[Warning: The below contains MAJOR spoilers for the Monday, November 11 episode of Jeopardy!]
Jeopardy! fans were in for a “dominating” new champ on Monday, November 11’s episode, and a hilarious joke from the shady clue writers at host Ken Jennings’ expense. The host just can’t catch a break regarding his low — or rather, “hoe” — point from his contestant days.
Rachel Marcus, a writer and consultant from New York City, entered as the one-day champ with winnings of $20,600 after a thriller match that some dubbed the “best game of 2024.” She faced Chris Spencer, a medical writer from Washington, D.C., and Joey DeSena, a development engineer from Raleigh, North Carolina.
In the Jeopardy! round, DeSena was mounting a lead when he selected the $200 “All A Board” clue, which involved different types of boards. Jennings read the photo clue: “It’s the delicious advertising item in use here.” The screen showed a stock photo of a man holding a “sandwich board”—the correct answer. But instead of a lunch special, the board (below) read, “What is a Hoe?”This playful jab referenced Jennings’ infamous “hoe/rake” mix-up during his 74-game winning streak in 2004. Jennings was laughing as he called on DeSena, who correctly answered, “Sandwich board?” Jennings collected himself and replied, “Correct; that sandwich board is giving me flashbacks.” The player and audience burst out laughing.
Meanwhile, DeSena was no joke gameplay-wise, and by the end of the round, he led with $9,200, Marcus had $2,600, and Spencer $2,000. Jennings remarked: “Joey’s got a big lead.”
In Double Jeopardy!, DeSena continued to put on a clinic, finding and acing both Daily Doubles back-to-back. He added $3,200 on the “NO. 1 BESTSELLER THAT YEAR” seeking “Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy.” But he only bet $1000 on the “MEXICAN STATE CAPITALS” clue despite a wide lead. So while he knew it was “Yucitan,” he didn’t quite put the game away. Going into Final Jeopardy, he led at $18,200, Spencer at a respectable $9,400, Marcus right behind at $8,000.
The “19th CENTURY AMERICA” clue was, “It caused rich amusement that the name of this President, whose wife didn’t allow dancing, was similar to that of a dance. It was a triple-stumper as no one came up with the correct response of “Polk.” As Jennings explained, “Polk could not polka.” Joey dropped a mere $703 to win and become the new champ with $17,497.
Fans flooded social media appreciating the writers for the unexpected but always welcome dirt-throwing at Jennings, and envisioning big things for the new champ after he went 3/3 on the Daily Doubles.
“They teach you that in school in Utah, huh?,” one Facebook user wrote in a fan group reacting to the moment.
“I GOT THE JOKE. NICE ONE,” wrote another.
“I know it’s early but I think Joey could be at least a 4 day champion,” wrote a third in the Reddit thread for the epiosde. “He was dominating for the most part.”
“Every day is different from the next,” wrote a fourth arguing it’s too early to call, and pointing to his conservative DD3 wager. “Different subjects, different competitors – unless someone totally demolishes the competition, it’s pretty difficult to read much out of a single game. And, FWIW, Joey didn’t particularly optimize his DD opportunities – again, it could have simply been the categories.”
“I wonder if there is going to be a lot of dislike for this FJ,” wrote a fifth. I think it’s fun and a little silly. It’s challenging because you could overlook it even if you can easily recall the president’s over that period.
“I got it but had to pause, so I would not have gotten it in time, as I was going backwards from McKinley and considering both first and last names,” wrote a sixth.
“Way better than the 3 musketeers one I think it was a really good gettable one in 30 seconds honestly,” wrote one more.
What did you think of the game? Does Joey DeSena have the makings of a multi-day champ? And did you get the Ken Jennings “hoe/rake” reference? Let us know in the comments section below!
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