Final Jeopardy: Geographic Pairs (11-10-22)
Today’s Final Jeopardy question (11/10/2022) in the category “Geographic Pairs” was:
By ferry, the distance between these 2 paired Mediterranean islands is about 40 miles from Alcudia to Ciutadella
In the second semifinal match of the 2022 Tournament of Champions the players are: Matt Amodio, a postdoctoral researcher from Cambridge, MA; John Focht, a software team lead orig. from El Paso, TX; and Sam Buttrey, an associate professor of operations research from Pacific Grove, CA.
Round 1 Categories: All Over the Map – Organizations – Nutrition – 21st Century Bestsellers – Celebs – Drop the Mic
Sam found the Jeopardy! round Daily Double in “Organizations” under the $1,000 clue on the 11th pick of the round. He was in second place with $1,600, $800 less than Matt’s lead. Sam bet it all and he was RIGHT.
Once nearly wiped out for its feathers, the great egret is the logo of this organization show
Sam finished in the lead with $4,600. John was in second place with $4,200 and Matt was last with $4,000. All clues were shown.
Round 2 Categories: The Lore of the Land – Scientific Trios – The Rock Bassist’s Group – We Spy – With Our Little “I” – Something That Is…
Matt found the first Daily Double in “The Lore of the Land” under the $1,600 clue on the first pick. He was in last place with $4,000, $600 less than Sam’s lead. Matt bet it all and he was RIGHT.
The feathers of this creature of Russian legend that lent its name to a ballet were said to provide beauty & protection upon the Earth show
Sam got the last Daily Double in “Scientific Trios” under the $800 clue on the 6th pick of the round. In the lead with $8,600, he had $200 more than Matt in second place. Sam bet $6,000 and he was RIGHT.
Of the 3 main sections of an insect’s body, this one is from the Latin for “breastplate” show
Sam finished in the lead with $23,000. Matt was in second place with $16,800 and John was last with $12,600. All clues were shown.
ALL of the contestants got Final Jeopardy! right.
WHAT ARE MINORCA & MAJORCA?
First, let’s get the spelling out of the way. The most common spellings are Mallorca and Majorca for the larger island. For the smaller island, it’s Menorca and Minorca. Majorca and Minorca are part of the Balearic Islands, an autonomous region of Spain. They are situated off the coast of Spain in the Balearic Sea, an arm of the Mediterranean.
Per kimkim.com, “The distance between the two islands is approximately 42 miles (69 km) and the quickest way to get from one to the other is by plane. Taking one of the several daily ferries from Mallorca’s coastal town of Alcudia to Ciutadella, located on the western side of Menorca, would be the second fastest option.”
John bet $11,400 and finished with $24,000.
Curiously, Matt bet nothing, standing pat on $16,800.
Sam bet $10,601 and won the game with $33,601. Sam Buttrey will join Amy Schneider in the finals. John and Matt are going home, each one richer by $10,000.
2 triple stumpers from 21ST CENTURY BESTSELLERS:
($800) Jon Krakauer reported “A Story of Violent Faith” in this book, detailing 1984 murders by religious extremists in Utah
($1000) A magazine writer uncovers long-held secrets in “The Seven Husbands of” this fictional movie star
2 years ago: TWO of the players got this FJ in “Foreign Words in English”
The first use of this Spanish term in English was by Wellington referring to partisans in the Peninsular Wars show
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Second place should really only bet enough to cover the 3rd place player. Matt’s bet was bad strategy cause he needed both players to miss in order to win. Imagine getting FJ right, in a category that you know well, and losing because of wagering.
That’s exactly what that one contestant did early in Mattea’s run. She would be nowhere right now if that person had wagered appropriately. Now, it looks like she’ll boring her way into TOC champ.
Hoping that the other two players will miss is fraught with peril (which was evident this game). I disagree that it is a “very good strategy”. It’s only good if it works, and that is a big “if”. I thought it was somewhat telling when Ken said that geography was in Matt’s wheelhouse. That was more puzzling.
I thought about his bet some more. All I could come up with is he figured he could only win if Sam was wrong and it didn’t matter if he finished second or third since he was getting 10k either way.
What an exciting match to watch. It did not disappoint. I listened to Sam being interviewed on the Navy Postgraduate School Podcast. He mentioned the J! Archive. He said he was blown away by how much information is kept there to study from. I study it, and the Fikkle Fame archives, frequently when I have the time. This is just to refresh my memory.
I figured the contestants would get fj correct because the response has come up a lot on Jeopardy over the years and I assumed the contestants tonight do study the J! Archive. I remember Matt mentioning the J! Archive once when he was champ. As a matter of fact, I was surprised the clue was a fj clue in a Tournament. It popped up again last year (2021) as a DD but worded differently.
This match made my evening. Thank you all 3 contestants. 👏
Great game tonight, except runaway. All daily doubles and final Jeopardy responses are correct.
And then there were 5.
This was an incredible game by all the gentlemen today. I was also rooting for Sam since he came out on top in the last round. Congrats to everyone getting the final today.
I must confess I also was rooting for Sam. Matt seemed a little distracted in the exhibition game and Sam has always been very good on the buzzer. That’s a rare skill for anyone. When I competed in the finals of the Jeopardy contestant selection, I understood it’s a real advantage to have superior buzzer control.
Woo hoo! That sure was some game. I was rooting for Sam big time. I got the answer to his $6K Daily Double out before he did and told Nikki “Its the only part I know” 🤣
Well you did better than I then. In fact, I didn’t even get the FJ right, but on a positive note, those two islands will be easy to remember the next time that they come up.
I got FJ wrong, too. I said Corsica and Sardinia.
Overall, though, pretty good game! I don’t know what Matt was thinking with a zero wager, though.
And, looking back, I was SO wrong! I didn’t think Sam would win. Well, good on him!
Sam pretty much had to bet $10601 in case Matt was correct and doubled his score. Matt knew this, and could win only if Sam missed FJ. John had to bet his whole wad, or nearly all of it, to try to pass Sam, and hope Sam missed. So Matt’s $0 wager was legit, because if both of the others missed, Matt would win with $16800. Very good strategy, IMO.