On the July 9th episode of Jeopardy!, Isaac Hirsch extended his victorious streak, yet the journey was not without its share of thrilling twists. Hirsch squared off against the formidable chemistry professor Kathy Davis and the dedicated stay-at-home mom Anna Paone in his fifth match. The first round saw Davis outbuzzing Hirsch with lightning-fast reflexes, but he quickly regained his footing. By the time Double Jeopardy rolled around, Hirsch had surged to the lead with $4,200, edging Davis' $3,800 and Paone's $2,600.
The real fireworks, however, erupted during Double Jeopardy. Hirsch's initially incorrect answers miraculously transformed into correct ones after reconsideration, a feat that stunned the audience. Three of his responses were ultimately deemed valid by the producers, boosting his winnings by a staggering $4,000 and propelling him to a commanding $19,400, well ahead of Paone's $9,800 and Davis' $3,800 as the Final Jeopardy approached.
With victory nearly in his grasp, Hirsch's fate hung in the balance during the Final Jeopardy. The category was "Literature," and the clue read, "In one story, he is enslaved by the Old Man of the Sea and uses apes to pick fruit so he can afford his fare back to Baghdad." While Davis used her time to send a heartfelt shout-out to her loved ones, and Paone incorrectly guessed "Aladdin," Hirsch nailed the answer with a confident "Who is Sinbad?"
In the end, Final Jeopardy's importance paled in comparison if Paone had guessed correctly. She wagered a mere $1,201, while Hirsch added a mere $201 to his tally, walking away as a five-time champion with a grand total of $120,187 and counting. For fans on Reddit, the sheer number of corrections was nothing short of "mind-boggling," with one commenter quipping, "I didn't know the magic triangle was a real thing!"
