[Warning: The following contains MAJOR spoilers for the Thursday, January 29, episode of Jeopardy!]
The third and final semi-final game of the 2026 Jeopardy! Tournament of Champions came down to a brave final bet from one of the contestants. Fans reacted as the last finalist was determined.
Whoever wins this game goes on to face Scott Riccardi and TJ Fisher in the finals. The first player to win three games becomes the champion. The most games played in the tournament are seven, so it is unclear when the games will end.
Paolo Pasco, from San Diego, California, who earned a bye to the semi-finals, played against Cameron Berry, from Brighton, Massachusetts, and Ashley Chan, from Lewisville, Texas, on January 29.
The game started well for Pasco, a puzzle writer, who answered the first three clues correctly. He found the Daily Double on clue four. With $2,400 in his bank, he wagered all of it.
In “Phrases from Sports,” the clue read, “This 4-word phrase meaning ‘last minute’ comes from stretching a cable across the finish lines in horse racing.” “What is down to the wire?” he answered correctly. This gave him $4,800, compared to his opponents’ $0.
Berry, a data analyst and college administrator, gained momentum but couldn’t quite catch up to Pasco after the first 15 clues. Pasco had more than double his score.
By the end of the round, Pasco was in first place with $9,200. Berry had $4,200. Chan, a publicist, was in third place with $800.
In Double Jeopardy, Pasco found the first DD on clue three. With $10,400 in his bank, he wagered $6,000 in “‘E’ Before ‘I.’” The clue read, “The great ice age occurred during this epoch that preceded the one we’re in now.”
“What is Pleistocene?” Pasco answered correctly. This gave him $16,400 compared to Berry’s $5,400.
Two clues later, Berry found the last DD. With $6,600 in his bank, he wagered all of his money. In “Vice Presidents,” the clue was “Nominating him at the convention, ex-VP Hubert Humphrey called this man ‘my personal friend & a truly great American.’”
Host Ken Jennings prompted him to answer. The game show contestant got in “Who is Walter Mondale?” right before the time’s up buzzer went off.
“You got that in before the time’s up signal ended. Humphrey’s fellow Minnesotan Walter Mondale is correct,” Jennings said. Berry doubled to $13,200.
Berry and Pasco continued to dominate the round, with Chan only answering one clue. Pasco ended in the lead with $24,800. Berry had $22,000. Chan was in third place with $400.
With Berry and Pasco so close, it could be anyone’s game in Final Jeopardy. The clue in “Bodies of Water” was a Triple Stumper. It read, “This body of water with over 1/3 of the world’s marine mammals, like the Vaquita, has been called ‘the aquarium of the world.’” The correct response was “What is the Gulf of California (Sea of Cortez)?”
Chan answered with “What is Lake Baikal?” She wagered $400 and ended with $0. Berry’s response was, “What is the Mariana Trench?” He wagered $21,199, making his final total $801. Pasco answered, “What a fun time! I dunno though, sorry.” He wagered $0, keeping his $24,800.
Pasco won the game and advanced to the finals. The finals will not start until Monday, February 2. The exhibition game between Riccardi, Pasco, and Laura Faddah will air on Friday.
Fans reacted to Pasco’s stunning win. “Paolo was brave to bet $0 in FJ, but it paid off,” a Reddit fan said.
“I would’ve been afraid at the end if I were Paolo; Cameron definitely could’ve gotten Gulf of California,” another wrote.
“Cameron is consistently part of some of the best games this season, and I hope he’s proud of his Jeopardy glo-up! It was hard not to root for him even as a Paolo fan from regular-season play. With Paolo’s unique wager, I hope he feels some solace in that going for Paolo’s score + 1 wouldn’t have changed the game’s result,” a third added.
“What a fun game. The finals are gonna be something special,” one last fan said.
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