‘Jeopardy!’: Amy Schneider Becomes First JIT Finalist in Thrilling Semifinals Showdown

Kelli Boyle
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Amy Schneider in 'Jeopardy!' Invitational Tournament semifinals on Tuesday, April 2, 2024
Jeopardy, Inc.

Amy Schneider has made Jeopardy! history once again as the first finalist in the all-new Jeopardy Invitational Tournament. The Tournament of Champions winner snagged her spot in a thrilling semi-finals matchup against Jennifer Quail, a player known for her Final Jeopardy excellence, and David Madden on Tuesday, April 2.

There were just nine players left in the tournament when the April 2 game began. Schneider and Madden both won their quarterfinals games with runaways, and Quail won with a hail-Mary wager in Final Jeopardy. The next two games will determine who plays against Schneider in the JIT finals.

The most impressive part about Schneider’s semifinals game was that she didn’t find any of the Daily Doubles, and yet she was in first place going into Final Jeopardy. In fact, Schneider only answered two questions wrong in the entire game.

Quail found the first Daily Double, and she bet all she had ($3,000) before losing it all. She was able to get her score back up to $2,400 before the first commercial break. Madden found the second Daily Double on the first clue of Double Jeopardy, adding $2,000 to his score. His correct answer on the third Daily Double took his score from $6,800 to $11,800, putting him in the lead. Before this, Schneider and Madden were consistently dueling for the lead.

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The very last clue before Final Jeopardy, a $400 square, became vital. Schneider answered it correctly, giving her a small lead of $200. The scores going into Final Jeopardy were Schneider with $17,600, Madden with $17,400, and Quail with $7,200. The final wagers were a make-or-break moment, and Madden didn’t bet enough.

The category was “Historic Groups.” The clue: “The Kipchak Khanate is another name for this group that was eventually defeated by Tamerlane in 1395.” The answer Ken Jennings was looking for was, “What is Golden Horde?”

Quail, who bet it all (as she said, she had to if she had any chance of winning), answered incorrectly, ending with $0 in third place. Both Schneider and Madden answered correctly, but Madden bet just $209 and Schneider bet $17,500, leaving her with a final score of $35,100. Madden ended in second with $17,609.

See fan reactions to the exciting game below.

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