‘Jeopardy!’: Was Drew Basile’s Tiebreaker Win the Closest Game in a Long Time?

Dan Clarendon June 22, 2024, 10:08 am

Drew Basile on 'Jeopardy!' in the episode airing on June 21, 2024 — Jeopardy Productions, Inc.

Survivor alum Drew Basile is applying that show’s “outwit, outplay, outlast” philosophy to Jeopardy! Drew won his third Jeopardy! game in the June 21 episode, defeating one of his opponents in a rare Tiebreaker Round.

In Friday’s game, Drew, who’s a graduate student from Birmingham, Michigan, faced Josh Heit, a government relations professional from Silver Spring, Maryland, and Richelle Brown, a substitute teacher from Alexandria, Virginia.

Drew was just ahead of Josh by the first commercial break, and Richelle rallied to replace Josh in second place at the end of the Jeopardy! round. But Drew widened his lead in Double Jeopardy! — especially with a correct response on a $4,000 Daily Double wager. At the end of that round, Drew had a score of $20,000, Josh had $10,000, and Richelle had $1,000.

Then came the Final Jeopardy! round — a clue about which sports star got a “standing ovation in the Deep South,” per Vin Scully, after breaking a longtime record 50 years ago. The correct response: “Who is Hank Aaron?”

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That clue stumped Richelle, but she dropped only $5, with a final score of $995. Josh gave the correct response and doubled his score with a $10,000 wager. Drew also offered the correct response but wagered $0, matching Josh’s score of $20,000. And in the Alex Trebek Theater, the audience gasped as the show headed into a Tiebreaker Round for only the sixth time during regular play. (The last regular-play game to end in a tie came on July 8, 2022, according to The Jeopardy! Fan.)

The Tiebreaker Round clue dealt with science — specifically, a phenomenon named for a 19th-century man that is apparent in moving light sources as well as moving sound sources. Drew ran in with the correct response — “What is the Doppler effect?” — and pumped his fist with a growl as he notched his third Jeopardy! victory!

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