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Arthur Chu, center, competes with Ben Ingram and Julia Collins in the "Jeopardy!" Tournament of Champions
(Jeopardy Productions Inc.)
CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Arthur Chu longed for a meeting with fellow "Jeopardy!" champ Julia Collins on the stage of the popular TV game show to decide the show's latest Tournament of Champions. He got his wish, but it could be the least-acclaimed contestant in this final grouping that walks away with the crown.
Ben Ingram has a $25,600 to $15,600 lead over Chu, a Broadview Heights resident, after one round of the finals. Collins is way back at $6,400. The contest will be decided by the total score over two games. That last game airs Friday on WOIO Channel 19 at 7:30 p.m. The winner collects $250,000.
With a strong first half, Ingram, an IT consultant, was only $2,000 off the lead. He faltered in the second half as Chu took control of the board. Yet Ingram vaulted to the top by nailing the Final Jeopardy question, the 11th time he has done that in the 11 shows he has been on, as Chu noted in Twitter comments made during the broadcast.
Ingram doubled his $12,800 total by naming the year in which no incumbents were running, yet three men on the ballot for U.S. president and vice president eventually would become president. It was 1920, and the future presidents were Harding, Coolidge and Franklin D. Roosevelt.
Chu, who became an instant celebrity after his last winter appearances on the show, did not overwhelm his opponents early on as he normally does. "Here's the thing about the finals: Every single clue is a stressful buzzer race," he tweeted.
Chu, who has become a prolific blogger, led the field with $25,600 before Final Jeopardy. He then lost $10,000 on that bet.
Collins' dropped $11,800 on the last wager.
Collins, who told the Chicago Tribune today that she was ill when the show was taped, won 20 games on "Jeopardy!" this year, not long after Chu strung 11 wins of his own. Collins is the winningest female on the show. Chu is the most controversial player in years. His style of play -- searching for Daily Doubles, bouncing from one category to another, and picking high dollar clues early -- rankled game traditionalists.
On Thursday's show, all three contestants moved around the board, causing Chu to tweet that Collins was honing in on the Daily Doubles. She would convert both in the second half.
Ingram, a South Carolina native, was almost an afterthought on social media discussion prior to the airing of this game. He won eight times during his run on regular "Jeopardy!" Like Chu and Collins, he survived two rounds in this tournament to make the finals. Top performers from the most recent two show seasons qualified for this tournament.
People who want to view the second part of the finals with Chu can join him for a watch party at the Boneyard Beer Farm, starting at 7 p.m. Friday. Boneyard is at Ohio 176 and 82 in Broadview Heights.