Jeopardy! fans were left stunned on Wednesday (February 14) when only one contestant correctly answered what many deemed an “easy” Final Jeopardy clue.
The latest episode of Champions Wildcard saw a face-off between Vince Bacani, a risk manager from Montreal, Quebec, Canada, Ilhana Redzovic, an investment associate from Chicago, Illinois, and Elliott Kim, a television editor from Los Angeles, California.
In a strongly contested battle, each contestant gave it their all, and things were fairly close after the first round. Bacani led the way with $5,600, Redzovic followed closely behind with $3,400, and Kim trailed with $2,200.
Bacani and Redzovic continued to go back and forth throughout the Double Jeopardy round while Kim fell further behind. Going into Final Jeopardy, Bacani led with $16,600; Redzovic stood at $10,600 and Kim at $4,600.
Host Ken Jennings unveiled the Final Jeopardy clue under the “Broadway Plays” category. The clue read: “Rita Moreno & Sally Struthers were the first to star in the female version of this comedy, their characters becoming Olive & Florence.”
While many viewers thought this was a relatively easy clue, two of the three contestants struggled with it. In fact, Kim didn’t even bother to give a legitimate answer, instead writing, “What is Happy Valentine’s Day EK <3 HK” and only wagering $1.
Redzovic attempted a guess, answering, “Two Gentlemen of Verona?” This was incorrect and led to her dropping to $0 after wagering her entire amount.
Only Bacani provided the correct response, writing “The Odd Couple,” the 1965 Neil Simon play that was turned into a 1968 film and 1970s television series before spinning off into a female-led adaptation in 1985.
Jeopardy, Inc!
“I am shocked. I thought that was an easy FJ but only one got it,” wrote one fan on the Jeopardy! Reddit forum.
“Me too! Two out three is bad in this case, am I right?” replied another commenter.
Another added, “After all those triple stumpers last week, I thought today’s FJ was a third straight pop fly. Broadway comedy; two female leads instead of males; surprised only Vince got it.”
“I am pretty bad at theater so I was very pleased with myself for getting FJ tonight!” said another.
“I can hardly believe I got a Broadway question. Not my category. The fact the female names begin with the same letters as the male version characters is a big hint,” wrote one YouTube commenter.
“I hate Broadway and I knew this instantly…geez guys get better,” said one fan, while another wrote, “Too easy. WAY too easy.”
Bacani will now move on to the semi-finals of the Wildcard tournament. The overall victor will join Group 1 winner Juveria Zaheer in earning a spot in the upcoming Tournament of Champions, which kicks off on Friday, February 23.
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