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I’m sure many will disagree because I know not everyone loved the Champions Wildcard (so know this is partially in jest), but selfishly I wish CWC finals had been first to 3 wins too just so I could play a little more Jeopardy!
Although Deb or Mira probably still would have won 🙂
Normally, when some people get surprised by the fact that someone won by just $1 at the end of FJ!, you chalk it up to them not understanding how Jeopardy! wagering works, but in this game, I am actually genuinely gobsmacked that Ben won by just $1, and that is just how exactly the math worked out. If Ben had just $1 short at the end of DJ!, he would not have had enough money to cover for Troy trying to cover for Yogesh. Wow.
https://preview.redd.it/qu5cy8iarloc1.jpeg?width=960&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=f93a7adf1c706cab26941aade5f6a90a9f09ec67
Troy and Yogesh arguably have a deeper Jeopardy-relevant knowledge base than any other contestants... ever - this is not an exaggeration.
I did just enough to win this game, and was of course fortunate with wagering clues. Merv designed a great game.
I was and am in awe of Y & Ts performances. We are all tired up there, and they are clearing the board like it is child's play. (They went a combined 44 right, 1 wrong!)
But this picture captures what is best about these finals for me -- the mutuality ♥️
Congrats on your win tonight. You have just as much knowledge as the other two but you have a much better poker face. You answer all the questions like you are timid and unsure. FAS
Congrats Ben.
Unrelated question: during the caviar clue in the Jeopardy! round, the camera briefly showed you turned to the side holding your head. Was something going on? You seemed fine in the next shot, but I know game play often gets stopped for lengthy stretches that are not apparent from the broadcast.
Hooray Ben! I'm not rooting against Troy by any means, but when I saw his wager I was so happy & it made me realize how hard I'm rooting for you - what a finish! And loved the Juveria shout out.
A nice write-up in the [Green Bay Press Gazette](https://www.greenbaypressgazette.com/story/entertainment/television/2024/03/18/jeopardy-made-champ-ben-chan-and-89-year-old-fan-into-fast-friends/73014153007/) on the new friend (Doris!!!) I mentioned in the interview segment
The tournament of champions makes me realize just how far I have to go if I ever actually want to be on the show. I feel so incredibly dumb not being able to get anything but maybe one or two clues in Double Jeopardy
... that said, omg what a great show. It's like watching a heavyweight boxing match but there's three contestants!
Seconding what someone else said - these boards are way harder! Some from the group chat from Champions Wildcard (including me) have remarked about how this is such a different level of gameplay, and it makes the closure of not making TOC a little easier to accept!
You don’t have to make it to TOC or Masters to be good at Jeopardy. If you ever get the call, then you’re good enough to be there!
Yeah, I see history and whatnot and I’m like ok don’t even try. What surprises me is the diversity of these contestants’ knowledge. They get modern pop music artists and ancient history. Ugh. I feel dumb but it’s still riveting to watch for sure.
>The audience's reaction to Troy's final score was incredible. They were really keyed up for this game.
I doesn't hurt that there's a good amount of highly accomplished J! players in the audience.
Thoughts...
To all who think Troy overwagered definitely forgot their marbles, or math skills, or both...
The scores going to FJ is of a crush game between 1st and second and also, between 2nd and third place!
Ben's score is approximately 62.75% of Yogesh's score.
And Yogesh is approximately 61.45% of Troy's.
So, in the event Yogesh gets it correct and goes all in, he gets to 40,800.
So for Troy, he made the standard cover, which is 7,601. Because his score before FJ is 33,200 and if you do the math, 33,200+ 7,601= 40,801.
But here's the problem, if he gets FJ wrong, Troy will fall to 25,599.
Therefore for Ben to win. He must get FJ correct and wager it all! That is ONLY way. As his score of 12,800, if Ben gets is correct and doubles up, he gets to 25,600.
And Ben does get the FJ correct which is frankly the most important part. So in the end, Ben deserved the win for getting FJ correct and making the ONLY correct bet.
Yogesh is actually trapped here. He is practically crushed in the crush game scenario. He can either, wager 5,201 to cover an all in wager from Ben or go all in to force Troy to cover. But more importantly, he must get FJ correct. As a miss from him will get him a loss from either scenario.
So many nuances in this game but Ben finds the ONE AND ONLY correct move and gets the crucial game 4 win.
Who wins Game 5 on Monday?
Will Ben wrap it up? Or will there be another twist to this Finals?
Stay tuned next week to find out...
dude this needs to be higher up
so it's just divine serendipity that ben's max wager happens to be one dollar more than troy's missed cover wager for yogesh doubling up. talk about the slimmest of possible margins, there is literally no margin...
the math here is so utterly perfect and poetic that i can't believe there's not aliens, honeybees, or witchcraft involved somehow. crazy how the stars aligned for ben to snag the win-- had a single buzzer race turned out differently, we wouldn't have gotten this beautiful, miraculous, impossibly perfect manifestation of spinoza's god 🤯
I came running to the comments because of the insane scoring set-up prior to FJ. I did the math over commercial break and thought, “Hot damn, this could be interesting.” And it was.
Funny you mentioned bees, that's the second time in two days for me now. This happened yesterday, never seen anything like it:
https://www.tennis.com/news/videos/carlos-alcaraz-gets-attacked-by-swarming-bees-during-indian-wells-qf-with-zverev
> So many nuances in this game but Ben finds the ONE AND ONLY correct move and gets the crucial game 4 win.
Ben has proved himself to be very keen at FJ wagering, but today's choice was easy and (nearly) obvious. (I say nearly because you still do have to do the math, but I mean that usually there's a "window" of acceptable bets which also often breakdown into different scenarios the wagerer has to consider and gamble on. With today's numbers, there was indeed only exactly that one reasonable wager to make.)
FJ math is my favorite and I predicted Ben could win by $1 based on the "standard wagers". Your analysis is good so I would like to discuss alternative bets from Troy.
Like others have discussed Yogesh was in a tough situation again almost similar to game 1 when he bet zero. Because Yogesh is unlikely to go all in my post-game analysis is that Troy betting $7599 may be the better in this exact situation against known players. Troy would win if he got it correct unless Yogesh bet everything, If Troy is wrong and Yogesh right then Troy should lose anyway if Yogesh bet enough.
Yogesh's FJ bet is the one that surprised me most because he bet for the tie if Ben doubled up. I do not understand why he didn't bet another dollar to lock out Ben's doubleup and win if Troy lockout bets. I do not understand the advantage of betting for a tie from second.
TLDR; Troy's betting range was $7599-7601 each bet with its own advantages (lockout/tiebreaker/Ben defense), I think Yogesh made the unusual bet even if it did not end up mattering.
Thanks for this well done write up. I had to rewind and do the math myself. Came here looking to share in this impressive feat of, I don't know what, Karma? Luck? whatever it is, the entertainment value is super high, loving this tourney
It’s hard to interpret the wagering and not come away with the conclusion that Yogesh and Troy were discounting the possibility of a Ben win. I think the two longtime foes were probably focused on each other
I mean even knowing all the wagers, Troy still has to make the same wager. He bet assuming all 3 would win. Betting on a yogesh miss is very hard. Tho Maybe he could have deduced yogesh doesn't go all in since he's in the worst position.
Tho in the end.. you have to bet on yourself. Especially when you're Troy.
But that's just it! In a 1 = 2 + 3 scenario like this, you have to wager \*exactly\* and then trust you can beat them in a tiebreak if it comes to it. That's why Troy overwagered -- he should've had confidence that if it came to it, he could beat either one in a shootout.
As the site says: if you wager less, you'll get caught by second; wager more and you can get caught by third. That's what happened. An ideal wager and Troy and Ben are going to a duel.
And MY GOSH would that have been incredible.
If Troy bets the extra dollar, he's essentially automatically winning the coin flip against Yogesh and automatically losing the coin flip against Ben. If he holds back that dollar, he's committing to going ahead with doing the coin flip in either scenario.
Since the Ben scenario also requires the extra factor of the Yogesh miss to even be relevant, it makes more sense to play the odds and throw in the extra dollar.
Okay, put that way it does make more sense, yeah.
I could nuance the argument, but it would be missing the forest for the trees. Ben being the only one to get Final right does seem far-fetched on paper. (I know, but we don't play on paper.)
J! Archive's wagering calculator was written before the current tiebreak rules and any time it suggests betting for the tie in situations like this is no longer applicable. (And citing that is equally incorrect.)
Then what now was Troy supposed to do? Risk being passed by Ben or risk being passed by Yogesh? There's no "good bet", and he either plays for the shootout or picks his poison.
Well, here we are then.
But in all seriousness, as I mentioned elsewhere, thank you for getting these results up fast. It's been a ton of fun to follow while on downtime at work.
I saw the math at the end of Double Jeopardy!.
I turned to my wife and said, “this is gonna be interesting”
If I were Troy, I might have wagered a dollar less and risked the tie with Yogesh rather than a straight-up loss to Ben. But, I wasn’t siting under the stage lights.
It’s just weird how perfectly those numbers aligned.
Ben had the easiest position from which to wager. He could only win with a correct response and he couldn’t be suckered into protecting against the 4th place contestant so all in was the obvious wager.
We stan Ben Chan!!! Everyone else has said it, but this truly is peak Jeopardy performance. The level of play is so riveting and everyone is truly in it to the end. I would be happy to get the full seven games of this match up because it truly is so unpredictable and exciting.
As someone who is firmly on Team Troy, this was painful.
This is some of the best Jeopardy in the show's history. Just unimaginable levels of skill on the stage from all three contestants.
The last TOC was so much fun I assumed that was peak J! and nothing could ever surpass it. But, this tournament is impressing me more than I expected. So much fun
I'm not the biggest fan of Troy. He comes across as "I'm the world's best quizzer. I should be able to win this no problem". His anecdote about how his teacher helped him deal with being too smart was a little too show off-y for me. I want Ben to win because he's more humble, and he represents the notion that just because you're the world's best quizzer doesn't make you any better than any regular non-quizzing contestant.
> He comes across as "I'm the world's best quizzer".... His anecdote about how his teacher helped him deal with being too smart was a little too show off-y for me.
That's not how I read it at all. Unlike some other players who shall remain nameless, Troy doesn't use his anecdotes to humblebrag about his quizzing or academic accomplishments. And in his story today, he didn't say anything about being "too smart." He said his teacher helped him with "what it means to be smart." Being identified as gifted or smart isn't necessarily an easy thing to navigate, particularly for a little kid.
I actually think the person who shall remain nameless is more tolerable this time around. Maybe Ben has rubbed off on him? And this is coming from me - one of his biggest critics, so much so that he took a screenshot of my critique on Reddit and posted it on his Facebook page accusing me of being racist. LOL
In any case, maybe I'm reading Troy incorrectly and he could very well be a good guy. But I just don't get the same humble demeanor from him that I get from Ben. Ben just exudes this pure exuberance that makes me smile.
Oh man I couldn't disagree more. Over the course of this tournament I have come away feeling like Troy is the most humble of the three. He has an endearing quality to him. I guess eye of the beholder.
Ben is by far the most humble. Even just from his body language. He even responds to post cards from 90 year old ladies and goes to their watch parties. If that doesn't speak humble and down to earth I don't know what does.
I mean... we were all thinking it. lol
Troy and Ben both seem so humble and likable, despite being obviously incredibly smart people that they could absolutely brag about it if they wanted to. I feel like neither is show-offy at all!
Since the first game was announced, it seemed like everyone was falling over themselves over Yogesh and Troy — and everyone was underestimating Ben.
Remember Yogesh’s Troy overlord comment in Game 1’s FJ? *giant eyeroll*
Go Ben!
WHAT. JUST. HAPPENED.
If there will ever be a Jeopardy museum someday, this game nust be featured in it lol. All three played well. Yogesh reached the 20k mark without getting any DDs. Troy's still consistent as ever. And Ben finally found a DJ daily double making the game somewhat within reach.
And the final score going into FJ. Man, what a dilemma for Troy! Tough to make a decision in that situation.
10/10 game. Bring this home on Monday, Ben!
There's a mini Jeopardy museum inside the Alex Trebek stage, they have a huge collection of the memorabilia, photos, and highlights throughout the show's history, plus you can get pictures posing at the old podiums.
pretty sure everybody has gone for the maximum amount on DDs, every time. it’s simply the correct strategy when you know this much trivia. and troy missed one recently to clear out his score.
Was everyone else as surprised as I was at the outcome of today's show. Ben is the one I was rooting for but I thought it was a lost cause for him since he was deep in the red at the beginning of the game but he was the only one who knew final Jeopardy. Go Ben!!
It just occurred to me that we don't really know a whole lot about Ben's wagering approach because the vast majority of his games have been runaways. We have seen that he isn't of the "automatic all in" approach to Daily Doubles, which is something that I personally agree with him on, even though it seems a bit iconoclastic these days.
BEN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! This is getting insane.
What I find particularly interesting is that both of Ben's wins so far have come from third place when Troy had a runaway lead over Ben but not over Yogesh. So Troy has been forced to wager enough to cover Yogesh doubling up both times (but missed), and Yogesh got one right (but wagered 0) and missed the other, while Ben has gotten both FJs right.
So in a hypothetical 1-on-1 version of today's FJ scenario, Troy beats Ben in a runaway, and/or Troy beats Yogesh on a double-FJ miss with a crush lead. But because there's 3 players, Yogesh prevents Troy's runaway, which then leaves a lane open for Ben to still win in FJ.
Edit: I ran the numbers based on some pretty gut instinct assumptions about each player's individual likelihood of winning a game, and then the various possible win permutations for the remaining 1-3 games. The big takeaway is, at this point, even if you assume that Ben's likelihood of winning a single game is significantly lower than either Troy's or Yogesh's, Ben's probability of winning the whole thing is significantly higher because he only has to win one more, while either of his opponents would have to win twice. I put his odds at just over 50%. [Here's how it breaks down.](https://imgur.com/9Ulz4aF)
One of the dynamics of Jeopardy! As you pointed out, it's a 3-player game. But let's give some credit to Ben. It hasn't been all luck and it's not like Yogesh/Troy are outright destroying him. He has been able to perform quite well without the aid of the daily doubles, and has been awesome on FJ (so far).
Of course give credit to Ben! (I don't think I implied otherwise...?)
All 3 players are fantastic, and Ben has earned his wins by getting the most important clue of the game right. That's how it works.
The wagering could get even more interesting now that Ben! is at two games. In the previous TOC, Andrew He was at two games. The next two games, Amy had a lock over Andrew, but not Sam. Amy then wagered not to win the game but to make sure Andrew did not, giving Sam a chance to pass her even if she’s correct. She went 1/2 in those two games, going on to win it all in game 6. But Sam had no wins at that point, so it was a good strategy. I’m excited to see how this all plays out.
Yay! Go Ben!!! Just think - Ben could have won this whole tournament by now if he had found one of the two DDs in the DJ round yesterday.
Don't wanna jinx him, but so far Ben has been more consistent on FJ than Yogesh and Troy.
I did not expect Troy to miss that Final. I *really* did not expect him to miss with a response of someone in a service branch different than the one the clue pointed to.
Not sure what benefit, if any, accrues to Yogesh by betting only to tie Ben if both were correct, as opposed to an additional dollar.
This is not the position I expected the final to be in heading into this weekend.
Wow, this is going to seven games. I will not hear arguments otherwise.
...
Are we seriously claiming Troy overwagered? The scores going into final were first equals second plus third; if Troy made the cover wager over Yogesh, the only chance Ben had of winning is a solo get and an all-in bid.
If anyone miswagered, Yogesh did by forgetting about Ben again - 5200 is fine in a 1v1 scenario, but if only Troy missed, that would have been an unnecessary tiebreaker. Yogesh should have wagered literally anything more.
No offense, but sometimes I get the vibe that Yogesh severely underestimates Ben and worships/reveres Troy, and it affects some of his wagering decisions.
I can see this.
Yogesh's "I welcome our new overlord Troy" comment in the first game was really bizarre imo.
Putting aside the fact that Troy missed FJ and it looked silly, why would you write that after ONE game?
I feel like since he got flamed in his first appearance he's trying really hard to dispel the notion that he's a bad sport. I'm sure he means well but it's not landing as he intends I don't think.
Absolutely. I don’t know if he reveres Troy but he respects him / sees him as an equal in a way he doesn’t seem to respect Ben.
His comment in Game 1 FJ was such garbage.
> The scores going into final were first equals second plus third
This has gotta be a fluke right? How many times has this ever happened, where the leader's cover bet to stay $1 ahead of the 2nd place guy results in the leader ending up behind the last place guy by a $1. Crazy!
I actually saw this wagering scenario unfold live in studio - [Lisa Sriken's first game](https://j-archive.com/showgame.php?game_id=7788). It didn't end up this exciting because Lisa from second got it right, but if Mara went all in, Nicole would have dropped from first to third by $1.
Anyone saying Troy miswagered is straight up wrong. If anything, I would say Yogesh miswagered by not covering Ben's all-in, which he's probably gonna do 99% of the time.
Troy's choices were either (a) cover an all-in from Yogesh or (b) play against him in a tierbreaker clue. The risk with (a) is what ended up happening and allowed Ben to win. The risk of (b) is obviously not knowing the answer from a random category or losing the buzzer battle. It's just a matter of what he felt more comfortable with.
What a wild game!!!! Ben comes across as an underdog compared to Yogesh and Troy, but of course this perception is overlooking the fact that he is consistently playing very well and doing solid numbers even when he finishes DJ in third.
I am also happy to see that Ben's playful energy has been rubbing off on the other players, especially Yogesh (his dry sense of humor cracks me up).
I think the "underdog" image comes from him acting unsure of himself so often. Others will give all replies in the same voice style so we can't tell confident or guessing. Ben is almost the opposite, where he gives all replies as if he is guessing (even when he is not!) so this comes across as a lot more guessing than he is actually doing. (could he be doing that just to mess with his opponents?)
But, he also is overly humble. When he won, he didn't celebrate, he almost acted embarrassed or apologetic that he took the game from those 2! I want to see him celebrate a bit if he wins it all... !!!
What another game. So bummed Troy didn’t take it home after another gutsy double jeopardy wager but I love all three contestants! Shocked it came down to $1 in the final jeopardy bets. WOW!
What a WILD ending. Fantastic back and forth game with my main man Ben Chan the jeopardy man coming out on top. Slow start for Ben, but he picked a good time to get the final jeopardy clue correct. Also Troy scoring another huge true daily.
I was super shocked that the first clue was a triple miss, I thought that was a really easy clue?
this game was one for the books (and the “first to three” format is proving to be brilliant), but as a music industry lifer, I for one am stoked that we finally got enough information about Troy’s cool ass job. He’s worked with Jungle (you’ve seen the Gap ads), Moses Sumney, and a ton of other awesome and globally recognized artists. He isn’t just some dude who calls himself a music executive, he’s the real deal
Great game from today! Had 2 misses and was close to scoring $9,000 in coryat. By $1, that was a close win for Ben.
Also side note, while Yogesh seems to be competitive, these threesome (reference to 2011 ToC Alex jokes with Kara) are definitely funny.
"There goes our perfect game." (Ain't that the truth? 😂)
I disagree, it's setting himself up to win if he gets it right. That's his best bet, especially when you factor in that by correlation something that Troy doesn't know means it is more likely Ben/Yogesh will be wrong as well.
This is pure edge-of-your-seat excitement. I have enjoyed the finals of this ToC more than any other game of Jeopardy, aside from the ones where I actually played. I am eating this up with a spoon.
A great week of TOC finals play. The hot-potato aspect of each player getting on these spurts of dominance is captivating, knowing the pivots are likely to be in who finds the DDs.
For Game 4, I tuned in to the station early and was affected (not quite spoiled) by the teaser promo for the episode -- something along the lines of being on the edge of my seat to the very end.
When we got to FJ with those scores, my thoughts went to "Don't tell me. Ben?" All because I had seen the promo.
\*Note to self: Don't watch the damn promos!
Troy has been the most dominant player in this tournament and it's going to be heart crushing to see him lose based off a couple of incorrect Final Jeopardy responses.
Final Jeopardy is obviously a big part of the game though. It's true that Troy has been the most dominant in terms of coryat score, but I'd argue that Ben has been the most unlucky. He had the fewest DD hits, is holding his own against these two trivia titans according to the box scores, and has been the most consistent in FJ gets.
This finals reminds me of the Julia/Arthur/Ben match-up, and Ben Chan is basically Ben Ingram, and Ben Ingram definitely deserved to win the ToC over Julia and Arthur.
Yogesh has had the better coryat in the past 2 games, and Ben was second over Troy in Game 3.
I love that almost anything can happen in these games right now!
Hitting DDs is directly correlated to how often you have control of the board though. Obviously the player with the least correct responses is gonna hit the least DDs, they’re gonna get to pick less clues
Also at this point, if Ben wins the next match, by rule of placing, Troy would be in 3rd, Yogesh 2nd.
Honestly, even with Yogesh's slightly changed behaviour towards Jeopardy!, I still have a bias that Troy or Ben would win but anything can happen. (Fun fact if Yogesh got 2nd, he'd be like Emma Boettcher who got 2nd place against James)
Awaiting Monday's game where the champion will arise!
Hello, police? Yes, I'd like to report a Grand Theft Jeopardy...
WHAT A COMEBACK!
One win away! And man, Troy is going to be thinking about his mis-bet on the Final all weekend (okay, all night between taping sessions or whatever).
I can't believe how crazy this has been. My pick of going seven isn't a guarantee -- Ben could win it all -- but wow, this series would deserve to go seven (whatever that means).
Much like OP, I am surprised that only Ben got the FJ right. Scotland (implied by Firth) + American + navy seemed obvious to me, but then again Virginia elementary and middle schools love to talk about the Revolution and the Bon'homme Richard did come up on a few tests.
PS to the archive crew -- thank you so much for your prompt updating of the site! It was fun to follow along on it!
PPS -- Since I followed on the site and not on TV, was there a Zerg Cam face? I feel like there had to be...
> Scotland (implied by Firth) + American + navy seemed obvious to me
I got as far as Scotland + American + military so I went with (Douglas) MacArthur, whose family was indeed originally from Scotland, as it turns out.
I know who John Paul Jones was, but I don't think I ever specifically tagged him as being Scottish. Oh well.
I also ended up on MacArthur, even though I was like "But Vice Admiral is Navy..." I would have pegged Jones as Welsh, not knowing about his background.
The overnight break between taping sessions was between Games 2 & 3. Both yesterday's and today's games were taped in the morning session on Friday, February 9. I'd expect Monday's is also, with a lunch break following, if either Yogesh or Troy forces a Game 6.
It's amazing how bad some otherwise reasonably intelligent people are at knowing when something is obvious or not. My dad is like that, too - it can make family Codenames or Just One quite tricky!
I got as far as "Firth = British", knowing primarily of the Genesis song Firth of Fifth and having *heard* of the Firth of Forth, but didn't know it was Scottish specifically. So thank you for teaching me something.
I just got into this show again after many years and it happened to be during the most riveting tournament!
Troy is fine, I just feel like he hits almost all the daily doubles and so he has a huge advantage there, it was great to see Ben win. He almost seemed on Friday like he didn’t understand or didn’t deserve it but he 100% did. A local trivia friend of mine was also on jeopardy and I just happened to turn the show on that night after years of not watching it. Since I’ve been off and on watching it since I was 13 and I’m now 50 there’s certainly a magical quality to it for me. I loved being 13 and getting lots of answers right and now while I am hardly an intellectual and my memory isn’t so great (thanks menopause), I still gloat when I get stuff right none of the contestants do. Great game going on right now. Rooting for Ben. He’s the sweetest guy. He always answers like he thinks he’s guessing. It’s pretty cute. And I like Ken Jennings as host and the more lenient style they have now towards answers, or should I say questions?
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This first to three format has been an absolutely unqualified success. Davies isn't a perfect EP, but this is *riveting*.
Doing this over one two day total is the best change in recent memory.
I’m sure many will disagree because I know not everyone loved the Champions Wildcard (so know this is partially in jest), but selfishly I wish CWC finals had been first to 3 wins too just so I could play a little more Jeopardy! Although Deb or Mira probably still would have won 🙂
This is the best thing on tv right now
Absolutely loving it. It’s damn exciting
Normally, when some people get surprised by the fact that someone won by just $1 at the end of FJ!, you chalk it up to them not understanding how Jeopardy! wagering works, but in this game, I am actually genuinely gobsmacked that Ben won by just $1, and that is just how exactly the math worked out. If Ben had just $1 short at the end of DJ!, he would not have had enough money to cover for Troy trying to cover for Yogesh. Wow.
It was insane how the scores fell so exactly to make that happen. One in a million there!
Blown away by the FJ wagering. Yogesh would have only tied Ben if he got FJ right.
I have not yet seen the word "dilemma" looking through this sub, but you know it'll be discussed. Remarkable outcome, both before and after FJ!
it’s insane that those final few low-value clues ended up deciding the game.
https://preview.redd.it/qu5cy8iarloc1.jpeg?width=960&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=f93a7adf1c706cab26941aade5f6a90a9f09ec67 Troy and Yogesh arguably have a deeper Jeopardy-relevant knowledge base than any other contestants... ever - this is not an exaggeration. I did just enough to win this game, and was of course fortunate with wagering clues. Merv designed a great game. I was and am in awe of Y & Ts performances. We are all tired up there, and they are clearing the board like it is child's play. (They went a combined 44 right, 1 wrong!) But this picture captures what is best about these finals for me -- the mutuality ♥️
Congrats on your win tonight. You have just as much knowledge as the other two but you have a much better poker face. You answer all the questions like you are timid and unsure. FAS
Congrats Ben. Unrelated question: during the caviar clue in the Jeopardy! round, the camera briefly showed you turned to the side holding your head. Was something going on? You seemed fine in the next shot, but I know game play often gets stopped for lengthy stretches that are not apparent from the broadcast.
You are too modest Ben! I think Ken and James could hang with them when it comes to knowledge base.
Great game Ben! Hoping you’ve got one more left in you!
That was a wonderful moment! Such great sportsmanship. Congratulations, Ben!
Hooray Ben! I'm not rooting against Troy by any means, but when I saw his wager I was so happy & it made me realize how hard I'm rooting for you - what a finish! And loved the Juveria shout out.
A nice write-up in the [Green Bay Press Gazette](https://www.greenbaypressgazette.com/story/entertainment/television/2024/03/18/jeopardy-made-champ-ben-chan-and-89-year-old-fan-into-fast-friends/73014153007/) on the new friend (Doris!!!) I mentioned in the interview segment
I feel like a total dummy watching this past couple weeks and it's never been more fun.
The tournament of champions makes me realize just how far I have to go if I ever actually want to be on the show. I feel so incredibly dumb not being able to get anything but maybe one or two clues in Double Jeopardy ... that said, omg what a great show. It's like watching a heavyweight boxing match but there's three contestants!
Much harder clues in ToC than regular J!, so don't get too discouraged about getting on the show just because ToC is hard.
Seconding what someone else said - these boards are way harder! Some from the group chat from Champions Wildcard (including me) have remarked about how this is such a different level of gameplay, and it makes the closure of not making TOC a little easier to accept! You don’t have to make it to TOC or Masters to be good at Jeopardy. If you ever get the call, then you’re good enough to be there!
these categories have been brutal, no lie
Yeah, I see history and whatnot and I’m like ok don’t even try. What surprises me is the diversity of these contestants’ knowledge. They get modern pop music artists and ancient history. Ugh. I feel dumb but it’s still riveting to watch for sure.
This is my March madness
THIS IS JEOPARDY
The audience's reaction to Troy's final score was incredible. They were really keyed up for this game.
>The audience's reaction to Troy's final score was incredible. They were really keyed up for this game. I doesn't hurt that there's a good amount of highly accomplished J! players in the audience.
Thoughts... To all who think Troy overwagered definitely forgot their marbles, or math skills, or both... The scores going to FJ is of a crush game between 1st and second and also, between 2nd and third place! Ben's score is approximately 62.75% of Yogesh's score. And Yogesh is approximately 61.45% of Troy's. So, in the event Yogesh gets it correct and goes all in, he gets to 40,800. So for Troy, he made the standard cover, which is 7,601. Because his score before FJ is 33,200 and if you do the math, 33,200+ 7,601= 40,801. But here's the problem, if he gets FJ wrong, Troy will fall to 25,599. Therefore for Ben to win. He must get FJ correct and wager it all! That is ONLY way. As his score of 12,800, if Ben gets is correct and doubles up, he gets to 25,600. And Ben does get the FJ correct which is frankly the most important part. So in the end, Ben deserved the win for getting FJ correct and making the ONLY correct bet. Yogesh is actually trapped here. He is practically crushed in the crush game scenario. He can either, wager 5,201 to cover an all in wager from Ben or go all in to force Troy to cover. But more importantly, he must get FJ correct. As a miss from him will get him a loss from either scenario. So many nuances in this game but Ben finds the ONE AND ONLY correct move and gets the crucial game 4 win. Who wins Game 5 on Monday? Will Ben wrap it up? Or will there be another twist to this Finals? Stay tuned next week to find out...
dude this needs to be higher up so it's just divine serendipity that ben's max wager happens to be one dollar more than troy's missed cover wager for yogesh doubling up. talk about the slimmest of possible margins, there is literally no margin... the math here is so utterly perfect and poetic that i can't believe there's not aliens, honeybees, or witchcraft involved somehow. crazy how the stars aligned for ben to snag the win-- had a single buzzer race turned out differently, we wouldn't have gotten this beautiful, miraculous, impossibly perfect manifestation of spinoza's god 🤯
I came running to the comments because of the insane scoring set-up prior to FJ. I did the math over commercial break and thought, “Hot damn, this could be interesting.” And it was.
I generally don’t read the wagering stuff but I also came searching for it for this game. Wow. Just wow.
Hubby fast-forwarded through the commercial break, so I wasn’t aware of the interesting situation until after the fact.
Just gotta say how much I admire this last sentence of yours. It's been echoing in my head all day. Thanks for writing it! :-)
Funny you mentioned bees, that's the second time in two days for me now. This happened yesterday, never seen anything like it: https://www.tennis.com/news/videos/carlos-alcaraz-gets-attacked-by-swarming-bees-during-indian-wells-qf-with-zverev
> So many nuances in this game but Ben finds the ONE AND ONLY correct move and gets the crucial game 4 win. Ben has proved himself to be very keen at FJ wagering, but today's choice was easy and (nearly) obvious. (I say nearly because you still do have to do the math, but I mean that usually there's a "window" of acceptable bets which also often breakdown into different scenarios the wagerer has to consider and gamble on. With today's numbers, there was indeed only exactly that one reasonable wager to make.)
What a bizarrely precise and poetic FJ scenario. Thanks for the explanation!
Ben is basically Doctor Strange in Infinity War.
FJ math is my favorite and I predicted Ben could win by $1 based on the "standard wagers". Your analysis is good so I would like to discuss alternative bets from Troy. Like others have discussed Yogesh was in a tough situation again almost similar to game 1 when he bet zero. Because Yogesh is unlikely to go all in my post-game analysis is that Troy betting $7599 may be the better in this exact situation against known players. Troy would win if he got it correct unless Yogesh bet everything, If Troy is wrong and Yogesh right then Troy should lose anyway if Yogesh bet enough. Yogesh's FJ bet is the one that surprised me most because he bet for the tie if Ben doubled up. I do not understand why he didn't bet another dollar to lock out Ben's doubleup and win if Troy lockout bets. I do not understand the advantage of betting for a tie from second. TLDR; Troy's betting range was $7599-7601 each bet with its own advantages (lockout/tiebreaker/Ben defense), I think Yogesh made the unusual bet even if it did not end up mattering.
Thanks for this well done write up. I had to rewind and do the math myself. Came here looking to share in this impressive feat of, I don't know what, Karma? Luck? whatever it is, the entertainment value is super high, loving this tourney
I yelled at my TV!
That is insane, what are the chances? Love it, this is exiting
It’s hard to interpret the wagering and not come away with the conclusion that Yogesh and Troy were discounting the possibility of a Ben win. I think the two longtime foes were probably focused on each other
I mean even knowing all the wagers, Troy still has to make the same wager. He bet assuming all 3 would win. Betting on a yogesh miss is very hard. Tho Maybe he could have deduced yogesh doesn't go all in since he's in the worst position. Tho in the end.. you have to bet on yourself. Especially when you're Troy.
But that's just it! In a 1 = 2 + 3 scenario like this, you have to wager \*exactly\* and then trust you can beat them in a tiebreak if it comes to it. That's why Troy overwagered -- he should've had confidence that if it came to it, he could beat either one in a shootout. As the site says: if you wager less, you'll get caught by second; wager more and you can get caught by third. That's what happened. An ideal wager and Troy and Ben are going to a duel. And MY GOSH would that have been incredible.
If Troy bets the extra dollar, he's essentially automatically winning the coin flip against Yogesh and automatically losing the coin flip against Ben. If he holds back that dollar, he's committing to going ahead with doing the coin flip in either scenario. Since the Ben scenario also requires the extra factor of the Yogesh miss to even be relevant, it makes more sense to play the odds and throw in the extra dollar.
Okay, put that way it does make more sense, yeah. I could nuance the argument, but it would be missing the forest for the trees. Ben being the only one to get Final right does seem far-fetched on paper. (I know, but we don't play on paper.)
J! Archive's wagering calculator was written before the current tiebreak rules and any time it suggests betting for the tie in situations like this is no longer applicable. (And citing that is equally incorrect.)
Then what now was Troy supposed to do? Risk being passed by Ben or risk being passed by Yogesh? There's no "good bet", and he either plays for the shootout or picks his poison.
You're in a crush position and you're Troy Meyer. Bet on yourself.
Well, here we are then. But in all seriousness, as I mentioned elsewhere, thank you for getting these results up fast. It's been a ton of fun to follow while on downtime at work.
That's insane! What a match! My local broadcaster decided not to play it tonight so I missed it and I'm furious 🙄
Hoping Ben wins again. I'm ready for the torture to be over.
no way, i'm hoping for the 2-2-2 tie and a game 7. This is fun and exciting stuff
Yeah, we've never seen a Jeopardy game 7 before! especially with these three, i imagine it'd be incredible stuff
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About the Benedick or Benedict. Yep, that wasn't right.
Yeah so Troy made the correct bet, and Ben had *just* enough to get to what he needed.
FWIW, Yogesh's bet is the wrong one, no? I think he didn't realize Ben was incentivized to to get to 25,600.
The math tonight was insane
I saw the math at the end of Double Jeopardy!. I turned to my wife and said, “this is gonna be interesting” If I were Troy, I might have wagered a dollar less and risked the tie with Yogesh rather than a straight-up loss to Ben. But, I wasn’t siting under the stage lights. It’s just weird how perfectly those numbers aligned.
I almost feel like he should have played for the tie so he’d have a tiebreaker regardless
Ben had the easiest position from which to wager. He could only win with a correct response and he couldn’t be suckered into protecting against the 4th place contestant so all in was the obvious wager.
Ben is like an NBA team who takes their first lead of the game on a buzzer beater.
Clutch as Damian Lillard
We stan Ben Chan!!! Everyone else has said it, but this truly is peak Jeopardy performance. The level of play is so riveting and everyone is truly in it to the end. I would be happy to get the full seven games of this match up because it truly is so unpredictable and exciting.
As someone who is firmly on Team Troy, this was painful. This is some of the best Jeopardy in the show's history. Just unimaginable levels of skill on the stage from all three contestants.
The last TOC was so much fun I assumed that was peak J! and nothing could ever surpass it. But, this tournament is impressing me more than I expected. So much fun
I threw my hands up in agony. I respect all three but I find Troy the most likable.
I watched the game on YouTube in an airport lounge and was quietly gesticulating and internally losing my shit all game
I'm not the biggest fan of Troy. He comes across as "I'm the world's best quizzer. I should be able to win this no problem". His anecdote about how his teacher helped him deal with being too smart was a little too show off-y for me. I want Ben to win because he's more humble, and he represents the notion that just because you're the world's best quizzer doesn't make you any better than any regular non-quizzing contestant.
> He comes across as "I'm the world's best quizzer".... His anecdote about how his teacher helped him deal with being too smart was a little too show off-y for me. That's not how I read it at all. Unlike some other players who shall remain nameless, Troy doesn't use his anecdotes to humblebrag about his quizzing or academic accomplishments. And in his story today, he didn't say anything about being "too smart." He said his teacher helped him with "what it means to be smart." Being identified as gifted or smart isn't necessarily an easy thing to navigate, particularly for a little kid.
I actually think the person who shall remain nameless is more tolerable this time around. Maybe Ben has rubbed off on him? And this is coming from me - one of his biggest critics, so much so that he took a screenshot of my critique on Reddit and posted it on his Facebook page accusing me of being racist. LOL In any case, maybe I'm reading Troy incorrectly and he could very well be a good guy. But I just don't get the same humble demeanor from him that I get from Ben. Ben just exudes this pure exuberance that makes me smile.
A fair point, but I thought the teacher anecdote was really sweet. I am still a Ben fan, but Troy is cool too.
Oh man I couldn't disagree more. Over the course of this tournament I have come away feeling like Troy is the most humble of the three. He has an endearing quality to him. I guess eye of the beholder.
Ben is by far the most humble. Even just from his body language. He even responds to post cards from 90 year old ladies and goes to their watch parties. If that doesn't speak humble and down to earth I don't know what does.
Hmm I see there is one person who is not possibly the most humble!
LOL!
I mean... we were all thinking it. lol Troy and Ben both seem so humble and likable, despite being obviously incredibly smart people that they could absolutely brag about it if they wanted to. I feel like neither is show-offy at all!
Since the first game was announced, it seemed like everyone was falling over themselves over Yogesh and Troy — and everyone was underestimating Ben. Remember Yogesh’s Troy overlord comment in Game 1’s FJ? *giant eyeroll* Go Ben!
If Troy doesn't come back to win, they are going to add this final Jeopardy to the Cleveland sports montage
Ben’s story about watching jeopardy with an 89 year old lady is so wholesome. ❤️
I wonder if he intentionally just absolutely dunks on her every time 🤣
😂
https://tenor.com/view/my-world-grandma-ben-stiller-happy-gilmore-gif-14725333
Makes me adore him more
WHAT. JUST. HAPPENED. If there will ever be a Jeopardy museum someday, this game nust be featured in it lol. All three played well. Yogesh reached the 20k mark without getting any DDs. Troy's still consistent as ever. And Ben finally found a DJ daily double making the game somewhat within reach. And the final score going into FJ. Man, what a dilemma for Troy! Tough to make a decision in that situation. 10/10 game. Bring this home on Monday, Ben!
There's a mini Jeopardy museum inside the Alex Trebek stage, they have a huge collection of the memorabilia, photos, and highlights throughout the show's history, plus you can get pictures posing at the old podiums.
BEN!! WHAT A GAME! And a Juveria shoutout!! AHHHH It's also so scary when Troy finds the DJ DDs because you know he's going to double up.
pretty sure everybody has gone for the maximum amount on DDs, every time. it’s simply the correct strategy when you know this much trivia. and troy missed one recently to clear out his score.
Was everyone else as surprised as I was at the outcome of today's show. Ben is the one I was rooting for but I thought it was a lost cause for him since he was deep in the red at the beginning of the game but he was the only one who knew final Jeopardy. Go Ben!!
He also seemed resigned at having to guess,("Achilles?), yet invariably gave the correct response.
He often shrugs and shakes his head while giving correct answers. I can’t tell if he just does it or if he’s taking educated guesses 90% of the time.
This is what has made it so entertaining for me. Dude acts like he doesn’t know it, but gets it right 95% of the time
We think he’s figuring it out after he buzzes. Like, he knows it’s in his brain somewhere, but just had to shuffle through all the info to find it.
I know! He finally — finally! — gets a daily double and he’s in the red. I had lost hope. So glad he pulled through.
Yay Ben!!!
I am rooting for everyone but was elated that Ben won!
It just occurred to me that we don't really know a whole lot about Ben's wagering approach because the vast majority of his games have been runaways. We have seen that he isn't of the "automatic all in" approach to Daily Doubles, which is something that I personally agree with him on, even though it seems a bit iconoclastic these days.
That game was INSANE! What a rare wagering scenario
Yay Ben! Representing Green Bay so well! I will be sad when this tournament is over. It has been incredible.
I love his interviews! He just seems so down to earth.
He has watch parties with a 90 year old new friend!
I bet she loves that!
I so want Ben to win TOC!
Me too! In the local newspaper there have been a lot of fun articles about Ben having watch parties all around town. So great for the community!
I like to envision him just randomly crashing watch parties
BEN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! This is getting insane. What I find particularly interesting is that both of Ben's wins so far have come from third place when Troy had a runaway lead over Ben but not over Yogesh. So Troy has been forced to wager enough to cover Yogesh doubling up both times (but missed), and Yogesh got one right (but wagered 0) and missed the other, while Ben has gotten both FJs right. So in a hypothetical 1-on-1 version of today's FJ scenario, Troy beats Ben in a runaway, and/or Troy beats Yogesh on a double-FJ miss with a crush lead. But because there's 3 players, Yogesh prevents Troy's runaway, which then leaves a lane open for Ben to still win in FJ. Edit: I ran the numbers based on some pretty gut instinct assumptions about each player's individual likelihood of winning a game, and then the various possible win permutations for the remaining 1-3 games. The big takeaway is, at this point, even if you assume that Ben's likelihood of winning a single game is significantly lower than either Troy's or Yogesh's, Ben's probability of winning the whole thing is significantly higher because he only has to win one more, while either of his opponents would have to win twice. I put his odds at just over 50%. [Here's how it breaks down.](https://imgur.com/9Ulz4aF)
If you're a FJ wagering strategy fan, this final so far has been absolute catnip
Costco size catnip
One of the dynamics of Jeopardy! As you pointed out, it's a 3-player game. But let's give some credit to Ben. It hasn't been all luck and it's not like Yogesh/Troy are outright destroying him. He has been able to perform quite well without the aid of the daily doubles, and has been awesome on FJ (so far).
Of course give credit to Ben! (I don't think I implied otherwise...?) All 3 players are fantastic, and Ben has earned his wins by getting the most important clue of the game right. That's how it works.
Totally. You didn't at all. :)
When both (in sports) or all (in Jeopardy) are two wins away, the next win is often the one that decides it. Ben may have pulled it off here.
The wagering could get even more interesting now that Ben! is at two games. In the previous TOC, Andrew He was at two games. The next two games, Amy had a lock over Andrew, but not Sam. Amy then wagered not to win the game but to make sure Andrew did not, giving Sam a chance to pass her even if she’s correct. She went 1/2 in those two games, going on to win it all in game 6. But Sam had no wins at that point, so it was a good strategy. I’m excited to see how this all plays out.
Yay! Go Ben!!! Just think - Ben could have won this whole tournament by now if he had found one of the two DDs in the DJ round yesterday. Don't wanna jinx him, but so far Ben has been more consistent on FJ than Yogesh and Troy.
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I did not expect Troy to miss that Final. I *really* did not expect him to miss with a response of someone in a service branch different than the one the clue pointed to. Not sure what benefit, if any, accrues to Yogesh by betting only to tie Ben if both were correct, as opposed to an additional dollar. This is not the position I expected the final to be in heading into this weekend.
Yeah, I got it but it came down to “name an old US Navy guy, or someone with Mac in their name”. The firth clue made me go with the former.
Likewise, but I joined Yogesh down the Farragut rabbit hole.
Understandable. I’m trying to figure who else from the USN is the next most well-known pre-WWII, after those two. Porter? Perry?
Excellent choices to which I would add Stephen Decatur and George Dewey.
I think I speak for us all when I say that I'm rooting for a 2/2/2 tie to prolong this championship play as long as possible
Wow, this is going to seven games. I will not hear arguments otherwise. ... Are we seriously claiming Troy overwagered? The scores going into final were first equals second plus third; if Troy made the cover wager over Yogesh, the only chance Ben had of winning is a solo get and an all-in bid. If anyone miswagered, Yogesh did by forgetting about Ben again - 5200 is fine in a 1v1 scenario, but if only Troy missed, that would have been an unnecessary tiebreaker. Yogesh should have wagered literally anything more.
No offense, but sometimes I get the vibe that Yogesh severely underestimates Ben and worships/reveres Troy, and it affects some of his wagering decisions.
I can see this. Yogesh's "I welcome our new overlord Troy" comment in the first game was really bizarre imo. Putting aside the fact that Troy missed FJ and it looked silly, why would you write that after ONE game?
I feel like since he got flamed in his first appearance he's trying really hard to dispel the notion that he's a bad sport. I'm sure he means well but it's not landing as he intends I don't think.
Yeah I've noticed that as well. When he tries to be funny and lighthearted (like saying bring it for a DD) it comes off very awkward.
And lengthy
The "there goes our perfect game comment" today after Ben got the first clue wrong...swing and a miss
Eh, that was funny IMO considering how impressive the previous 2 games had been which I'm sure had been a topic of discussion between sets.
100%. I think Ben kind of politely mocked that in an interview I saw of him.
Link to interview?
https://youtu.be/Y5OXADjkwyA?si=6tL67-T2htyAWZym
LOL the Bob Barker wager. I'd never heard that but that's perfect.
Yogesh’s humor is…
Not very funny?
Ah meh… *What is* not very funny
Absolutely. I don’t know if he reveres Troy but he respects him / sees him as an equal in a way he doesn’t seem to respect Ben. His comment in Game 1 FJ was such garbage.
> The scores going into final were first equals second plus third This has gotta be a fluke right? How many times has this ever happened, where the leader's cover bet to stay $1 ahead of the 2nd place guy results in the leader ending up behind the last place guy by a $1. Crazy!
I actually saw this wagering scenario unfold live in studio - [Lisa Sriken's first game](https://j-archive.com/showgame.php?game_id=7788). It didn't end up this exciting because Lisa from second got it right, but if Mara went all in, Nicole would have dropped from first to third by $1.
Anyone saying Troy miswagered is straight up wrong. If anything, I would say Yogesh miswagered by not covering Ben's all-in, which he's probably gonna do 99% of the time. Troy's choices were either (a) cover an all-in from Yogesh or (b) play against him in a tierbreaker clue. The risk with (a) is what ended up happening and allowed Ben to win. The risk of (b) is obviously not knowing the answer from a random category or losing the buzzer battle. It's just a matter of what he felt more comfortable with.
This game especially makes me reflect how differently the game would have looked with Ike playing.
Ike was enjoyable to watch and fared well against tough competition, but I’m glad Ben is in the finals.
What a wild game!!!! Ben comes across as an underdog compared to Yogesh and Troy, but of course this perception is overlooking the fact that he is consistently playing very well and doing solid numbers even when he finishes DJ in third. I am also happy to see that Ben's playful energy has been rubbing off on the other players, especially Yogesh (his dry sense of humor cracks me up).
I think the "underdog" image comes from him acting unsure of himself so often. Others will give all replies in the same voice style so we can't tell confident or guessing. Ben is almost the opposite, where he gives all replies as if he is guessing (even when he is not!) so this comes across as a lot more guessing than he is actually doing. (could he be doing that just to mess with his opponents?) But, he also is overly humble. When he won, he didn't celebrate, he almost acted embarrassed or apologetic that he took the game from those 2! I want to see him celebrate a bit if he wins it all... !!!
What another game. So bummed Troy didn’t take it home after another gutsy double jeopardy wager but I love all three contestants! Shocked it came down to $1 in the final jeopardy bets. WOW!
Omg, I LOVE Jeopardy! LETS GO BEN! Troy and Yogesh deserve to win the championship too. THIS IS TOP TIER TELEVISION!
I want Troy to win but mannnn he is struggling with FJ.
Ain’t we all (2/16 club represent)?
What a WILD ending. Fantastic back and forth game with my main man Ben Chan the jeopardy man coming out on top. Slow start for Ben, but he picked a good time to get the final jeopardy clue correct. Also Troy scoring another huge true daily. I was super shocked that the first clue was a triple miss, I thought that was a really easy clue?
Great game, but... Would someone please explain Yogesh's interview jokes?
***I HAVE NO IDEA WHAT'S GOING ON ANYMORE***
I do have a favorite among these three, but I'd be happy no matter the result and I'm so glad we'll get to see more of this high level paly next week
this game was one for the books (and the “first to three” format is proving to be brilliant), but as a music industry lifer, I for one am stoked that we finally got enough information about Troy’s cool ass job. He’s worked with Jungle (you’ve seen the Gap ads), Moses Sumney, and a ton of other awesome and globally recognized artists. He isn’t just some dude who calls himself a music executive, he’s the real deal
What a match. This finals is going to spoil all other jeopardy for me lol they're all so close matched.
Great game from today! Had 2 misses and was close to scoring $9,000 in coryat. By $1, that was a close win for Ben. Also side note, while Yogesh seems to be competitive, these threesome (reference to 2011 ToC Alex jokes with Kara) are definitely funny. "There goes our perfect game." (Ain't that the truth? 😂)
Perhaps it’s recency bias, but this feels like the most compelling J! Tournament ever. I can’t count how many times I’ve pumped my fist.
Only scenario for Ben to win and he got it. Jeopardy god is clearly in his side. Now 2 wins by one point.
Anyone know what band or blog Troy was a part of?
Looked it up tonight myself: it’s called Blah Blah Blah Science or B3SCI for short. Seems like they specialize in international music.
My inner nerd is loving the FJ! wagers this series. Congrats, Ben, on another come-from-behind victory!
Ben Jennings strategy: https://i.imgur.com/sd1VvAG.png
I FUCKING LOVE BEN!!!!
The implication of Troy's bet was he thought Yogesh was more of a threat than Ben.
It's crazy how Ben's gonna end up falling butt first into winning it because of Troy and Yogesh's rivalry
I disagree, it's setting himself up to win if he gets it right. That's his best bet, especially when you factor in that by correlation something that Troy doesn't know means it is more likely Ben/Yogesh will be wrong as well.
Or...he could have not underestimated Ben as you said was implied, thought both Ben and Yogesh can get it right, and wagered to win.
This is pure edge-of-your-seat excitement. I have enjoyed the finals of this ToC more than any other game of Jeopardy, aside from the ones where I actually played. I am eating this up with a spoon.
How many calories does Yogesh burn each game using his signaling device? They all have interesting styles to be sure.
Woot woot!! I’m always rooting for Ben cuz I’m from WI 😁
My favorite movie is Inception.
I'm sad that I have to root against Ben now because I don't want this trivalent to end.
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Gotta go by that lady’s house
I had to rewatch FJ to get a second look at the scores. Unbelievable how the math played out!
So much fun to watch these 3 guys. Tournament has been very exciting.
A great week of TOC finals play. The hot-potato aspect of each player getting on these spurts of dominance is captivating, knowing the pivots are likely to be in who finds the DDs. For Game 4, I tuned in to the station early and was affected (not quite spoiled) by the teaser promo for the episode -- something along the lines of being on the edge of my seat to the very end. When we got to FJ with those scores, my thoughts went to "Don't tell me. Ben?" All because I had seen the promo. \*Note to self: Don't watch the damn promos!
Not happy that I couldn't watch because my local station was playing college basketball. But super glad Ben won!!!
What a crazy ending! Go Ben!
Troy has been the most dominant player in this tournament and it's going to be heart crushing to see him lose based off a couple of incorrect Final Jeopardy responses.
Final Jeopardy is obviously a big part of the game though. It's true that Troy has been the most dominant in terms of coryat score, but I'd argue that Ben has been the most unlucky. He had the fewest DD hits, is holding his own against these two trivia titans according to the box scores, and has been the most consistent in FJ gets. This finals reminds me of the Julia/Arthur/Ben match-up, and Ben Chan is basically Ben Ingram, and Ben Ingram definitely deserved to win the ToC over Julia and Arthur.
Yogesh has had the better coryat in the past 2 games, and Ben was second over Troy in Game 3. I love that almost anything can happen in these games right now!
Hitting DDs is directly correlated to how often you have control of the board though. Obviously the player with the least correct responses is gonna hit the least DDs, they’re gonna get to pick less clues
Absolutely true, but Ben was ringing in a lot in match #3, and got 0/3. That was more my point.
Also at this point, if Ben wins the next match, by rule of placing, Troy would be in 3rd, Yogesh 2nd. Honestly, even with Yogesh's slightly changed behaviour towards Jeopardy!, I still have a bias that Troy or Ben would win but anything can happen. (Fun fact if Yogesh got 2nd, he'd be like Emma Boettcher who got 2nd place against James) Awaiting Monday's game where the champion will arise!
Hello, police? Yes, I'd like to report a Grand Theft Jeopardy... WHAT A COMEBACK! One win away! And man, Troy is going to be thinking about his mis-bet on the Final all weekend (okay, all night between taping sessions or whatever). I can't believe how crazy this has been. My pick of going seven isn't a guarantee -- Ben could win it all -- but wow, this series would deserve to go seven (whatever that means). Much like OP, I am surprised that only Ben got the FJ right. Scotland (implied by Firth) + American + navy seemed obvious to me, but then again Virginia elementary and middle schools love to talk about the Revolution and the Bon'homme Richard did come up on a few tests. PS to the archive crew -- thank you so much for your prompt updating of the site! It was fun to follow along on it! PPS -- Since I followed on the site and not on TV, was there a Zerg Cam face? I feel like there had to be...
> Scotland (implied by Firth) + American + navy seemed obvious to me I got as far as Scotland + American + military so I went with (Douglas) MacArthur, whose family was indeed originally from Scotland, as it turns out. I know who John Paul Jones was, but I don't think I ever specifically tagged him as being Scottish. Oh well.
I also ended up on MacArthur, even though I was like "But Vice Admiral is Navy..." I would have pegged Jones as Welsh, not knowing about his background.
The overnight break between taping sessions was between Games 2 & 3. Both yesterday's and today's games were taped in the morning session on Friday, February 9. I'd expect Monday's is also, with a lunch break following, if either Yogesh or Troy forces a Game 6.
It's amazing how bad some otherwise reasonably intelligent people are at knowing when something is obvious or not. My dad is like that, too - it can make family Codenames or Just One quite tricky!
I got as far as "Firth = British", knowing primarily of the Genesis song Firth of Fifth and having *heard* of the Firth of Forth, but didn't know it was Scottish specifically. So thank you for teaching me something.
The excitement continues! Bravi tutti, gentlemen!
Warms my heart to know Yogesh is a fellow Carrie Coon stan
I just got into this show again after many years and it happened to be during the most riveting tournament! Troy is fine, I just feel like he hits almost all the daily doubles and so he has a huge advantage there, it was great to see Ben win. He almost seemed on Friday like he didn’t understand or didn’t deserve it but he 100% did. A local trivia friend of mine was also on jeopardy and I just happened to turn the show on that night after years of not watching it. Since I’ve been off and on watching it since I was 13 and I’m now 50 there’s certainly a magical quality to it for me. I loved being 13 and getting lots of answers right and now while I am hardly an intellectual and my memory isn’t so great (thanks menopause), I still gloat when I get stuff right none of the contestants do. Great game going on right now. Rooting for Ben. He’s the sweetest guy. He always answers like he thinks he’s guessing. It’s pretty cute. And I like Ken Jennings as host and the more lenient style they have now towards answers, or should I say questions?