[Warning: The below contains MAJOR spoilers for the Tuesday, December 17 episode of Jeopardy!]
Jeopardy! viewers were in for a categorically thrilling matchup on Tuesday night, as Ashley Chan got a real run for her money from both challengers in her fourth win. Fans were especially impressed by Jasmine Zhou, backing her for Second Chance despite a flawed Final Jeopardy wager that, considering the reigning champ’s strategy so far, wasn’t the best bet.
Chan, a publicist from Lewisville, Texas, entered with a combined total of $46,500 after an all-out runaway last episode. The first female three-day champ of Season 41 and since Adriana Harmeyer six months ago, she ditched her ruffled-shoulder outfits but not her momentum. Chan faced Zhou, an ASIC engineer from Woodland, California, and Jordan Carr Peterson (good call on using the middle name), a professor from Knoxville, Tennessee.
In the Jeopardy! round, Chan came out swinging as usual, but Zhou swung back, acing the “Swap a Vowel” Daily Double as “quark and quirk,” to lead into the break. Speaking of quirky, the broadcast returned with Zhou telling an absolute hoot of an anectdote involving driving a truck five feet by using a laptop. She extended her lead to finish with $7,200, Chan with $5,200, Peterson with $3,000.
In Double Jeopardy!, the lighthearted yet competitive nature of the match continued as Chan found the second Daily Double from second place. She regained the lead by nabbing the “From The AFI Catalogue” clue as “Sunset Boulevard” for $3,000. All three players upped their scores, with Chan finding the last Daily Double and painting on another $3000 by knowing the “Art Class” clue was “Post Impressionism.” While the Daily Doubles made the difference, given how well everyone played, this was no runaway. Chan entered Final Jeopardy with $18,800, Zhou with $15,600, and Peterson $10,200. “Ashley still has the lead but look at that, three great scores,” Ken Jennings remarked.
It all hinged on the “Fictional Characters” clue, “Dressed in white in her first scene, this play character says her name means “white woods”” The correct response was “Who is: Blanche DuBois?”
Peterson got it and added $1,800, Zhou was also correct wagered $5,000 to have $20,600 and the lead “at least for the moment,” as Jennings put it.
It all came down to Chan, and the host built suspense by pointing out she had not gotten a Final clue correct so far. She was correct, however, adding $2,100 to survive the scare and win with a mere $300 over Zhou and $20,900.
Fans flooded the Reddit thread for the episode, praising it as a “fantastic game” but noting that if Zhou had gone all-in, especially considering Chan has wagered small in Final all of her run, she would have won instead.
“That was a fantastic game! I wonder if Jasmine will be a potential competitor for the SCT,” one fan wrote.
“Agreed,” wrote another. “Jasmine put up some STIFF competition and was bold with her one DD, even though that category was epic fail for all three up until then. I liked her sense of humor, too. Hope we see her again.”
“Jasmine was great!! Wish she bet more in the final,” wrote a third.
“For the second time during her run, Ashley didn’t bet enough to cover a possible double-up by the second place player,” noted a fourth. “It appears her strategy was to shut out third place if correct, and she bet a little bit extra, which allowed her to edge out Jasmine.”
“Ashley could have a long run, seems to be getting stronger as she goes. This is her first time getting Final! Fun run so far,” wrote a fifth.
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“A great game,” wrote a sixth. “Loved that swap a vowel category and bold DD wager. I’m certain Jasmine will be considered for SC competition. Ashley is a fantastic player, though I’m not certain how she decides how much to wager for DDs or if she likes making true daily doubles. I guess we’ll find out in her next appearance.”
Indeed, Jennings even opened yesterday’s game by announcing that Chan had not bet to cover on Friday’s match (this week’s episode of Inside Jeopardy! podcast was titled “What is An Unconventional Wager?”). So Zhao should have been aware of, and capitalized on, Chan’s small Final wagers. While she likely didn’t listen to the podcast two months in advance, it was announced on-stage earlier in the tape day!
What did you think of the thriller match? Do you think Jasmine Zhou is the first shoo-in for the 2026 Second Chance Competition, given the 2025 postseason cutoff is up? Can Ashley Chan keep it up? Let us know in the comments section below!
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