‘Jeopardy!’ Contestant Reveals Crazy Bird Attacks as Ashley Chan Soars Past Blunder

Darian Lusk December 16, 2024, 7:30 pm

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[Warning: The below contains MAJOR spoilers for the Monday, December 16 episode of Jeopardy!]

Jeopardy! has scored a new fan favorite in Ashley Chan, who on Monday night became the first female three-day champ of Season 41. Neither a concerning Daily Double miss nor a strong opponent’s Hitchcockian tale of two separate bird attacks could stop her from securing her biggest payday yet.

Chan, a publicist from Lewisville, Texas, entered with a two-day total of $29,100 (and the same ruffled-shoulder top in a different color) after a savvy conservative Final wager won her the last episode. At the winner’s podium since outplaying Bill McKinney, she faced Matt Grossman, a law student from New York City, and Henry Barbaro, a college student from Evanston, Illinois.

In the Jeopardy! round, Chan racked up an early $2,000 lead when she found the Daily Double in the “All Over The World” category. She made what was likely the right move by going all in, but could not come up with the right response, “Mount Ararat.” Drawing a blank, she exclaimed, “No!” and had to start from scratch.

During the interviews, Grossman—who had jumped into the lead with $2,600—was asked by Ken Jennings about being “prone to bird encounters.” He revealed he’d been attacked by birds on two different runs. “I’ve had two different attacks,” he said. “Attacks?” Jennings asked, incredulous. “Attacks,” Grossman confirmed. “Once was a goose, once was a seagull. Both times I was out for a run.”

Detailing the goose incident, Grossman explained, “I guess I got too close to the nest. It came up, dive-bombed straight for my head, and I had to run away. I was okay, but the goose did make contact.” Jennings advised he stay away from birds altogether while running, “Don’t get too close to the birds! This seems like an easy fix.” “I’ll do my best,” Grossman replied with a smile- though it would soon fade.

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Thanks to some “Man-agram” mastery, Chan rebounded back to the lead, finishing the Jeopardy round with $4,600, Barbaro $800, and Grossman right behind with $4,000. In Double Jeopardy!, the game further became a duel between the champ and Grossman, until it wasn’t.

Grossman found the second Daily Double with a shot at the lead, wagering $2,000 on the “Outdoor Cats” clue, but he was unable to get “Snow Leopard.” In a once-bitten, twice-unshy scenario (not involving birds), he found the last Daily Double and went all-in with $4,400. Acing the “World War I” clue as “Hindenberg,” he jumped to $8,800 for a “much closer game,” as Jennings put it. But from there, Chan went on a late rally, nabbing many bottom-row clues and securing a runaway with $17,400, Grossman had $7,200, and Barbaro $2,000.

The “Geography” clue was, “Jebel Musa in Morocco and Mount Hacho near Ceuta are candidates for the southern half of this pair It was a triple-stumper as no one got “The Pillars of Hercules.” Chan wagered $0 to win with $17,400, a three-day total of $46,500, and a gigantic grin. “Very Nice!” Jennings closed.

Fans flooded the Reddit thread for the episode celebrating Chan’s comeback after her DD1 miss, reacting to the bird attacks anectdote, and to some of the game’s surprising triple-stumpers.

“Wow, I thought Matt would lock it down after Ashley’s Daily Double miss. Ashley really has that dog in her as a competitor! (I mean that in the best way possible!)” one Redditor wrote.

“I have also been attacked by a goose and a seagull,” wrote another. “Goose one was my fault. Seagulls, however, are belligerent a****les.”

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“No one could name ‘West Side Story’ songwriter Stephen Sondheim, or the Pittsburgh ballpark used at the end of the previous century, Three Rivers Stadium,” remarked a third.

“Everyone was in the positive heading into Final Jeopardy, and we heard every clue in a game with a video category. I love to see it happen,” praised a fourth. “That was a good game, and congrats on win number 3, Ashley!

That user continued, “It’s a funny coincidence that she defeated a 3-day champ and is now a 3-day champ herself, with a similar 3-day total to Bill McKinney. Bill had $46,800 over three wins, and Ashley has $46,500 with three wins (so far).”

Here were some other reactions to the game on X (formerly Twitter):

Matt on his run #jeopardy pic.twitter.com/ERq1y2DE6P

— kratzy1 (@kratzy1) December 17, 2024

Matt’s next run.#Jeopardy pic.twitter.com/jGbKzEA0HN

— Matt Carberry (@mfc248) December 17, 2024

Wondering if Ashley Chan on #Jeopardy is now superstitious after winning or only wears ruffle shouldered shirts

— Carl M. Suhrstedt (@CMSPIRATE) December 17, 2024

What did you think of the game? Do you think Ashley Chan can keep it up? And how did no one know that Stephen Sondheim clue? One of the biggest Follies of the night for sure! Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below.

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