‘Jeopardy!’ Champ Reacts to Shocking Final Jeopardy Loss: ‘Living Rent-Free in My Head’

ABC

Jeopardy! fans saw big things for one-day champ Evan Jones after a dominant win and anagram prowess in the last episode. With the 2025 Tournament of Champions cutoff looming and technically just one (yes, one!) slot left, Jones’ ToC dreams were dashed on Tuesday by Stevie Ruiz, who sealed the deal with an utterly shocking, one-step-ahead Final Jeopardy wager.

Jones, a software designer from Seattle, Washington, entered with winnings of $17,199 and praise from host Ken Jennings for their “impressive” debut. They faced Ruiz, a front office manager from Montauk, New York, and Luca Gerace, a chef from Toronto, Ontario.

In the Jeopardy! round, things were going Jones’ way as they aced a “Sects” Daily Double as “Sikhism.” As Jennings hilariously put it, the “expert at Sects” led with $5,200, Gerace had $2,800, and Ruiz $2,000. It was looking good for the returning champ.

In Double Jeopardy!, the game became a battle between the first and third podiums as Jones found both Daily Doubles, splitting them by doubling to $11,900 on the second, dropping $4,000 on the remaining. All the while, Jones quietly mounted a lead, charging into Final Jeopardy after several lead changes in front with $18,400, Jones held $15,100, and Gerace $2,000. “What a round Stevie had!” Jennings remarked.

It all hinged on the “19th Century European Literature” clue which was, “An early version of this novel was first published as a serial under the title “The Year 1805.”

Gerace dropped to $1,980 incorrectly responding, “A Farewell to Arms.” Next was Jones, who incorrectly responded “A Tale of Two Cities.” They dropped just $3,301 to have $11,799 and were grinning, seemingly expecting to survive the scare. The small wager from second place appeared like it was about to pay off.

Finally, Ruiz from the lead revealed he was also wrong with Dickens’ “Great Expectations.” Jennings shared that the correct response to the triple-stumper was “War and Peace.” The host then asked Ruiz, “Did you go big?”

Ruiz burst into a sly grin as it was revealed that instead of wagering to cover, he ingeniously wagered $413. In a huge surprise, the savvy Chess move made him the new champ with $17,987. “That was the right wager!” Jennings exclaimed. “What a great game!”

Fans flooded the Reddit thread for the episode, sharing their thoughts on Ruiz’ showstopping Final Jeopardy move that played the outgoing champ like a fiddle and the thriller game.

“Very savvy wagers from Stevie (as well as Evan). Three very likeable players and a close game. Oh, and innuendo from Ken. Sectsy,” one fan wrote.

“Really fun game to watch. Evan’s attitude and demeanor was so pleasant that I am a bit sad to see [them] go, but not without giving props to Stevie totally crushing it in DJ,” wrote another.

Jones chimed into the thread to share their thoughts, admitting they were “assuming” Ruiz would bet to cover and that the timespan between wagers was the “wildest emotional delta” they’ve experienced.

“What a game! What a Final Jeopardy! Still haven’t seen the episode yet, but of course this moment has lived rent-free in my head for the last two months,” Jones began.

“Stevie was leading me into FJ, and I assumed that, like the vast majority of players, he would wager to cover me. I knew I couldn’t win if he was correct and made the conventional wager, and I figured a Triple Stumper was more likely than me getting it and Stevie missing, so I didn’t want to risk too much. I wagered to put myself $1 ahead of Stevie’s pre-FJ score if I was correct, just in case he wagered zero.”

“If you want to know one of the wildest emotional deltas I’ve ever experienced, it was the five or so seconds between when Ken revealed that Stevie was incorrect (“oh my gosh, did I just pull this off?”) and when they revealed his small wager (“no, I definitely didn’t.”)”

“Given Stevie’s choice of small wager, I don’t think this was a winnable game for me – if I had been leading Stevie into FJ, I would have wagered for the lockout and missed. To have had a prayer, I would have needed to have so much of a lead over Stevie so as to be able to make a small wager and force him to be correct, and that was just not happening against a player as smart and fast on the buzzer as him.”

They closed, “Congratulations to Stevie, and good game to Luca! Playing Jeopardy! was an incredible adventure and I’d do it again in a heartbeat.”

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What did you think of the game? Were you expecting Stevie Ruiz’ well-played wager? Will he snatch what would be the last Tournament of Champions ticket since the ToC cutoff is Friday (and postseason starts airing on December 30)? Do you think Luca will enjoy his 13th year at Shambhala fest? Let us know in the comments section!

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