The contestants on the Friday July 5 episode of Jeopardy! were Sarah Crocker, a writer and editor from Aurora, Colorado; Alex Wang, a rising senior at Duke University from Harrington Park, New Jersey; and Isaac Hirsch, a two-day champion and customer support team lead from Burbank, California, with total winnings of $47,986.
The categories in the Jeopardy! round included GEO-POURRI, ORGANIZATIONS, FRENCH SLANG & PHRASES, POP MUSIC, LAYERS, and LET’S TALK ABOUT CAKE. Isaac took an early lead, with a score of $5,800 at the first break, followed by Sarah at $2,400 and Alex at $0.
Entering Double Jeopardy!, Isaac maintained his lead with $7,000, while Sarah and Alex trailed with $3,000 and $400, respectively. The categories in this round were TREATIES, TV “B”-RUNs, HEALTH & MEDICINE, MIDWESTERNERS, EMOTIONAL WORDS?, and THEY WROTE FOR SPORTS ILLUSTRATED. Isaac’s dominance continued as he scored on both Daily Doubles, answering a question about the slang term “shyster” and the Treaty of Portsmouth between Russia and Japan.
Heading into Final Jeopardy!, Isaac had a commanding lead with $26,200. Sarah and Alex fought for second place with scores of $5,000 and $1,600, respectively.
The Final Jeopardy! category was WORLD LANGUAGES, and the clue involved the four major languages represented by a 4-pointed star on the flag of Aruba. Only Alex was able to provide the correct response, identifying English, Dutch, and Spanish as the imported languages, in addition to the local Papiamento.
Isaac’s incorrect response cost him $4,000, but he still emerged as the winner with a final score of $22,200. This brought his three-day total to $70,186. Sarah and Alex finished with $500 and $2,010, respectively.
