Jeopardy! prize money question

Cafe Society
1

The other day (daytime edition, so it would have been an older episode), none of the three players got Final Jeopardy correct. Two players wagered all they had, and finished with $0.

At the end, when each player’s winnings were displayed on the podiums, one of the losers showed $2000 (second place prize) and the other showed $1000 (third place prize). The $2000 player had gone into Final with more money; was that the tie-breaker? She was also the previous defending champion, but I can’t imagine that was a factor. If they had finished with a dollar amount instead of $0, but still tied, would that have made a difference?

Pretty sure I’ve seen players tie for first before. If I’m not mistaken, they become “co-champions,” both keep their winnings and both come back the next day. By the same logic, shouldn’t a second-place tie result in both players getting $2000?

2

What is “I think that’s the way it works”, Alex, for $600.

3

That’s how they used to do it, but not any more. Now there’s a tie-breaker question. (I am unsure if it has actually come up since the rule change.)

4

It has not. There have been several situations where a tie could have been possible with the scores going into FJ, but none have yet to result in the tie-breaker question. IIRC recently there was an episode where *both *the other players had exactly 50% of the leader’s score, and it still did not end with a tie.

5

And 3 weeks later…it finally HAS come up in tonight’s episode.

6

And how did it work, exactly? Was it like a regular Jeopardy-round question where one of the contestants had to ring in first with the correct response? Or was it like a Final Jeopardy question where both contestants gave a written response? If so, did they have to wager as well?

7

A ring in - they gave the category and clue, then the contestants had to ring in. Presumably if the one who’d rung in had got it wrong, the other one would get a free guess (in a two-way tie), but she got it right, so that’s speculation.

8

From Jeopardy!

If there are two or three players tied for first place after each contestant unveils their Final Jeopardy! response, Alex will present one more category and read the clue. The clue has no dollar value and does not increase the player’s winnings. The first contestant to buzz in and respond correctly is declared the winner. Should all participating contestants fail to provide a correct response, this process is repeated until one contestant responds correctly.

Gotta get it right.

9

Honestly, if the $2000 “winner” went in with more they should have gotten 3rd place, as they lost more in the final round.