Jeopardy! champion Jamie Ding continues to dominate as the returning contestant looks to add to his already sizable eight-day total of $222,203.
On Wednesday, March 25, “faceless bureaucrat” and law student Ding faces off against Tallulah “T” Pollard, a recent engineering graduate from Mount Airy, Maryland, and Thayer Warne, an editorial director from Denver, Colorado. Will either of them stop Ding from a ninth win?
“Our champion, Jamie Ding, has earned over $200,000 and racked up Season 42 records in just about every category we have: correct responses, buzzer percentage, final score, Coryat,” host Ken Jennings says at the top of the game. “And although it hasn’t mattered in every game, because he’s had a runaway lead five times of the eight, he’s also been correct in Final Jeopardy in all of his games but one.”
Ding begins the round with “U.S. Geography” for $800: “The last of Florida’s Keys are a group of 7 islands known as the ‘Dry’ these.” With the correct response, “What are the Tortugas?” Ding is off to a strong start.
And on the second clue, Ding discovers the Daily Double in the category of “2 ‘B’” for $800. With only $800 in his bank, he bets the max of $1000. With the clue, “The first issue of this magazine in 1894 was focused on advertising; music came later,” Ding didn’t know the answer and incorrectly guessed, “What is bubble?” The correct response is Billboard, putting the champ in the red at -$200.
However, Ding is back in the lead a few moments later by correctly answering “Dear Mr. Sci Fi Fantasy” for $800: “‘Ford… you’re turning into a Penguin. Stop it.’” With the response, “Who is [Douglas] Adams?” he is back on top.
By the commercial break, Ding holds the lead with $5,600, while the challengers trail behind, with Warne at $1,600 and T at -$200.
During the chat section of the show, Pollard talks about her passion for an American bluegrass all-female band she befriended during the pandemic. Warne discusses the origin of his name, which is derived from a court case presided over by Abraham Lincoln himself. And Ding shares his most prized possession: a copy of The Iliad as translated by Emily Wilson, whom he once met at a book signing.
Ding continues the round with “U.S. Geography” for $600: “Mount Augusta isn’t in Georgia — or Maine for that matter — it’s in Alaska on the state’s border with this Canadian territory.” Ding answers correctly with “What is the Yukon Territory?” bringing his total to $6,200.
But the end of the first round, Ding has $8,000, with Warne in second place with $2,400 and T with $2,400.
Pollard starts Double Jeopardy with the category “Biblical First Names” for $1,600: “Jed is commonly short for this name found in 2 Samuel. Warne buzzed in with the correct answer, “What is Jedidiah?”
The fourth clue results in a Triple Stumper in the “Co-Stars” category for $2,000. With the clue, “The first season of Feud focused on the rivalry of Joan Crawford and Bette Davis while making this 1962 film,” none of the contestants respond correctly. The correct response is “What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?”
Warne discovered the second Daily Double under “Quite Some Feet” for $1,600: “It doesn’t take a genius to figure out how Sula nebouxii, the blue-footed this seabird, got its familiar name.” Wagering $3,000, Warne answers correctly with “What is a booby?” bringing his total to $9,400.
In Double Jeopardy, Ding and Warne are well matched, as the challenger answers nearly as many clues as the champ, keeping them neck and neck for a good portion of the game.
Ding finds the final Daily Double under “Historic Women” for $1,200. The champ wagers $5,200 from his total of $18,800 on the clue: “A 2025 doc about her includes her exploits in space and the life partner she was never able to acknowledge.” With the correct response, “Who is Sally Ride?,” Ding’s total rises to $24,000.
At the end of Double Jeopardy, Ding leads with $25,200, while Warne sits in second with $13,400 and Pollard in third with $7,200.
In Final Jeopardy, the category “Writers on Writers” offers the clue: “Jane Austen called this English poet ‘Infallible.’” In beautiful penmanship, Pollard answers, “Who is Byron?”, but it is incorrect. She wagers everything, dropping her total to $0.
Warne responds with “Who is Keats?”, also incorrect. He, too, bets everything, bringing his total to $0.
Did Ding get it right?
Ding writes, “Who is Wordsworth?” marking another incorrect response, making it a Triple Stumper (the correct answer was Alexander Pope).
Luckily, he wagers just $1,601, bringing his total to $23,599 and re-securing his title as Jeopardy! champion, with a nine-day total of $245,802.
On Reddit, Thayer Warne posted his thanks to the crew, and a special shout-out to his competitor, Pollard: “What an experience. The entire Jeopardy! crew are as incredible and kind as you would hope. My fellow contestants were brilliant, good people and an absolute pleasure to hang with. Jamie is a monster and, frankly, I was *dreading* the prospect of facing T, who I’m pretty [sure] knew the answer to every question asked across each game filmed that day. Such a special, cool thing! Will always be grateful.”
Jeopardy!, Weekdays, check local listings, stream next day on Hulu and Peacock
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