JEOPARDY! sensation Alison Betts has lost on Thursday’s episode after winning five games, $121,500 total, and the hearts of fans.
Alison fell short against Marko Saric and Rob Blumenstein on a gotcha-style Final Jeopardy clue that duped all three players the same way.
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After a concerning win on Wednesday with eight wrong answers, the writer and creative executive from San Jose, California, returned burnt but not bitter.
Ken Jennings opened the game by wondering if we were witnessing a “super-champ in the making,” but unfortunately, he was incorrect.
After the Jeopardy! round, Alison led with $5,000 despite her first-ever Daily Double miss, Rob had $3,600, and Marko $4,400.
In Double Jeopardy!, Rob snatched the lead on the second Daily Double but stayed in the same category, so Marko found the last one, leading to a nail-biter where anyone could win.
In Final Jeopardy, Marko had $12,900, Alison was right behind with $11,000, and Rob had $9,600.
“All great scores,” Ken applauded while presenting the category as “Alphabetical America.”
The crucial clue read, “Until Alabama became the 22nd state, this one was first alphabetically.”
Everyone incorrectly wrote “Arkansas,” and the correct answer was revealed to be “Connecticut.”
Rob made a huge wager and dropped to $1, while Alison dropped to $2,500.
Marko dropped $9,101, giving him a razor-thin win and the new winner with $3,799 as he looked bewildered and Alison applauded.
‘NOT AN EASY ASK’
Fans took to social media to debate whether the clue was a stretch, as it involved figuring out the alphabetical order of the states and a misdirection.
Arkansas gained statehood in 1836, so the players seemingly didn’t realize the clue was asking for the next chronological state of the original 13 colonies.
“I Can’t believe that FJ. Ridiculous response by all three,” one Facebook user wrote.
“The correct response depended on knowing when each state entered the union. Not an easy ask in only 30 seconds,” wrote another.
“Anybody else feel like tonight’s @Jeopardy final question was awkwardly phrased?” wrote a third.
“I miss Alison,” wrote a fourth on Reddit. “I just knew the entire group would struggle on the trick FJ bc their minds went to the general ABC order. I knew the order in which they became states and ruled out ALL a’s”
A fifth replied, “I don’t know how this is a “trick FJ.” The answer they all gave is west of the correct response – which logically suggests it became a state later.”
A sixth wrote, “I’m dead certain that if they knew Arkansas came later, all three would say Connecticut. They all just misremembered order of entry to the union.”
“If anything, the tricky part is just asking contestants to go through alphabetical lists in their heads in 30 seconds.”
Another contestant wrote in the thread, “For what it’s worth, only 1 of the 10 people watching from the green room got this FJ unassisted.”
Many others posted they got the clue and were surprised, that said.
One more wrote, “Fun game. Marko seems legit, let’s see how far he can go. And so happy we’ll be able to see Alison again in the ToC.
Marko, a math professor from Chapel Hill, North Carolina, and Vanna White fan is now the one to beat.
He will face two new challengers on tomorrow’s episode, while Alison will return for the next Tournament of Champions.
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ALL ABOUT ALISON!
Last week brought the long-awaited return to normal games after a flurry of Jeopardy! tournaments.
Ironically enough, it took just one game before the season’s first streaker arrived in Alison.
Alison is a mom of two who has a degree in Film and Media Studies from Arizona State University and is now a full-time writer.
She has developed and written movie pilot scripts and served as the head speechwriter and communications director for a U.S. Senate Campaign.
Although she may be done until the next ToC, she has much to be proud of.
The blonde brainiac went 10/11 on Daily Doubles, and three of five runaway wins, no small feat.
During her first win last Thursday, she came in hot with a story about once sharing a “passionate” kiss with an alligator.
During her second win, she shared her family is frequented by her neighbor’s cat Ninja, whom she thought was a stray and began calling “Biscuit.”
The laughs kept coming as Alison revealed that her husband has outplayed her at air hockey except on “international waters,” and she sent celebratory Zoom balloons during a work layoff meeting.
She also rung in with guesses on obvious clues when she had money to spare, leading to hilarity.
She mistook the “Our House” band Madness for the cartoon character “Foghorn Leghorn” and a clue about a hawk for a “finch.”
Alison was previously on The Bull**T Game Show, hosted by Howie Mandel in 2022, where she won $250,000, proving she’s no stranger to competition.
Fans called her their favorite contestant in “a long time,” as one social media user shamelessly put it, “I like her! Modest, unassuming, smart and pretty too!”
PLAYER WHO ‘SCARED HER’ INTO SUCCESS
Alison spoke to producers in an interview after her fifth win, in which she credited 2024 ToC runner-up Ben Chan with a game-changing pep-talk.
“This is a game and I enjoyed playing it,” Alison told the game show.
“The biggest thing was to trust myself and be confident because I think that was my biggest weakness was not going for it.
“I was actually talking to Ben Chan, and I said I was kind of scared going in, and he said, ‘no, they should be scared of you!'”
I don’t know if he scared me into doing well or just wise words.”
Jeopardy! airs at 7 p.m. ET on ABC – check your local listings.
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