[Warning: The below contains MAJOR spoilers for the October 1 episode of Jeopardy!]
Jeopardy! champ Ryan Manton was either stumped by the final clue or intentionally didn’t answer it for the second game in a row in the Tuesday, October 1 episode. The returning champ found himself primed to win his second consecutive runaway game in a row, so his final answer didn’t really matter. Like in his first game, Manton dedicated his last answer to his wife, who was a contestant on the game show in Season 37.
Manton is a systems administrator from Columbus, Ohio. He’s one-day champ with $22,178 winnings thanks to his runaway game on September 30. He was competing against Mike McComb, a project manager originally from Dearborn, Michigan; and Brooke Levine, a workforce manager from Old Bridge, New Jersey in the episode.
Manton won all three Daily Doubles in his first game but didn’t have the same luck in his second. McComb found the first two Daily Doubles in the October 1 episode, but he answered both incorrectly, making it impossible for him to catch up to Manton’s high score later on in the match. Manton found the third Daily Double and answered correctly.
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By the time Final Jeopardy came around, Manton was already set for his second consecutive runaway victory so long as he didn’t bet too much money in the final round. (A runaway game is when the lead player’s score is more than double the score of the player in second place.)
The category was “Sitcoms,” and the clue was, “The first British sitcom to win a Best Comedy Golden Globe, it was remade in a U.S. version that had almost 15 times as many episodes.” The answer was, “What is The Office?” McComb and Levine’s correct responses and bets weren’t enough to catch up with Manton, who dedicated his answer to his wife when writing, “I still love you, Lauren.” His Final Jeopardy answer during his first game was, “I love you, Lauren.”
Manton only wagered $22. The final scores were Manton with $21,600, McComb with $10,000, and Levine with $1,200.
Manton revealed his wife’s connection to Jeopardy! during his interview in the September 30 game. “My now wife, Lauren —my girlfriend at the time — was on Jeopardy! about three years ago,” he told Ken Jennings. “She was on your last guest hosting episode.”
Lauren Menke competed in the February 19, 2021 episode back in Season 37. She finished in third place. Time will tell if her husband can pull off a third runaway game in a row on October 2.
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