 10 R, 1 W
Kerry: 2 R, 2 W

Clues revealed: 30
Triple Stumpers: 5
Jeopardy! Round Potential Lach Trash: $4,000



JEOPARDY! ROUND DAILY DOUBLE
Alex found the Daily Double on the 11th clue. Matt had $600, Alex had $5,000, and Kerry had nothing in the bank. Alex made it a True Daily Double, wagering $5,000.

RECENT BESTSELLERS $1000: A noted children's author, she hit the bestseller list in 2015 with "In the Unlikely Event", her first book for adults in 17 years

SCORES AT THE FIRST BREAK
Alex: $10,600
Matt: $2,000
Kerry: $0

CONTESTANT INTERVIEWS



Alex Trebek: By now, after their many appearances, we're all quite familiar with these three contestants. We'll start with you, Kerry Greene. How did you prepare for this tournament? Because you became a Jeopardy! champion many, many months ago.

Kerry: Well, and I also became a Jeopardy! champion many, many years after most of them do, so... [laughs] I had to go back and review quite a bit of, uh, knowledge that I had lost long ago, and just--

Alex Trebek: Is there one--one area that you were concentrating on more than anything else?

Kerry: I did a lot of studying history and geography because I didn't ever take those in school.

Alex Trebek: Ah, okay.

Kerry: Had to fill in the blanks.

Alex Trebek: Well, it--it has paid off handsomely.




Alex Trebek: Alex Jacob, I think you mentioned before that you had some people help you prepare. Did you?

Alex Jacob: Um... yeah, uh... my, uh, my lovely wife quizzed me questions all the time. Um...

Alex Trebek: Now, how good a Jeopardy! player would she be if she were up here?

Alex Jacob: That's a good question. Um, she's strong in certain areas. Uh, you know, I think she'd have some work to do to get there, but it could happen. You know. We'll see. Could happen someday.

Alex Trebek: Okay.




Alex Trebek: Now, what about you? Who helped you prepare? You've got a brother. Did he work with you?

Matt: Yes, he did, but I'd like to give a shout-out now to my two wonderful roommates, S.J. and Jordan, who were there for me through this entire--from the time when I was called to being on the show up to now, basically, and made sure that I never missed, like, a major music awards show, uh, and made sure that I was up-to-date on all of the big films that were coming out, the big TV shows. So, hi, S.J. Hi, Jordan. Thank you both.

Alex Trebek: So they were like your roadies.

[Laughter]

Matt: I don't know if I'd say that, Alex.

Alex Trebek: [Laughing] Yeah, okay.

[Laughter]

Alex Trebek: Maybe I shouldn't have.

TRIPLE STUMPERS IN THE JEOPARDY! ROUND
THEIR MAIN INSTRUMENT $800: Joe Bonamassa

THE TUDORS $600: The Great House of Easement at the Tudors' Hampton Court Palace was this type of room
(Kerry: What is a courtroom?)

WEBSITES $1000: Deriving its name from the Latin for "book", this site has used the slogan "Books you thought you'd never find"

"ANT" MAN $600: From the Old French for "wandering", it's a person of no fixed address
(Matt: What is itinerant?)
(Kerry: What is migrant?)

WORDS IN FLOWERS $1000: Take a sip of this sudsy potent potable

SCORES AT THE END OF THE JEOPARDY! ROUND
Alex: $12,400
Matt: $4,000
Kerry: -$200

DOUBLE JEOPARDY! ROUND CATEGORIES
RIGHT NOW SCIENCE (2/5)
"NORTH" & "SOUTH" AMERICA (5/5, including 1 correct Daily Double)
SNL ALUMNI (4/5)
AUTOLOGICAL WORDS (4/5) (Alex Trebek: Words that describe themselves.)
MUSEUMS (4/5)
THE TUTORS (5/5, including 1 correct Daily Double) (Alex Trebek: And not THE TUDORS, but...)

THE RIGHTS & THE WRONGS
Kerry: 9 R, 0 W
Matt: 7 R (including 1 rebound and 1 DD), 1 W
Alex: 8 R (including 1 DD), 3 W

Clues revealed: 30
Triple Stumpers: 6
Double Jeopardy! Round Potential Lach Trash: $9,600



FIRST DOUBLE JEOPARDY! ROUND DAILY DOUBLE
Alex snagged the next Daily Double on the 5th clue. Matt had $4,000, Alex had $15,200, and Kerry was at $1,800. Alex made it a True Daily Double, wagering $15,200.

"NORTH" & "SOUTH" AMERICA $1600: Louie's Backyard is a party spot in this Texas spring break destination
(Alex Jacob: Let's bet it all.)
[Murmurs and gasps from the audience]

SECOND DOUBLE JEOPARDY! ROUND DAILY DOUBLE
It was Matt who snatched up the last Daily Double of the game on the 12th clue. Matt had $5,600, Alex had $26,800, and Kerry was at $3,000. Matt wagered $5,000.

THE TUTORS $1600: Around 343 B.C. he was summoned by Philip II to be tutor to his son
(Alex Trebek: [*], and the son was Alexander the Great, of course.)

TRIPLE STUMPERS IN THE DOUBLE JEOPARDY! ROUND
RIGHT NOW SCIENCE $1600: This spacecraft did a flyby of Pluto within 8,000 miles of the surface, showing it as never before
(Matt: What is Voyager?)

RIGHT NOW SCIENCE $2000: Research suggests Joseph "The Elephant Man" Merrick's illness was this syndrome named for a shape-changing god
(Alex Jacob: What is Marfan's?)

MUSEUMS $1600: South Kensington has a science museum, a natural history museum & a famed decorative arts museum named for this pair
(Alex Jacob: Who is Diana and Charles?)

SNL ALUMNI $2000: A two-time Tony winner, she also got big laughs as boozy cougar Carol on TBS's "Sullivan & Son"

AUTOLOGICAL WORDS $1600: It's a divided word, but without that little line or dash used to connect

RIGHT NOW SCIENCE $800: Astronomers geared up for fireworks when the enormous gas cloud G2 passed Sagittarius A*, one of these

SCORES ENTERING FINAL JEOPARDY!
Alex: $29,600 (lock game)
Matt: $14,600
Kerry: $8,200

FINAL JEOPARDY! CATEGORY
FRENCH NOVEL TITLE HEROES

VENUSIAN MONOLOGUES/MARTIAN CHRONICLES
Lock for first place; crush for second place.
Alex: Wager between $0 (venusian) and $399 (martian), and enjoy your victory.
Matt: Wager $1,801 to cover Kerry.
Kerry: You have the hope of surpassing Matt for second place if you come up with the correct response or if your opponent fails to. Bet between $4,600 and $8,198.

FINAL JEOPARDY! CLUE
He "looked as if he had been shut up for a long time in a tomb and... been unable to recover the... complexion of the living"

FINAL SCORES
Kerry: $8,200 - $4,800 = $3,400 (Who is The Man in the Iron Mask?)
Matt: $14,600 - $11,600 = $3,000 (Who is The Man in the Iron Mask?)
Alex: $29,600 - $0 = $29,600 (Who is good game guys)
(Alex Trebek: [To Alex Jacob] He wrote down, "Who is good game guys".)
(Alex Jacob: Let's do it again tomorrow.)
(Alex Trebek: Ah, do it again tomorrow, yes, indeed.)

Total Potential Lach Trash: $13,600

GAME DYNAMICS


CORYAT SCORES
Alex: $12,000, 21 R (including 2 DDs), 3 W
Matt: $11,200, 17 R (including 1 DD), 2 W
Kerry: $8,200, 11 R, 2 W
Combined Coryat: $31,400

BATTING AVERAGES
Alex: 21/60 = .350
Matt: 17/59 = .288
Kerry: 11/58 = .190
Team: 49/63 = .778

MISCELLANEOUS INTERESTING CLUES
WORDS IN FLOWERS $600: Don't give me any of your this body part

WORDS IN FLOWERS $800: This other word for a country is in bloom

THEIR MAIN INSTRUMENT $1000: Charles Mingus
[Alex Jacob gave the response as fully shown before giving the shorter response after Alex Trebek hesitated in ruling.]
(Alex Trebek: We'll accept that.)

THE TUDORS $1000: Seen here is a self-portrait by this prolific Tudor court painter

WORDS IN FLOWERS $400: Step up to this raised platform

WORDS IN FLOWERS $200: Have a knish at this type of restaurant

MUSEUMS $2000: Frank Gehry designed this Spanish museum, the counterpart of one in New York City

AUTOLOGICAL WORDS $2000: Also a man's first name, it means brief, maybe to the point of rudeness
(Alex Jacob: What is frank?)

THE TUTORS $400: Around the year 1115, he became Heloise's tutor--& more
[Alex Jacob responded first with just the surname, and then, after not being ruled correct within two seconds, gave the first name.]

"NORTH" & "SOUTH" AMERICA $400: This location of Santa's Workshop has a ZIP code, 12997
(Kerry: What's the [*]?)

CORRECT RESPONSES
(Judy) Blume
the guitar
a bathroom
Alibris
vagrant
ale (in azalea)
South Padre Island
Aristotle
New Horizons
the Proteus syndrome
Victoria & Albert
Christine Ebersole
unhyphenated
a black hole
the Count of Monte Cristo
lip (in tulip)
nation (in carnation)
the (double) bass
(Hans) Holbein
dais (in daisy)
deli (in dandelion)
the Guggenheim Bilbao
curt
Peter Abélard
North Pole

French Novel Title Heroes

He "looked as if he had been shut up for a long time in a tomb and...been unable to recover the...complexion of the living."

Spoiler

Who is The Count of Monte Cristo? Kerry and Matt had The Man in the Iron Mask; Alex wrote "Good game, guys."

Kerry Greene: $8,200-$4,800=$3,400

Matt Jackson: $14,600-$11,600=$3,000

Alex Jacob: $29,600-$0=$29,600

I know it's really last minute, and maybe I should've done this in a new thread, but will anybody / did anybody happen to record the finals (or any part of the TOC)? I'd love to watch, but live overseas. If you did, and wouldn't mind making an extra copy to mail to China for me, I'll be eternally grateful! You can PM me and I'll give you the address. Who knows, I may even send something from here in return! Oh, and if you happen to slip in a package or 4 of Pumpkin Spice Oreos for the family, there may be bonus points...ha.

I can probably look this up, but holy crap, Alex's Daily Double wager! Was it the largest ever?

JonathanHenke wrote:I can probably look this up, but holy crap, Alex's Daily Double wager! Was it the largest ever?

OK, I looked it up. It's not the largest, but it's close. The largest was Roger Craig going TDD on two consecutive clues in Day One of his ToC finals, going from $9K to $18K to $36K in two clues.
http://j-archive.com/showgame.php?game_id=3759

Okay holy shit.

Wow. Not much I can say here, but I'm DEFINITELY rooting for Alex to win it all especially after today and his semifinal performance. That DD wager reminded me of Roger Craig. He just completely stole the game from Matt and Kerry. Matt did well to get in good contention, as well as Kerry, but Alex was just dominant the entire way through. Matt and Kerry definitely need a miracle tomorrow, and I think Matt would be the one to do it. If Matt can get a steamroll going, as well as the Daily Doubles along the way, he could possibly make a deliberate fight against Alex. Or maybe Kerry can do vice versa and surprise us all. Tomorrow is going to be extremely interesting either way, although I'm calling a win for Alex Jacob.

Precalled Alex's wager, unless this was an omgwheelhouse category for him (which I highly doubt), this is the time to hang on to your lead for the next day and see what you can do there and holy crap I'm starting to catch on to wagering theory, aren't I?

(Also calling that the Matt haters on Facebook will be all "lol" at getting the curt clue right before cutting Alex off because they *love* when he cuts him off. )

Alex is the man! Can he really lose with a $26600 lead going into tomorrow? What is the most anyone has had after game 1 and then lost?

I precalled that tutors would be a DJ category.

The previous poster beat me to it. I thought it was apropos that the very curt Matt got Curt. But it would have been deliciously ironic if he'd missed it.

The game was all about DD hunting. Alex seemed uncharacteristically nervous throughout the game. I disliked how Matt deflected from AT to address the camera directly.

floridagator wrote:Alex is the man! Can he really lose with a $26600 lead going into tomorrow? What is the most anyone has had after game 1 and then lost?

Here are 2 big ones from the Teen Tournament:

http://www.j-archive.com/showgame.php?game_id=1989

Meryl Federman, down 25,000 to 0 going into Day 2, controlled her own destiny going into Final and won by $1 on a triple-get.

http://www.j-archive.com/showgame.php?game_id=1755

Ben Schenkel had $40,000 on Day 1 and led David Walter by 25,800 but only $1400 going into Final on Day 2. David had $23,400 going into FJ on Day 2 and bet enough to win the tournament by $100.

DadofTwins wrote:

floridagator wrote:Alex is the man! Can he really lose with a $26600 lead going into tomorrow? What is the most anyone has had after game 1 and then lost?

Here's the biggest comeback I have found so far:

http://www.j-archive.com/showgame.php?game_id=1989

Meryl Federman, down 25,000 to 0 going into Day 2, controlled her own destiny going into Final and won by $1 on a triple-get.

This must be what Alex is thinking of when he says "Quite often, the player in a distant third position goes on to win it all."

(Precalling he'll say that tomorrow.)

Flipped a coin and it came down on the wrong side, but Matt and Kerry had it, too, so I don't feel so bad.

Awesome game, Alex.

Oh. My. GOD.

That's the nerves of a poker pro, right there.

(I also picked The Man in the Iron Mask )

Was anyone else miffed that they counted Matt's response of "itinerant" for the "vagrant" clue incorrect? I don't remember the exact wording of the clue, but it seems like it should've been accepted.

i·tin·er·ant

noun
1.
a person who travels from place to place.

grindcore wrote:Okay holy shit.

My jaw is broken after hitting the floor twice after his TDD wagers. I expected fireworks, instead it looks like tomorrow will simply be Alex's coronation. Wow.

Multiple wrong answers (including Iron Mask) fought a cage match in my head before the right one emerged victorious.

DadofTwins wrote:

floridagator wrote:Alex is the man! Can he really lose with a $26600 lead going into tomorrow? What is the most anyone has had after game 1 and then lost?

Here are 2 big ones from the Teen Tournament:

http://www.j-archive.com/showgame.php?game_id=1989

Meryl Federman, down 25,000 to 0 going into Day 2, controlled her own destiny going into Final and won by $1 on a triple-get.

http://www.j-archive.com/showgame.php?game_id=1755

Ben Schenkel had $40,000 on Day 1 and led David Walter by 25,800 but only $1400 going into Final on Day 2. David had $23,400 going into FJ on Day 2 and bet enough to win the tournament by $100.

Another one that comes to mind is the 10th Anniversary tournament (before doubled values of course) where Frank Spangenberg was down $13,000 behind Tom Nosek ($26,000 in doubled values) and came back the next day to take it all, although Leslie Frates was just as likely to make an upset.

Game here: http://www.j-archive.com/showgame.php?game_id=156

I was shocked that FJ was a TS. Granted there were two possible answers, but I thought The Count of Monte Cristo was pretty obvious and should have occurred to someone.

What can be said? I'm speechless, but looking forward to what y'all have to say.

Ok, I'll say one thing; game theory rules.

Instaget FJ. Also thought of MITIM but the Count was in prison longer (and wasn't masked), so went with that. I do think either could have been a quote in the Dumas original.

jpr281 wrote:Was anyone else miffed that they counted Matt's response of "itinerant" for the "vagrant" clue incorrect? I don't remember the exact wording of the clue, but it seems like it should've been accepted.

i·tin·er·ant

noun
1.
a person who travels from place to place.

Yes. I think it met the clue in all particulars. I bet he gets the money back before they start the 2nd half.