‘Jeopardy!’ Battle of Fan Favorites Is Decided on Final Question

Brittany Sims February 25, 2025, 7:30 pm

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[Warning: The below contains MAJOR spoilers for the Tuesday, February 25 episode of Jeopardy!]

The seventh matchup in the 2025 Jeopardy! Invitational Tournament came down to a nail-biting wager between two fan-favorite contestants.

“Today I feel bad for reading, writing, and ‘rithmetic because we have an even brainer trio here today,” host Ken Jennings said after giving a brief recap of Monday’s game. Ryan Long (a ride-share driver from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania), Robin Carroll (an instructional designer from Atlanta, Georgia), and Ray LaLonde (a scenic artist from Toronto, Ontario, Canada) faced off on Tuesday, February 25’s game show. Long is a super champion who won 16 games before his streak ended. LaLonde is the second-longest-streaking and second highest-winning Canadian champion both in regular play and overall, behind only Mattea Roach. Carroll won the Tournament of Champions in 2000.

During the first round, Long and LaLonde were flying through answers, racking up their banks to $1,800 each. However, they both incorrectly answered a question under “Cities on the Lake.” Under the $1,000 questions, the game show contestants had to answer “Neenah & Oshkosh.” LaLonde answered first with “What is Lake Michigan?” which was incorrect. Long then buzzed in and answered, “What is Wobegon?” Jennings informed him that he was wrong and all three contestants snickered. Carroll answered incorrectly with “What is Lake Superior?” The host told them that the correct answer was “Lake Winnebago in Wisconsin.” This brought all of their total to under $1,000.

In a shocking turn of events, Carroll pulled ahead to first place after correctly answering the first Daily Double of the game. Ironically, there was a category called “Transportation Information,” but the rideshare driver did not answer any of them. By the end of the first round, Carroll was in the lead with $5,200, Long had $3,400, and LaLonde was not too far behind in third with $2,800.

In Double Jeopardy!, LaLonde pulled substantially ahead when he correctly answered the Daily Double and wagered all of his money. “George Soros survived the rule of the arrow cross Fascist Party in this country late in World War II,” the question read. “What is Hungary?” LaLonde correctly answered, bringing his total to $8,000.

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He found the second Daily Double in that round as well, betting $3,000, and pulling ahead with a total of $15,400. Without answering many of the questions in the round, Long somehow pulled in second place with $9,800. Carroll wasn’t too far behind with $9,200. She was in second but incorrectly answered a few questions towards the end of the round, causing her to fall to last place. LaLonde was way in the lead with $17,000 going into Final Jeopardy!.

The category for Final Jeopardy! was “World Geography.” LaLonde was expected to win with his substantial lead, but anything can happen in Final Jeopardy!. The question read, “Located on an island, in 2016 this world capital began following 2 different time zones.”

Carroll went first, answering incorrectly with “What is Paris?” She wagered $601, leaving her with $8,599. Long also answered wrong with “What is Bangkok?” He wagered $9,700, which dropped him down to a final total of $100. LaLonde answered with “What is Copenhagen?” but was not correct either. The answer was “What is Nicosia?” the capital of Cyprus. Despite being wrong, LaLonde only wagered $2,601, leaving him with $14,399, making him the episode’s winner.

On Wednesday, February 26, three new contestants will face off for a chance at the semi-finals. Ben Chan, Claire Sattler, and Shane Whitlock will be behind the podiums.

Jeopardy!, Weekdays, check your local listings