‘Jeopardy!’ Contestant Goes To Final Jeopardy All By Herself — Spoiler: She Won
A very rare thing indeed happened on Jeopardy! this week. On the episode that aired Wednesday, two contestants finished the Double Jeopardy round in the negative, meaning that only one contestant played Final Jeopardy, People is reporting.
Kristin Sausville, a 34-year-old stay-at-home mom from Delaware, was the only contestant to survive Double Jeopardy — she did so with $8,400 — and make it to the Final Jeopardy round. Host Alex Trebek noted the event with his usual dry humor.
“This was not one of our greatest days. Kristin, I think you’re going to win.”
Surprisingly, being the only contestant in Final Jeopardy was harder on Kristin than you’d think it would be.
“It was more nerve-racking to be the only person on stage. On the one hand, it was nice not to have to worry about what anyone else was wagering, but at the same time, it meant that all of the contestant coordinators, compliance people and stage crew were standing around me.”
In the event that Sony takes down the video of Kristin’s performance, here’s how Final Jeopardy played out. The category was “The U.S. Government,” and the answer was, “On August 15, 1994, 59 years and 1 day after FDR signed the original act, Bill Clinton made this an independent agency.” Kristin guessed — incorrectly — the FDIC, wagering $1,600 (apparently hoping to end the day with an even $10,000) and ending the day with $6,800. The correct answer was “The Social Security Administration.”
“The vibe in the studio was shock. I hadn’t realized that both of the other contestants were in the negative. My husband Justin was in the audience and later told me that there had been a lot of questions as to whether it had happened before.”
It actually has happened before, at least once.
In a rather epic confirmation of the notion that it’s a small world, it turns out that Kristin has a connection to another contestant in Jeopardy! history who has gone into Final Jeopardy alone, according to Fox News. Kristin’s husband, Justin, had also competed on Jeopardy! — in the Tournament of Champions, no less — and competed against the player who entered Final Jeopardy alone.
[Image courtesy of: People]
