[Warning: The below contains MAJOR spoilers for the March 11 episode of Jeopardy!]
Harvey Silikovitz, who dominated Monday’s Jeopardy! game, returned for his second episode against two new contestants. He blew up on social media after fans discovered that he has sung karaoke all over the world and is battling Parkinson’s Disease. Did he become a two-day champion? Read on to find out.
“For the first time since December 19, we have a new season champion in Harvey Silikovitz, who in his first game put on a dominant performance, racking up 35 correct responses,” host Ken Jennings said at the beginning of the game. (Before the return to regular gameplay on March 7, there was a string of tournaments.)
On Tuesday, March 11, Silikovitz versed Emily Johnson, from Savannah, Georgia, and James Corson, from Frederick, Maryland. He didn’t have much luck at the beginning of the game, only answering one $800 question correctly. The attorney fell even more behind when Corson correctly answered the first Daily Double of the game, making his total $2,800. The clue read: “A stamp celebrating the 50th anniversary this observance went on sale in April 2020.” Corson answered correctly (“What is Earth Day?”).
Silikovitz, from West Orange, New Jersey, and Corson, a nuclear engineer who is addicted to cereal, then battled it out for most of the round as they went back and forth correctly answering questions. However, after the first commercial break, Johnson, a teacher who loves to travel, passed Silikovitz for second place. By the end of the first round, Silikovitz was in third with $3,600. Johnson took second place with $5,600. Corson was in first with $7,400.
In Double Jeopardy!, Corson found the first DD. Still in first, with $11,000, he wagered $10,000. The clue read: “‘That illustrious man…mounted into the Windsor chair… and addressed the club’ is a line from this Dickens’ work.” “What is The Pickwick Papers?” he answered correctly, putting the game show contestant at $21,000.
Johnson found the second DD of the round. With a bank of $14,400, she only wagered $4,000. The DD read: “Slightly open & an Indian noble.” She answered, “What is ajar and raja?” which was correct, bringing her up to $18,400. By the end of the round, Silikovitz was still in third with $6,800, Johnson had $20,800, and Corson led with $29,000. But anything could happen in Final Jeopardy!
The category was “Explorers.” “Traveling in 1811 to an elevation of about 12,000 feet, Thomas Manning was the first Englishman to meet this figure,” the clue read. Silikovitz was correct with “Who is the Dalai Lama?” He wagered $6,800, giving him a final total of $13,600. Johnson answered the same and bet $4,000, giving her $24,800 as her final total. Corson also answered with Dalai Lama and wagered $13,000, ending with $42,000, making him the night’s champion.
Corson will return on Wednesday, March 12, to try and become a two-day champion against two new contestants.
Reddit users reacted to Silikovitz’s loss and Corson’s win on the platform.
“Wow… This has to be perhaps one of the biggest reversals from a previous game I’ve ever seen. Going from a historically great performance to a distant third is quite the difference, to say the least! Jeopardy! is called Jeopardy for a reason, and this game is a fine example of that,” one user said.
“Well, that was short-lived,” wrote another.
“Harvey poured everything into game 1 and just had nothing left, I guess,” a fan commented.
“Insane game,” said another.
“Glad to see Harvey get his big moment and win one, seemed like he just couldn’t get in on the buzzer this time and once he realized he was in the hole he just started going for broke and guessing which is never a great strategy,” one Reddit user said.
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This story originally appeared on TV Insider
