‘Jeopardy!’ Fans React to Isaac Hirsch’s ‘Bad Bet’ & High-Risk Wagers in Dramatic TOC Game

Martin Holmes February 6, 2025, 7:48 am

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Isaac Hirsch on Jeopardy! TOC — Jeopardy, Inc!

Jeopardy! fan favorite Isaac Hirsch made things hard for himself on Wednesday’s (February 5) Tournament of Champions semifinals after some risky wagers almost cost him a spot in the finals.

Hirsch, a customer support team lead from Burbank, California, won fans over during his five-game winning streak last July for his snazzy dress sense and impressive trivia knowledge. On Wednesday, he returned to the Alex Trebek Stage to take on fellow Season 41 champions Amy Hummel, an ER doctor from Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and Mark Fitzpatrick, a content manager from Riverside, Connecticut.

Things got off to a bumpy start for Hirsch when he went all-in on the first Daily Double of the night. He answered it wrong, leading to a $3,200 deficit and allowing his opponents to jump ahead. However, he quickly made up for it by answering 14 correct clues by the end of the first round, giving him a solid lead with $5,000 heading into Double Jeopardy.

The next round is where things got interesting, as Fitzpatrick found the second Daily Double and doubled his total, giving him the lead with $8,800. Hirsch then regained the lead after nailing several clues, only to lose $5,000 on the third Daily Double, putting him behind Fitzpatrick going into Final Jeopardy.

Heading into the last round, Fitzpatrick led with $18,400, followed by Hirsch at $13,600, and Hummel trailing with $5,600.

Host Ken Jennings then read the final clue under the Scientists’ Names category: “The first man to observe bacteria & protozoa had a name containing the Dutch word for this much bigger creature.”

Only Hirsch was correct with “What is a lion?” and his $4,000 wager was enough to win him the episode with $17,600. Fitzpatrick went for the cover bet with $8,801, dropping him into second place with $9,599, while Hummel wagered everything but a dollar, leaving her on $1.

While fans were happy for Hirsch, many pointed out how he almost cost himself with his wager in Final Jeopardy. If he’d got the final clue wrong and Hummel answered it correctly, his $4,000 wager would have dropped him to $9,600, meaning Hummel would have won with $11,199. Others pointed out how his wager also wouldn’t have covered a zero bet from Fitzpatrick.

“What a nailbiter of a game. Those DD misses and wagering error at FJ by Isaac, tough to watch. I really thought Mark had this one,” wrote one Reddit user.

“Strong comeback from Isaac after a bad miss on that third Daily Double. Although he made a wagering mistake in the Final Jeopardy, at least he got the FJ correct, and that is what matters,” said another.

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Another added, “He unnecessarily brought Amy back into the game by wagering too much on FJ. If Isaac had missed and Amy was correct, Amy would have won due to Isaac’s overbet. With a smaller bet Amy would have been shut out and Isaac would only need Mark to miss in order to win.”

“It’s a bad bet, and I’m an Isaac fan. Doesn’t cover a zero bet from Marc, loses if there’s a triple stumper, better bet was anywhere between 0 and 2399 (in case Amy was the only one to get it right and doubled up),” wrote another.

Hirsch replied to the commenter, explaining, “It’s not a good bet, but it was chosen because it’s the max bet that does not lose on a triple stumper (assuming Mark does the standard cover bet of $8801). He would end with $9599 and I would have $9600.”

What did you think of Wednesday’s episode? Did Hirsch make the right wager? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below.

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