JEOPARDY! champ Rowan Ward is becoming a major threat to icons like Amy Schneider and Matt Amodio, fans predicted after an “unstoppable” performance on Thursday.
The game show is airing its Second Chance competition instead of regular episodes.
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Writer Rowan from Chicago, Illinois went up against Sadie Goldberger – of the “Harriet Tubman” signature snub – and Jack Weller – a law student from San Diego, California.
The three players may seem like familiar faces because they are – they’ve competed before and scored a ‘Second Chance’ at greatness.
Starting last Monday, 18 power players who nearly won during their first Jeopardy! games last year were invited back for the two-week redemption games, which have never been done before.
One of them (the first slot went to Jessica Stephens last week) will score the last remaining slot in the Tournament of Champions which airs directly afterward this Monday.
All three contestants won earlier matches this week and it’s now down to just them for that last position.
But after tonight’s smackdown from Rowan, fans think the rising star will not only advance to the Tournament of Champions but will do serious damage there.
By just the first commercial break, Rowan soared to $11.2K.
They found all three Daily Doubles, and wagered everything they had on each one – making the game highly watchable.
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On the second randomly placed clue – where players can wager from their earnings – Rowan had a misstep and lost $8000, but, what do you know, another Daily Double popped up one clue later.
They rebounded instantly gaining back $5000 and controlling the board the whole way.
Even host Ken Jennings, 48, had to admit: “Rowan’s got a big lead going into Final Jeopardy, but remember it’s a two-game final.”
The other two players still have a chance tomorrow night as their scores tonight and tomorrow are combined – though it’s looking slim.
‘THAT WAS ABSURD’
Final Jeopardy read: “He turned to opera with the 1903 work “Guest of Honor”, likely inspired by Booker T. Washington’s dinner at the White House”
Rowan and Sadie got it correct with “Joplin?” but at that point the blue-haired brainiac had upstaged the rest.
Betting $0, they shrugged with a grin and won with $30,000 (even having lost $8000 earlier), Sadie with 4,800 and Jack $3,400.
Fans are buzzing as one Tweeted: “Calling it now: Rowan is going to destroy Amodio, and I’m looking forward to seeing that go down.”
Another posted: “Rowan is living their best life during this game and I am here for it.”
A Reddit user wrote: “Rowan is going to be an absolute force to reckon with if they make it in the Tournament of Champions.”
And a fourth wrote: “$30,000 with a missed $8,000 wager is frankly absurd.”
A fifth claimed on the stats: “Rowan got the first buzz on 42 out of 60 clues.”
“That’s an incredibly dominant performance on the buzzer that could take them far against Matt [Amodio] and Amy [Schneider] in the Tournament of Champions.”
One more agreed: “God damn. Jack and Sadie are super strong players and it just didn’t matter today.”
“Rowan slayed. I guess it’s pretty obvious at this point that Rowan is going to advance.”
In the player’s semi-final game earlier this week – having lost to Amodio in their original 2021 match – Ken had to reassure the other two they even stood a chance as Rowan “went on a tear.”
‘THEY CAN BEAT ANYBODY’
Two Jeopardy! figures also exclusively told The U.S. Sun before the special comeback contest aired that they predicted Rowan as one of the two Second Chance winners.
One insider told The U.S. Sun: “The way that Rowan plays I feel that they can beat anybody.”
“Rowan played Matt Amodio really tough in the final game of Season 37 and led up to the first round.”
“But just in terms of quizzing ability and command of the signaling device, I feel that Rowan could more than hold their own with anyone in the Tournament of Champions field.”
Rowan immersed themselves in the Zoom trivia world since their original match and it’s clearly paying off.
The player was also spotted at an honors event by The U.S. Sun in the crowd, which took place after both tournaments taped.
SECOND TIME’S THE CHARM
Jeopardy!’s brand new season premiered on September 12th.
Regular episodes and reigning ace Cris Pannullo will return in a month after both this competition and the Tournament of Champions conclude.
The 21 contestants in the following Tournament of Champions starting October 31st include Amy (40 wins) Mattea Roach (23 wins), Matt (38 wins), Ryan Long (16 wins) Jackie Kelly (4) Christine Whelchel (4) and other legends.
Both specials will be hosted by Ken and will air at the usual time of 7 p.m.
Ken will step aside from the iconic game show in January so that co-host Mayim Bialik – now handling Celebrity Jeopardy! – can take the reins.
Over the summer, he and actress Mayim were officially announced as the permanent replacements for the late, great Alex Trebek.
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