JEOPARDY!'s new champ, Neilesh Vinjamuri clinched a third victory on Tuesday night, but fans realized it was largely thanks to a challenger's fatally flawed final wager. The Lionville, Pennsylvania software engineer faced Smithtown, New York, writer Lindsay Denninger and Michigan Ph.D student Tim Herd.
Neilish entered a two-day total of $41,100 after two runaway wins and what Ken Jennings called a "dominant" performance last game. Since Jeopardy!'s Season 40 ends this Friday , fans were buzzing to see if the new reigning champ could fit in one last big streak. And it also seemed only fitting (see Isaac Hirsch ) that Neilesh's most dangerous challenger yet lost on what fans called a questionable final wager.
In the Jeopardy! round, the game quickly became a battle between Lindsay, who led with $9,600 after a True Daily Double, and Neilesh with $6,600 while Tim trailed with a rough -$3,600 Read more on Jeopardy! In Double Jeopardy, Lindsay found the second Daily Double but missed it, only dropping $3000, and Neilesh found the last one but also bet a conservative $2000 of his wide lead. As a result, the game was not a runaway going into Final Jeopardy; Neilesh had $19,000, Lindsay had $13,000, and poor Tim had $2,400, so he didn't stick around for the last round. The Final Jeopardy category was "HISTORIC SPOTS," and the correct response was "O.
K. Corral." Lindsay revealed she was incorrect and wagered $8,000, eliminating her chances of winning if Neilesh was incorrect.
Most read in Game shows Neilesh was also incorrect, but despite dropping $7,001, he won the game with $11,999 for a three-day total of $53,099. 'WHAT WAS THAT WAGER?' Fans took to social media to discuss Lindsay's wager, which many pointed out technically lost her the game. "Lindsay could have won with a small wager," one Reddit user lamented in a game thread.
"Lindsay...
what was that wager?" Asked another, "Despite that, I’d probably recommend her for a second chance. Especially if neilesh goes on a long run." A third asked, "What was wrong with it? Her only win there was to bet very low, 1000 or less.
then you're gambling on him getting it wrong and not betting 0. Is a $0 bet the suggested bet there?" A fourth explained, "The leader nearly always bets to cover a double-up by second place. So the best bet is to stay ahead of what they will have with that bet if they get it wrong.
So cap it at $1,000." "That was a case where I think Lindsay forgot to ask herself 'Wait, what if we both miss?'" speculated a fifth. "To be fair to her, it is very difficult to rationalize taking the game out of your own hands, even if (as in this case or in certain three-way scenarios) it is perfectly logical if not the correct play," they continued.
"Neilesh was playing lights out yesterday, and in spite of Lindsay's best effort, had a big lead today; just not that big ." Other fans wondered if Tim set a record for the lowest score ever- which was not the case, though it may have been the lowest of the season with one correct and five incorrect. "Bigger question than a low score: is Becky Lynch off the hook for the worst case of stage fright this year in Jeopardy?" another joked, referring to the WWE player's historically bad Celebrity Jeopardy appearance.
'LESS NERVOUS' Meanwhile, Neilesh is now the reigning champ following Jay Fischer, who defeated nine-day champ Isaac. Many fans have been impressed by his strong play, which comes with just days left before the game show takes its summer hiatus at the end of the week. Some are predicting he'll even make it into the Tournament of Champions before Season 40 ends -and could spend the summer the reigning champ a la Lucas Partridge (but hopefully not eight months ).
"Neilesh's depth and breadth of knowledge is pretty impressive. Congrats!" one social media user recent wrote. "Loving watching Neilesh, now I hope he gains confidence in himself in his future DD wagers," wrote another.
"I hope Neilesh wins until at least on Thursday, making him at least a 5-day champion," wrote a third. "Neilesh seemed nervous for a while during Friday’s episode before taking over that game. Seems like those nerves are gone and the rest of this week’s competitors may have been in for a tough time," predicted a fourth.
"I know it's just nerves, but he makes me dizzy," quipped one more on the champ's tendency to shift back and forth at his podium. Neilesh will go for his fourth win on Wednesday's episode, which would likely qualify him for the next Tournament of Champions. So far, the qualifiers are Isaac (9 wins) Survivor alum Drew Basile (7 wins), Adriana Harmeyer (15 wins), Alison Betts (5 wins) and Dr.
Amy Hummel (5 wins), and Celebrity Jeopardy!'s Lisa Ann Walter . With four wins, Grant DeYoung and Amar Kakirde will also likely join in. The last episode of Jeopardy!'s 40th Season will air on Friday, July 26, with reruns starting Monday, July 29.
Season 41 will premiere on September 9, 2024, and run through to July 25, 2025. Read More on The US Sun However, the next Tournament of Champions will not kick off Season 41 in the fall. Instead, the ToC will occur in early 2025, midway through the season to ensure there are enough players for it.
Jeopardy! airs at 7 pm ET - check your local listings..
