DESPITE winning his fifth straight Jeopardy! game, champ Mark Fitzpatrick admitted he ‘got his butt whooped’ after his impressive opponent ‘had him by the ropes.’
Though it looked like Mark’s victorious streak may have come to an end tonight, he still came out on top and boosted his five-day total to over $107k.
On Thursday’s game, the content manager from Connecticut went up against Mike Obstgarten, a test-prep coach & tutor from Henderson, Nevada and Cynthia Bullock, a nonprofit executive from Colorado Springs.
Throughout the game, Mark and Mike swapped leads with one taking it over from the other several times.
Mark came out strong with an early lead at the first break with $2,600 and Cynthia with $2,000.
Mike blew his earnings and had just $0 by the end of the first round.
However, he quickly earned a hefty by the Double Jeopardy! amount with $3,600 – though Mark had already worked his way up to $5,000.
The lead then turned back to Mike however, Mark was able to grab it back when he got lucky on the board.
Mark swept all three Daily Double categories – adding $1,000 to his score with the first clue.
He got the second one correct on a true Daily Double, increasing his score by $6,100 while the third find gave him another $3,000.
Going into Final Jeopardy! Mark had accumulated $18,600 while Mike fell behind after a few pricey mistakes with $12,800.
Cynthia, who remained in third much of the game, had $4,400 going into the final round.
After three straight games where the Final Jeopardy! ended in a triple stumper, the curse was finally broken as Mark and Mike got it right tonight.
“More than 25 cast members from this 1990 film drama would later appear on an HBO series with a similar theme,” host Ken Jennings read of the final clue under the Movies category.
“What is Goodfellas?” was the correct response, which only Cynthia missed.
JACKPOT!
Mark wagered $7,001 to walk away with $25,601 – marking his five-day at $107,201.
The final score for Mike was $12,800 while Cynthia left the game with $1,400.
Mark’s win was extra significant as it made him the first season 41 contestant to qualify for Tournament of Champions.
Commenting on the game after, Mark wrote: “Wow! I got my a** whooped!”
“Please. It was like watching a Rocky movie. Seeing you on the ropes only to pull it out at the end,” a fan assuringly responded.
“Mike was very strong! He had 20 correct responses to Mark’s 18,” someone pointed out.
Other viewers made note of how cutthroat the gameplay was tonight.
Jeopardy! 2025 Tournament of Champions
Jeopardy!’s next Tournament of Champions will take place this winter, midway through Season 41 (exact airdate TBA) and it’s shaping up to be another showstopper. Here’s who is officially eligible so far:
- Adriana Harmeyer (15 wins and $349,600 total)
- Isaac Hirsch (nine wins and $215,390)
- Survivor alum Drew Basile (seven wins and $129,601)
- Alison Betts (5 wins and $121,500)
- Dr. Amy Hummel (5 wins and $100,994)
- Lisa Ann Walter (winner of Celebrity Jeopardy! 2024)
- Grant DeYoung (four wins and $81,203)
- Amar Kakirde (four wins and $55,899)
The prize for winning the ToC is $250,000 and a coveted slot in Jeopardy! Masters.
Jeopardy.com notes: “All 4-time and over winning players starting from 04/10/24 will be eligible for a future Tournament of Champions.”
“Presence on this list does NOT guarantee an invitation to compete. Other eligibility rules apply and final selection is up to the producers’ sole discretion.”
“Great game. Mike had Mark on the ropes, but that Ahab/Ishmael misstep potentially cost him the game, since Mark found DD3 on the very next clue (and there weren’t many places left it could have been),” a fan said.
While another noted: “A good and competitive game for today. But yeah the incorrect answer from Mike allowed Mark to regain control, find the Daily Double an get the lead.
“Although the bet from Mark left more to be desired. And the game turned into a classic two third game scenario, thus going all in or making big bets in FJ would be a horribly bad wager.
“Mark made the standard cover wager, correct move on his part. Hopefully Mike can get a shot at Second Chance if there’s one. Now that Mark finally won his 5th game, can he wrap up the week with a victory?”
Many also agreed Mike deserves a spot in the upcoming Second Chance Tournament.
