Latest news with #TournamentofChampions
USA Today
13 hours ago
- Entertainment
- USA Today
Did 'Jeopardy!' champion lose on purpose? Scott Riccardi speaks out
This "Jeopardy!" champion is speaking out about the shocking end of his 16-game winning streak. Who is … Scott Riccardi? On July 25, the engineer from New Jersey lost on the game show after 16 consecutive wins due to a surprising miss on Final Jeopardy! Riccardi subsequently took to Reddit to explain what happened, after some on social media who'd claimed he lost on purpose. The clue that Riccardi answered wrong was in the category of 20th Century Names. "According to one obituary, in 1935 he owned 13 magazines, 8 radio stations, 2 movie companies & $56 million in real estate," it read. The correct response was William Randolph Hearst, but Riccardi incorrectly guessed "Who is Howard Hughes?" Riccardi was in the lead going into Final Jeopardy!, but his opponents both gave the correct response, including Jonathan Hugendubler, who came from behind with the win after wagering $9,601. Some "Jeopardy!" fans expressed surprise that Riccardi didn't respond correctly. As is often the case when a winning streak ends, there were even claims that he threw the game because he was tired of being on the show. "Does anyone think he lost on purpose because he didn't want to come back next season?" one commenter on Instagram read. Did Scott Riccardi's 'Jeopardy' winning streak continue? But on the "Jeopardy!" Reddit, Riccardi chimed in to explain the thought process behind his answer. "My mind unfortunately went straight to Howard Hughes, mostly due to overestimating the importance of the movie companies part of the clue; any previous FJs that had come to mind immediately had worked out, so I trusted my initial response on this," he wrote. Ken Jennings on 'Jeopardy!' Tournament of Champions, 'misogynistic' Mayim Bialik critics Riccardi continued that Hearst "wasn't on my mind at all," adding that "several information near-misses and a poor understanding of the timeline in the clue really piled up to prevent me from getting what I now understand to be a very gettable clue." Some defended Riccardi by arguing the clue was worded in a confusing way and could have been read to mean that the obituary was written in 1935, which would rule out Hearst. Hugendubler appeared as surprised as anyone by his win, with host Ken Jennings remarking, "He can't believe it!" A visibly stunned Hugendubler immediately walked over and shared a hug with Riccardi, who finished his run on the show with a hefty $455,000 in winnings. Riccardi, who will return in the "Jeopardy!" Tournament of Champions now ranks number eight on the game show's all-time leaderboard in terms of highest winnings in regular-season play. With $2,520,700, Jennings, who competed on "Jeopardy!" in 2004 before becoming the show's host, remains number one.
USA Today
13 hours ago
- Entertainment
- USA Today
Did 'Jeopardy!' champion lose on purpose? Scott Riccardi speaks out.
This "Jeopardy!" champion is speaking out about the shocking end of his 16-game winning streak. Who is … Scott Riccardi? On July 25, the engineer from New Jersey lost on the game show after 16 consecutive wins due to a surprising miss on Final Jeopardy! Riccardi subsequently took to Reddit to explain what happened, after some on social media who'd claimed he lost on purpose. The clue that Riccardi answered wrong was in the category of 20th Century Names. "According to one obituary, in 1935 he owned 13 magazines, 8 radio stations, 2 movie companies & $56 million in real estate," it read. The correct response was William Randolph Hearst, but Riccardi incorrectly guessed "Who is Howard Hughes?" Riccardi was in the lead going into Final Jeopardy!, but his opponents both gave the correct response, including Jonathan Hugendubler, who came from behind with the win after wagering $9,601. Some "Jeopardy!" fans expressed surprise that Riccardi didn't respond correctly. As is often the case when a winning streak ends, there were even claims that he threw the game because he was tired of being on the show. "Does anyone think he lost on purpose because he didn't want to come back next season?" one commenter on Instagram read. Did Scott Riccardi's 'Jeopardy' winning streak continue? But on the "Jeopardy!" Reddit, Riccardi chimed in to explain the thought process behind his answer. "My mind unfortunately went straight to Howard Hughes, mostly due to overestimating the importance of the movie companies part of the clue; any previous FJs that had come to mind immediately had worked out, so I trusted my initial response on this," he wrote. Ken Jennings on 'Jeopardy!' Tournament of Champions, 'misogynistic' Mayim Bialik critics Riccardi continued that Hearst "wasn't on my mind at all," adding that "several information near-misses and a poor understanding of the timeline in the clue really piled up to prevent me from getting what I now understand to be a very gettable clue." Some defended Riccardi by arguing the clue was worded in a confusing way and could have been read to mean that the obituary was written in 1935, which would rule out Hearst. Hugendubler appeared as surprised as anyone by his win, with host Ken Jennings remarking, "He can't believe it!" A visibly stunned Hugendubler immediately walked over and shared a hug with Riccardi, who finished his run on the show with a hefty $455,000 in winnings. Riccardi, who will return in the "Jeopardy!" Tournament of Champions now ranks number eight on the game show's all-time leaderboard in terms of highest winnings in regular-season play. With $2,520,700, Jennings, who competed on "Jeopardy!" in 2004 before becoming the show's host, remains number one.
Daily Mail
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
Jeopardy! fans left devastated after beloved gameshow goes on hiatus: 'I'm crying'
Jeopardy! is officially on a break for the summer and there will not be any new episodes until September. The beloved game show, fronted by Ken Jennings, concluded its 41st series last week with an epic season finale that saw 16-game champion Scott Riccardi lose to Jonathan Hugendubler. As of Monday, the program has returned to airing reruns – as is typical during the summer – to fill the void. Over the next six weeks, viewers will be able to watch reruns of the Tournament of Champions (TOC) and the Second Chance/Champions Wildcard (JIT) episodes. The JIT rerun coverage will end on Thursday, September 4, and then the final game of season 41 will air on September 5. Jeopardy! season 42 will commence on September 8. Taking to Instagram to announce the summer schedule, the show's official account said: 'It feels like summer. Which means Jeopardy! reruns are in full effect.' While some fans were enthusiastic, others declared they will not be watching old episodes. 'No thanks, I'll come back in September for the new season,' one commented. 'I don't watch reruns. Have a nice summer.' 'Good reason to take a break,' noted another, while a third added, 'BRB crying. But enjoy the summer!' Last week's season 41 finale saw Scott lose to Jonathan by just one dollar. During the episode, Scott entered Final Jeopardy with $10,000 more than his opponent – but disaster struck when the clue was read out. Addressing the players in the category titled 20th Century Names, Ken said: 'According to one obituary, in 1935 he owned 13 magazines, eight radio stations, two movie companies, and $56 million in real estate.' While the correct answer was William Randolph Hearst, Scott incorrectly guessed: 'Who is Howard Hughes?' Luckily for Jonathan, his wager was one dollar higher and he became the new champion with $23,601 while Scott finished the game with $18,600. Addressing his Final Jeopardy in a thread on Reddit, Scott said that his mind 'unfortunately went straight to Howard Hughes mostly due to overestimating the importance of the movie companies part of the clue.' He continued: 'Truthfully, I was just especially unprepared to respond correctly to a clue about Hearst. 'I made a mental note before flying out that I was consistently forgetting to consider, of all things, Citizen Kane and the Tower of London as responses whenever they came up in archived practice clues; in the green room that week, I reminded myself about the Tower of London but could not remember the other half of that mental note.' 'Also, before I started my prep for the show in earnest, I had found that I was having a hard time properly retaining info on what I found to be a confusing amount of three-named Williams in publishing (William Randolph Hearst, William Lloyd Garrison, and William F. Buckley, to name a few), never circling back to that thought after I got the call to be on the show,' Scott added. 'So several information near-misses and a poor understanding of the timeline in the clue really piled up to prevent me from getting what I now understand to be a very gettable clue.'
Yahoo
6 days ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
NJ man qualifies for 'Jeopardy!' Tournament of Champions. How long could his streak last?
A New Jersey man's latest win on "Jeopardy!" ensures he will be back for the quiz show's coveted end-of-season tournament later in the year. Scott Riccardi, an engineer from Somerville, claimed his fifth consecutive victory July 9 to qualify him for the Season 41 Tournament of Champions. The annual competition is generally reserved for contestants who earn at least five "Jeopardy!" wins, although the show may invite champions with fewer victories if there are not enough five-game winners. The Tournament of Champions tracker shows Riccardi trails only four people — an eight-game champion and a trio of six-game winners — in the number of victories so far this season. However, his total winnings of $144,902 and counting are already the most of any contestant this year, more than $7,000 ahead of the runner-up. Riccardi earned $12,500 in his most recent win, the lowest payout of his five-game run, after playing it safe for the Final Jeopardy clue to ensure he could not be caught. His $12,000 total after both "Jeopardy!" rounds was more than double the $5,400 accumulated by second-place Sarah Mulligan, resulting in a modest $500 wager for his last guess of the episode. With his victory already assured, Riccardi was the only one of the three contestants to respond correctly in Final Jeopardy, in the category "Ancient Builders." The clue: "A 2nd c. inscription in Northern England records that the gods imposed 'the necessity of keeping intact the empire' on this man." The answer: "Who is Hadrian?" Riccardi will look to continue his "Jeopardy!" reign against two new challengers July 10. The dates of the next Tournament of Champions have not yet been announced. This article originally appeared on Scott Riccardi of Somerville NJ wins fifth 'Jeopardy!' game Solve the daily Crossword
Yahoo
6 days ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Scott Riccardi of New Jersey extends 'Jeopardy!' streak to 15; cracks Top 10 on money list
Scott Riccardi of New Jersey extended his "Jeopardy!" winning streak to 15 games on July 23 and cracked the Top 10 of the regular-season money list on the long-running show. Riccardi, an engineer from Somerville and 2021 Rutgers graduate, began his winning streak on July 3 and has career earnings of $430,910. He is now in eighth place on the all-time regular-season highest money winnings list and one more win would tie him for 10th on the consecutive wins list, according to the "Jeopardy!" website. On the Wednesday, July 23 show, he defeated fellow New Jerseyan, Gerri Budd, an adjunct professor and small business owner from Nutley, and Andrew Crowley, a freelance writer from Henderson, Nevada. As he has done of late, Riccardi had a commanding lead entering Final Jeopardy (more than triple the next closet competitor in this game). The Final Jeopary was: "Opened in 1902, it's 87 feet in width on the 22nd Street side & less than 7 feet wide at its narrowest point on 23rd Street." Both Riccardi and Budd knew the New York City Final Jeopardy answer: "What is the Flatiron Building?" The final money totals were: Riccardi with $40,008, Crowley $9,000 and Budd $6,300. Riccardi is by far the winningest contestant on this season of the long-running game show. According to the show's Tournament of Champions tracker, Riccardi's streak has him ahead of eight-time champ Laura Faddah on this season's leaderboard. The season began Sept. 9, 2024 and three other contestants have reached the six-game threshold. He also has already qualified for the Season 41 Tournament of Champions. The annual competition is generally reserved for contestants who earn at least five "Jeopardy!" wins, although the show may invite champions with fewer victories if there are not enough five-game winners. Staff writer Kyle Morel contributed to this article. This article originally appeared on NJ's Scott Riccardi extends 'Jeopardy!' streak to 15 games Solve the daily Crossword
