Jamie Ding’s “Jeopardy!” win streak came to an end Monday, April 27, based in large part on one of his opponents selecting all three Daily Double clues and answering correctly to build a big lead.
Greg Shahade, an international chess master from Philadelphia, ended Ding’s streak by just under $14,000 after building a big lead early in Double Jeopardy.
Ding won $882,605 over his streak and finished his run fifth all-time in victories, according to Jeopardy.com and TheJeopardyFan.com.
The New Jersey-based bureaucrat and law student is a 2009 graduate of Grosse Pointe North High School.
Ding finished his historic run with 995 correct responses and 75 misses. He was 20 of 32 on Final Jeopardy clues and 48 of 64 on Daily Doubles.
Here’s what to know about the 31-time “Jeopardy!” champion.
What happened on ‘Jeopardy!’ on Monday, April 27?
Ding competed against contestants Katrina Puckett, a teacher from Washington Court House, Ohio, and Shahade, according to Jeopardy.com.
Shahade grabbed all three Daily Doubles in the game and cashed in for $16,800 on those three questions, according to thejeopardyfan.com.
The Final Jeopardy clue was, “Of South Africa’s 12 official languages, these two are alphabetically first and last.” The correct question was Afrikaans and Zulu.
All three contestants answered the Final Jeopardy question correctly, leaving Shahade with $33,000 after betting only $400.
Ding bet $3,010 and finished with $19,010 while Puckett was third with $4,990 after betting $1,990.
After the first round, Shahade led Ding, $5,600-$4,400, with Pucket third at $2,200.
Shahade hit both Double Jeopardy questions, with the second and third selections in the round, and added $14,600 ($7,600 and $7,000) to his total to build a big lead.
Ding missed the final clue of the round, to give Shahade breathing room — $32,600 to $16,000.
Who is Jamie Ding?
Ding is a 31-time “Jeopardy!” champion, a resident of Lawrenceville, New Jersey, and an employee of the New Jersey Housing and Mortgage Finance Agency.
Jamie Ding was born in Canberra, Australia, and is a naturalized U.S. citizen. His parents are Yuchuan Ding, a professor of neuroscience at Wayne State University, and Ning Yan, a retired mathematics teacher who taught at Detroit’s Cass Technical High School. His sister, Jessie Ding, is a Grosse Pointe Shores-based attorney.
Ding was raised in Grosse Pointe Shores in metro Detroit and is a 2009 graduate of Grosse Pointe North High School.
How does Ding’s win streak rank?
Ding, with 31 wins, is among the top 10 in “Jeopardy!” history at fifth place all-time.
“Jeopardy!” host Ken Jennings holds the all-time record with 74 wins in 2004.
Leaderboard for most consecutive ‘Jeopardy!’ wins
How can you watch ‘Jeopardy!’?
“Jeopardy!” airs as a syndicated television show and streams on Hulu and Peacock. To find your local station and air time, visit Jeopardy.com.
Contact Jenna Prestininzi: jprestininzi@freepress.com.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Did Jamie Ding win ‘Jeopardy!’ tonight? See April 27 results
Reporting by Jenna Prestininzi and Dan Basso, USA TODAY NETWORK / Detroit Free Press
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
