The Oakland, California writer never really found her footing in the competition. She ultimately failed to advance to the semifinals, ending her most crucial game in third place and ranking fifth overall. Schneider faced Andrew He, a software developer from San Francisco, California, and Las Vegas resident James Holzhauer, the third-highest-earning American game show contestant of all time.
Hosted by Ken Jennings and structured in the style of a Champions League, “Jeopardy! Masters” features six super champs: Matt Amodio, Sam Buttrey, He, Holzhauer, Mattea Roach, and Schneider.
“Jeopardy! Masters” consists of 10 one-hour episodes featuring two games among different combinations of the six contestants. After each game, match points are awarded: 3 for finishing first, 1 for finishing second and 0 for finishing third. Only the top three with the highest match point total will advance to the final, resulting in a champion who will win a grand prize of $500,000.
Credit: Sean Black
Credit: Sean Black
At the end of the Jeopardy! round, Holzhauer led with 6,800 points followed by He with 3,600 and Schneider with 1,800.
At the end of Double Jeopardy!, Holzhauer completely dominated with 54,000 points followed by He with 9,600 and Schneider with 3,000.
The Final Jeopardy! clue in the category 20th Century French Authors:
“He said a famous book of his was inspired by a visit to the zoo, where he observed gorillas’ humanlike expressions.”
Answer: Pierre Boulle, who wrote “Planet of the Apes.” Realizing Holzhauer was in a league of his own, Schneider and He didn’t wager, choosing instead to have fun with their responses (Schneider: Why not 2 points for finishing second?; He: Stop! He’s already dead). Holzhauer took the serious approach, incorrectly answered Camus, and wagered 32,608, dropping his winning total to 21,392.
During the interview segment, Jennings asked Schneider her secret to having 50 or 60 anecdotes to tell about herself during her time on “Jeopardy!”
“I certainly owe a great deal of thanks, this time around, to my brother – not just being a great brother, a great man, but he sent a list of 30 anecdotes just for this when I thought I had nothing left,” she said. “And I’m just sorry I’m not going to be able to use more of them.”
The leaderboard at the end of the seventh episode: First: Holzhauer (18); Second: He (13); Third: Amodio (9); Fourth: Roach (8); Fifth: Schneider (5); and Buttrey: (3).
“Amy, I’m sorry, five second place finishes is an impressive result but it leaves you just on the bubble for the semifinals,” said Jennings. “Thank you so much for coming back. Truly one of the great ‘Jeopardy!’ talents of all time.”
Schneider received a cash prize of $75,000.
The “Jeopardy! Masters” semifinals will begin Monday at 8 p.m. on ABC. The show will also stream on Hulu.
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