Crazy Conclusion To Jeopardy! Battle of the Decades
I probably follow Jeopardy! more closely than you, because in 1987, I came in second place in the first Teen Tournament. Yesterday was the final day of the five-week-long Battle of the Decades. This tournament promised to settle who was the greatest Jeopardy! player of all time. The finalists were the three Jeopardy! record-holders: Brad Rutter (all-time money winner with over $3 million), Ken Jennings (who won a record 74 straight episodes) and Roger Craig (single episode record of $77,000).
The tournament champion would be determined in a two-day final. The second day of the two-day final brought maximum Jeopardy! drama. It featured:
Roger Craig blowing his chance at victory by flubbing a true Daily Double late in the game;
Brad Rutter betting $0 on the ultimate Final Jeopardy; and
Ken Jennings missing the Final Jeopardy that Brad Rutter and Roger Craig got correct.
Roger Craig: Swing & A Miss
After the first day, Brad Rutter had $10,000, Ken Jennings $7,000 and Roger Craig $0. Roger Craig built a large bank in Double Jeopardy and had $10,200 when he uncovered a Daily Double. If Roger made it a "true Daily Double" and gave the correct response, he would take the overall lead. On the other hand, an incorrect response would essentially eliminate Roger from contention. Roger bet it all . . . and missed.
The clue was "Sharing the name of a city, it is the largest lake entirely within a Canadian province" Roger struggled for an answer and, just as time was expiring, guessed "What is Lake Manitoba?" The correct response was "What is Lake Winnipeg?" As Roger racked his brain for a guess, he clearly lost track of the clue that the lake shared "the name of a city". Winnipeg is a city, Manitoba is the province that contains Winnipeg.
After that miss, Roger was eliminated from contention. He had $0 and only a few questions left on the board.
After Double Jeopardy, the Day 2 scores were:
Ken Jennings - $13,600
Brad Rutter - $11,800
Roger Craig - $2,000
Had Roger hit his Daily Double, he would have went into Final Jeopardy with the overall lead at $22,400. In fact, he would have been in control of his own destiny, because if he bet it all on Final Jeopardy and was correct, he would have $44,800 - more than either Ken or Brad could amass even with their Day 1 winnings. Instead, Roger was reduced to an irrelevant third wheel in Final Jeopardy.
Brad Rutter: Cold-Blooded Bet of $0
Going into Final Jeopardy, Ken Jennings controlled his own destiny, even though Brad Rutter was ahead in combined two day total. Ken's two day total was $20,600 ($7,000 (Day 1) + $13,600 (Day 2 before Final Jeopardy). Brad's two day total was $22,800 ($10,000 (Day 1) + $11,800 (Day 2 before Final Jeopardy). But Ken had a maximum final total of $34,200, if he wagered all of his available $13,600 in Final Jeopardy. Brad's maximum final total was only $33,600, if he wagered all of his available $11,800 in Final Jeopardy.
In this circumstance, Brad's best bet was to bet nothing. Since Brad knew he could not win if Ken got Final Jeopardy right, he needed to guarantee that he would win if Ken got Final Jeopardy wrong. Ken's range after a wrong response was $7,000 (if Ken the maximum $13,600 on Final Jeopardy) to $20,600 (if Ken bet nothing on Final Jeopardy). So it made sense for Brad to lock in at $22,800 by betting nothing on Final Jeopardy.
Ken Jennings Missed His Final "Final Jeopardy"
The category for Final Jeopardy was "Secretaries of State" and the clue was difficult. "Serving 160 years apart, these two Secretaries of State were the only ones who never married." The correct response was "Who are James Buchanan and Condoleezza Rice?" I would have gotten it wrong, because I could only remember Condoleezza Rice. I could not recall who was Secretary of State in 1845, nor could I recall that James Buchanan - our only "Bachelor President" - had served as Secretary of State.
Roger Craig and Brad Rutter both gave the correct response.
Shockingly, Ken Jennings got it wrong. His response was, "Who were James Buchanan and Madeline Albright?" Sec. Albright, however, was married and divorced.
So, Brad Rutter has been crowned the Jeopardy GOAT (Greatest Of All Time) because Ken Jennings failed to come through in his final at bat.