‘Jeopardy!’ Contestant Takes Control Early & Never Looks Back

Will returning champion Tom Devlin score a three-peat? It was another night of trivia triumphs, wordplay, and massive wins on Jeopardy! as Devlin returned to defend his title.

On the Thursday, October 23, episode, the attorney from Washington, D.C., defended his title against poet and podcaster Elijah Perseus Blumov from Evanston, Illinois, and teacher Jack Tomlin from Lynchburg, Virginia. Devlin hoped to add to his already impressive bank, a two-day cash earnings of $43,199.

Devlin started out the game with “Beer Me” for $800: “Brewed since 1928, this beer sponsored the Jamaican women’s bobsled team for a time.” With the correct answer of “Red Stripe,” Devlin was off to a great start.

The first Daily Double was found on the sixth question by Devlin, hiding under “That’s Totally Sus” for $800. With a wager of $2,600, the clue was: “A boy ‘known by the sobriquet of’ this tells Oliver Twist about a free place to stay in London; what could go wrong?” With the correct answer of “The Artful Dodger,” Devlin took an impressive lead with $5,200, while both Blumov and Tomlin still had $0.

The trio got through 15 questions before the break, with the last clue in “Tough 6-Letter Vocab” for $800. With the answer, “John Glenn helped popularize this Yiddish-ish word for a mechanical malfunction,” Tomlin responded correctly with “glitch,” to which host Ken Jennings remarked, “We might not be saying ‘glitch’ if not for John Glenn.”

With Tomlin’s correct answer, the amounts before the break stood at Devlin with $7,000, Tomlin with $0, and Blumov in third place with -$1,600. By the end of the first round, Devlin had answered an impressive 17 clues correctly.

While getting to know the contestants, Tomlin shared a story about how his wife’s laughing gas helped the entire family as she was in labor, while Blumov explained that his love of hip-hop, wordplay, and English helped him become a poet. “You look like a poet. The guy just looks like a poet,” joked Jennings. Returning champ Devlin talked about his time on SportsCenter thanks to his enthusiasm for the Red Sox.

In the second half of the game, the trio hit a Triple Stumper under “Disney Characters” for $1,000: “In this film, Catherine O’Hara voiced Sally, a rag doll resentful of her creator Dr. Finkelstein.” As no one knew the answer, “The Nightmare Before Christmas,” it confirmed the lack of Disney or Tim Burton fans among the trio.

By the end of the first round, Devlin had a staggering lead with $9,400, while Tomlin was in second place with $1,400 and Blumov was in third with -$600.

In Double Jeopardy, Blumov managed to get into the black with “Book Ends” for $2,000: “At the end of this novel, Newland Archer looks up at the apartment of the love of his life and heads back to his hotel.” With the correct answer of “The Age of Innocence,” Blumov was on the board with $1,400.

The first Daily Double of Double Jeopardy was found by Devlin under “You Are Wrong” for $1,200: “The French are generous with terms for blunders, having given us faux pas and this 5-letter word for a public mistake.” With a wager of $4,000 against his $12,200, Devlin was visibly upset at his inability to know the clue. “It’s not what is foible? That’s not it,” said the champ in disappointment. “Sorry, if you’ll allow me to say it, you are wrong,” said Jennings to lighten the mood. The correct answer was “gaffe.”

Devlin then found the second Daily Double when he chose “An Italian Renaissance Man” for $800. He bet $6,000 on the clue, “Marsilio Ficino knew this family and founded his Platonic Academy, an intellectual hub of the It-Ren, at their villa near Florence.” With the correct answer of “What is the Medici?,” Devlin brought his lead to $17,000, well ahead of his competitors, as Blumov had $2,600 and Tomlin had $5,400.

As the contestants moved into Final Jeopardy, Devlin was far ahead of Tomlin and Blumov with a total of $27,000. Tomlin was in second place with $7,800, and Blumov was in third with $3,400.

In Final Jeopardy, the category was “South America” with the clue: “An airport at this South American city is named for archaeologist Maria Reiche, who was known as the ‘Lady of the Lines.’” Blumov answered, “What is Lima?,” an incorrect answer he wagered $3,399 against, bringing his total to $1. Tomlin answered, “What is Kuzco? Hi Ryliegh,” an incorrect answer, but as he wagered $0, his total remained the same at $7,800.

Returning champ Devlin answered, “What is Nazca?” That was the correct answer. With a wager of $2,200, Devlin’s final take was $30,000, bringing his total three-day tally to $73,199 as he became the three-day Jeopardy! champion.

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