An extraordinary event took place on “Jeopardy!” this week.
Even the most dedicated viewers were taken by surprise when the beloved game show ended in a tie.
As Yahoo Entertainment explained, the rare situation occurred because during Final Jeopardy, contestant Christine Whelchel wagered only enough to match returning champion Henry Rozycki – even though she had enough money to secure the win with a correct answer. Both answered correctly and wound up with exactly $34,000.
For a long time, if this instance ever happened, the two contestants would be named co-champions and appear again in the next episode. But in 2016, the show amended that rule to create a tiebreaker question round, as host Ken Jennings explained.
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“I’m going to reveal a category, and then read you a single clue,” Jennings said. “The first player to ring in with a correct response is our new Jeopardy! champion. Simple.”
It’s a speedy and fun way to extract a winner, and only added to the excitement fans were feeling after reeling over the very rare tie.
In case you were wondering, the tiebreaker clue was: “After its inclusion in a 1915 poem, this red flower became a symbol of the fallen World War I soldiers.” Whelchel instantly chimed right in with the winning answer: “What is a poppy?”
While there have been four such ties prior, this is only the second time in “Jeopardy!” history that an unusual wager amount ended in a tiebreaker.
Fan flocked to social media to exclaim their excitement.
One echoed many fans thoughts: “In all my years of watching #jeopardy I've never seen a tie till tonight.”
Another stated simply, “Oh my GOD there’s a TIE on Jeopardy that was exhilarating.”
A third added, "Oh my GOD #Jeopardy ended in a tie, what a great day."
Fans were also a bit confused as to why Whelchel didn’t just wager more in Final Jeopardy. However, they had nothing but love otherwise, as most were rooting for her after she detailed her recent fight against breast cancer.
“I was diagnosed in March of 2021,” Whelchel explained to Jennings, “and one of the first things I did a couple of weeks after being diagnosed was take the 'Jeopardy!' test. I ended up getting my audition the night before my surgery in May.”
Thankfully, her cancer is in remission, and she pulled out the nail-biting victory.
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It all made for one of the most memorable “Jeopardy!” episodes in a year full of exciting record-breaking moments and the new host audition roller coaster.
Jennings’ traditional closing congratulations rang with even more emotion as he exclaimed, “Christine, you are our new ‘Jeopardy’ champion, cancer-free and $34,000 richer! Congratulations to you. What a victory!”
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