In an unexpected twist of fate on Season 41 Jeopardy!, reigning champion Ryan Manton saw the end of his four successive game-winning streak by a rising star, Mark Fitzpatrick. Fans hoped the four-day winning streak was the new channel's way of getting to something that happens less often: win five games in a row in one taping, as Manton's run ended in Friday's show.
Coming into the game with already accumulated $83,179, Manton seemed well on his way to victory before Fitzpatrick, a content manager from Connecticut, outmaneuvered him in what many fans call one of the most intense matches of the season.
Well into the episode, it's becoming glaring that Fitzpatrick isn't just a challenger; he's a force with which to be reckoned. Manton started aggressively, with early leads, but Fitzpatrick made some bold plays, including two crucial Daily Doubles, which propelled him into the lead.
Final Jeopardy revealed Manton trailing and Fitzpatrick securing the win with $30,401 and $9,999 for Manton.
What was Mark Fitzpatrick’s winning strategy on Jeopardy?
Mark Fitzpatrick's win wasn't luck but calculated risk and aggressive play. Early in the show, Fitzpatrick lost $2,400 on a true Daily Double, but he found his footing by correctly answering another Daily Double question, this time in the category "U.S. Museums."
With the correct response, "Who was O'Keeffe?" he won $3,000 and began to close the gap with Manton.
The real turnaround came in when Fitzpatrick landed another Daily Double, this time in the category "Tall Tales," scoring him another $5,000 with the correct response "Who was Babe the Blue Ox?
Those turning points delivered Fitzpatrick a good advantage into Final Jeopardy, where he sat with $23,400 to Manton's $15,200. The Final Jeopardy category, "Literary Characters," delivered this:
"A fragment from a nautical tool found on a Chilean island in 2005 was likely left by the Scot who partly inspired this character."
While Fitzpatrick alone went out answering "Who is Robinson Crusoe?" correctly, Manton and third-place finisher Anne Singleton went to the slate blank.
Congratulations to Fitzpatrick for taking risks and having a lot of book know-how.
Read more: Tell Me Lies went from being a book to a TV show
Ryan Manton’s future on Jeopardy!
While Ryan Manton's winning streak on Jeopardy! came to an anticlimactic end, the positives from his run suggest a good future ahead on the program. Four wins, plus $83,179 in overall earnings, make Manton one of the prime contenders for a 2025 Jeopardy! Tournament of Champions spot.
A strong event for the cream of this crop, of course! Manton presents quite well as a contender in his own right, with solid consistency to his credit.
Fans have followed Manton's trajectory into the stratosphere of Jeopardy! stardom with great interest, if not for knowledge and strategic gameplay alone, then certainly due to the flavor of his personal stories.
One of the episodes was where Manton took a few seconds of Final Jeopardy to write a sweet note to his wife, Lauren, instead of an answer.
Lauren herself had been a contestant in Jeopardy! in 2021. The light-hearted character exudes sweetness that several fans love him for. Though Manton lost to Fitzpatrick, he can once again hope that it won't be the last time that he steps onto the Jeopardy! stage.
You can catch Jeopardy! Monday through Friday on ABC stations; for listings, check their websites or local listings.
Episodes also become available on Hulu the next day.
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