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It takes a lot to shock veteran Jeopardy host Alex Trebek, but on Wednesday night, two Teen Tournament contestants managed to do just that when they sent the show to an ultra-rare tiebreaker. At the end of Final Jeopardy, high schoolers Jackson Jones and Avi Gupta were tied with $39,200 each, and Trebek had no choice but to implement the rarely-seen face-off game. “To be honest, ladies and gentlemen, I can’t recall the last time we had to go to a tiebreaker,” said the baffled Jeopardy host.
With $19,600 each, Jones and Gupta were neck-and-neck heading into Final Jeopardy. They both answered a question about Ebenezer Scrooge correctly — “Hard and sharp as flint…he iced his office in the dog-days; and didn’t thaw it one degree at Christmas” — and, taking a page out of James Holzhauer’s book, chose to bet it all. “If you risked everything, we will have a tie,” said Trebek before Gupta’s wager was revealed. “You did! That means we have to go to a tiebreaker!”
“To be honest, ladies and gentlemen, I can’t recall the last time we had to go to a tiebreaker,” continued the host. We’ll help you out, Trebek: the most recent tiebreaker — and the first-ever in regular game play — happened in March 2018. Before that, the tiebreaker was last seen in 2014, during another Teen Tournament game. Clearly the teens love ties!
Jeopardy‘s tiebreaker functions like a fast-action Final Jeopardy. “I will give you the category. I will reveal the clue. The first one to ring in with the correct response will be a finalist,” explained Trebek before revealing the category to be “American History.” Despite the opportunities provided by the category, the question was insanely easy: “Types of it you could find in Boston Harbor on December 16, 1773 included Souchong and Bohea.” Gupta was the first contestant to ring in with the answer (“tea,” duh), securing his spot in the Teen Tournament Final.
“What a finish!” said Trebek. “I hope our two finals are as exciting.”
Watch the Jeopardy tiebreaker in the clip above. The two-night Teen Tournament Final airs Thursday, June 27 and Friday, June 28. To find the exact time and channel in your area, visit the Jeopardy website.
