Final Jeopardy: Island Names (2-4-26)

The Final Jeopardy question (2/4/2026) in the category “Island Names” was:

This archipelago got its name in 1493 in honor of St. Ursula & her followers

Game 3 of the 2026 Tournament of Champions finals is about to unfold, featuring: Scott Riccardi, an engineer from Somerville, NJ;; Paolo Pasco, a puzzle writer from San Diego, CA; and TJ Fisher, a marketing specialist from San Francisco, CA.

AT THE GATE: SCOTT 0 * PAOLO 2 * TJ 0

Round 1 Categories: Infection: Staff – Breaking in – Prefixes & Word Parts – Peninsulas – Business in the Front – Party in the Back

Scott found the Jeopardy! round Daily Double in “Peninsulas” under the $800 clue on the 2nd pick of the round. He was the only one on the board with $1,000. Scott bet that $1,000, and he was RIGHT.

Rennes is the capital of this region protruding as a peninsula into the Atlantic Ocean with the English Channel to the North show

WHAT IS BRITTANY?

Scott finished in the lead with $5,000. Paolo was second with $4,200, and TJ was last with $2,200. All clues were shown.

Round 2 Categories: What a Concept – Old Times – Alliterative People – Get a Load of This Pair – Gimme a Letter! – Unsatisfying Literary Endings

Paolo found the first Daily Double in “Get a Load of this Pair” under the $1,600 clue on the 9th pick of the round. He was in the lead with $9,400 now, $2,800 more than Scott in second place. Paolo bet $7,400 and he was RIGHT.

Lewis & Clark met during these “directional” military campaigns in the 1790s (a direction they’d later travel) show

WHAT ARE THE NORTHWEST WARS?

On the very next pick, Paolo got the last Daily Double in “What a Concept?” under the $1,200 clue. In the lead with $16,800, he had $10,200 more than Scott in second place. Paolo bet $6,000 and he was RIGHT.

In a 1968 speech MLK said he’d “been to” this location “…& I’ve looked over, & I’ve seen the promised land” show

WHAT IS THE MOUNTAINTOP?

Paolo finished in the lead with a runaway $33,200. Scott was in second place with $7,400. TJ was last with $5,800. All clues were shown.

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NONE of the contestants got Final Jeopardy! right.

WHAT ARE THE VIRGIN ISLANDS?

Christopher Columbus, so the story goes, passed by a group of islands in 1793 on the feast day of St. Ursula and named them in honor of Ursula and her many followers. Columbus, as you know, was representing Spain in these matters and handing out Spanish names. He named the islands “Santa Ursula y las Once Mil Vírgenes” (“Saint Ursula and the Eleven Thousand Virgins”), which was later shortened to “Las Vírgenes” (“The Virgins”). They are called the “Virgin Islands” in English (“Islas Vírgenes” in Spanish).

You can learn about St. Ursula and the martyred virgins on the website of the Ursulines of the Eastern Province.

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TJ opted for a shoutout instead of trying to answer the FJ! clue. He lost $1,601 and finished with $4,199.

Scott congratulated Paolo in lieu of an island guess. He lost $4,600 and finished with $2,800.

Paolo also had a shoutout. He lost $143 and won the game with $33,057. So with 3 runaway games in as many days, Paolo won the 2026 Tournament of Champions and the top prize of $250,000. Scott and TJ won $75,000 each.

AT THE FINISH LINE: SCOTT 0 * PAOLO 3 * TJ 0

2 triple stumpers from UNSATISFYING LITERARY ENDINGS:

($800) This final story in “Dubliners”: no fight, no big speech, no dramatic departure from the mortal coil; just a guy watching snow

($2000) This 18th century “autobiography”: the ending is a cock-&-bull story (literally); I still know nothing about the title guy’s life

More clues on Page 2

2 years ago: NONE of the players got this FJ in “WONDERS OF THE ANCIENT WORLD”

Achilles Tatius wrote that it “was like a mountain… at the top of this mountain rose a second sun” show

WHAT IS THE LIGHTHOUSE OF ALEXANDRIA?

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