The game was truly down to the wire. Adam Remsen‘s 13th Jeopardy! game had a shocking result, as the game was determined on the final clue.
Remsen, from Memphis, Tennessee, entered the game with a 12-day total of $306,415. The attorney and theater producer faced off against Richard Nguyen, from Placentia, California, and Mandy Moreno, from Brooklyn, New York. Warning: Spoilers for the June 30 episode of Jeopardy! ahead!
Remsen had an early lead with $5,600 by the first 15 clues. He had the same score when Nguyen, a research attorney, found the Daily Double on clue 17.
Nguyen had $3,400 and wagered $3,000 in “Table Scraps.” The clue read, “The Vicious Circle was another name for this celebrated group that first met for lunch in 1919.” He took the lead with $6,400 when he correctly answered, “What is the Algonquin Round Table?”
Remsen quickly took the lead again by the end of the round. He had $7,800. Nguyen was not far behind with $7,800. Moreno, a social psychologist, was in third place with $1,800.
The champion had $11,000 in Double Jeopardy when he found the first DD on clue six. Nguyen had $8,600. Remsen wagered $5,000 in “Special Effects.” The clue read, “The effect of this effect is that patients sometimes get better even when treated with inactive substances or fake procedures.”
“What is the placebo effect?” he answered correctly. This gave him a wider lead with $16,000.
Nguyen took the lead with $17,000, compared to Remsen’s $16,800 when he found the last Daily Double on clue 15. He wagered $5,000 in “Diaries and Journals.” The clue was, “His journal entry for November 5, 1922, includes his telegram to Lord Carnarvon: ‘At last have made wonderful discovery in valley.’”
“Who is Stanley?” he answered incorrectly. The correct response was Howard Carter, so Nguyen dropped down to $11,800.
By the end of the round, Remsen had $20,800. Nguyen’s score was $14,400. Moreno had $5,000.
The category for Final Jeopardy was “20th Century Novels.” The clue was “David Ben-Gurion called this 1958 book ‘as a piece of propaganda… the greatest thing ever written about Israel.’” Only one game show contestant had the correct response.
Moreno’s response was “What is…?” She obviously was wrong. However, Moreno wagered $0, so she ended with $5,000.
Nguyen had the correct response of “What is Exodus?” He wagered $6,401, giving him $20,801. Remsen did not have the correct response. He wrote, “What is Fiddler on the Roof?” and wagered $8,001. That gave him a final total of $12,799.
Nguyen became the new champion. He will return for game two on Wednesday. Remsen will return in the Tournament of Champions.
Fans reacted to the shocking result on Reddit. “WOW! Great, great game. Congrats to Adam on his fantastic run, and to Richard for dethroning the champ,” one said.
“Another giant slayer has come!” a fan said.
“Congrats to Adam! Really enjoyed watching him and excited to see him again for the ToC! And well done, Richard!” a third added.
“Great run by Adam. He finishes in a tie for 17th all time in wins (along with Austin Rogers and Seth Wilson) and solo 17th in winnings,” another wrote.
“Shocking result in our house! I didn’t know final- we were 1 out of 3- but we were all sure at the category reveal that Adam would know it. Really good game! Love an audible gasp from the audience at a surprising final outcome. Congrats Richard! It’s always a treat when someone wins in that way, coming from behind due to being the only one who knew final. Especially cool after the daily double miss,” one last fan said.
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