JEOPARDY! viewers are still in shock over Survivor alum Drew Basile’s win over 15-day champ Adriana Harmeyer- but realized a mind-boggling extra layer.
The third contestant in the upset of all upsets on Wednesday would have won instead if she had only wagered a bit smarter.
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Survivor’s Drew Basile beat Adriana Harmyer (left) and Tekla Sauter (right)Credit: Jeopardy!
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However, if Tekla had gone all-in on this ‘intelligentsia’ Daily Double, she would have wonCredit: Jeopardy!
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Tekla was the only player to get Final correct as ‘Polo’ as fans realized the upset nearly went her way insteadCredit: Jeopardy!
Adriana faced Drew and Tekla Sauter to try for her 16th straight win on June 19, having amassed $349,600 so far.
The archivist from West Lafayette, Indiana, was the shoo-in favorite to win and would have been tied for the 10th-longest streak in Jeopardy! history.
So it was quite a shock when Drew, the first Survivor contestant to compete on the game show – dominated the game.
In Double Jeopardy!, the torch-snuffing moment came when Drew found the second Daily Double and fearlessly wagered $10,000.
He wound up winning in a runway fashion where FInal Jeopardy didn’t matter.
However, Tekla could have won the game- and nearly did.
She found the last Daily Double, and at the time, she had $6400 to his $23,600 and Adriana’s $9300.
She opted to bet $3000 instead of going all-in.
If she had, she would still be in contention for Final Jeopardy, which only she got correct as “Polo.”
In other words, Tekla’s Daily Double wager was the only reason she wasn’t the giant killer instead of Drew.
‘SHOCKINGLY BAD WAGER’
Fans on Reddit realized that Tekla was actually quite close to winning the game- barring her wagering mistake.
“I know the headline is the giantslayer, and yet I can’t stop thinking about that last Daily Double wager,” one fan began.
“At that point in the game, with not many clues left on the board, trailing the leader significantly, what is the merit of only betting $3000?
“If you get it wrong, you’re dead in the water anyway, so you might as well go big to try to get in striking distance.
“And if Tekla had done that, she probably wins, seeing how FJ turned out. It always hurts me a little inside to see such knowledgeable players fumble away a chance at winning.
Other fans agreed that while this wasn’t the way the game was billed, Tekla could be the champ instead.
“Yeah, that was a shockingly bad wager. Definitely wasn’t understanding the situation and it ended up costing her the game,” another wrote.
“If she made the correct wager, she 100% wins,” wrote a third.
“Given the opportunity to be a giant killer, and the time of the wager in the game, it has to be a top 10 all time poor wager. Not quite Cliff Claven but close.)” wrote a fourth.
‘GIANT KILLER!’
Instead, Drew had an uncatchable lead going into Final Jeopardy at $23,600, Tekla at $10,600, and Adriana had $9,300.
Tekla was the only one correct with “Polo,” finishing with $18,601.
Drew dropped $118 to win with $23,482, clapping in excitement.
“As Alex Trebek used to say, we have a Giant Killer on our hands, rarely as giant as this!” Ken Jennings exclaimed. “Congrats Drew on the big win!”
The camera cut to Adriana, who took a deep, disappointed sigh.
Ken added, “Adriana Harmeyer, of course, leaves us after 15 wins.”
“That’s the 11th-longest streak in Jeopardy! history, we’ll be seeing you again in the Tournament of Champions. Congratulations.”
Drew and Adriana then had an awkward interaction; he motioned to shake her hand, and she lifted hers to congratulate him but put it back down.
They then made eye contact again and finally sternly shook hands.
Drew proved his upset win was no fluke, winning his second match on Thursday for a two-day total of $33,282.
‘HATERS HAVE CALLED ME KNOW-IT-ALL’
Drew was announced as a Jeopardy! contestant last month.
The 22-year-old immediately praised his intellect on Survivor and also did so after being booted from the top six.
“I’m one of the smartest people you’ve ever had on Survivor. Now, I don’t say that to brag. I say that factually,” he told Parade.
“I’m a great talker. I can sell, sell, sell. So I thought that those attributes would set me up pretty well in any Final Three combinations.”
The Ivy League grad student, the youngest of his season, used his trivia knowledge in every Tribal Council confessional.
Drew would use history, philosophy, and other random topics to weave his experiences on the island and his mindset in the game into long soliloquies.
Currently getting his Masters at Oxford in England, he also won a national trivia event in 2019.
That said, he actually was quite a savvy player on Survivor and if he had undersold his wit, he could have even won.
“Yeah I found him kinda arrogant on the show,” one user posted when it was announced he’d be on Jeopardy! last month.
Another wrote, “Drew is a top 5 survivor player for me. I freaking love Omar and Juveria. I’m freaking ecstatic.”
“The haters have called me a know-it-all,” Drew wrote on Instagram, announcing his appearance. “It’s time to prove them right.”
Drew isn’t the only Jeopardy! champ with a Surivor connection.
Juveria Zaheer is the older sister of Omar Zaheer, who competed on Survivor 42 in 2022. Juveria won the Second Chance tournament and Champions Wildcard, winning $100,000.
ADRIANA’S RECORD RUN
Meanwhile, Adriana first arrived on May 31’s episode and has plenty to be proud of as Season 40’s first super-champion.
She was the first 10-day-plus winner in nearly two years, the previous being 13-day champ Ray LaLonde.
Adriana outlasted Ray and had the longest streak since 21-day champ Cris Pannullo in fall 2022.
However, Adriana plays nothing like Cris, who went a vicious 48/49 out of 66 Daily Doubles.
Instead, Adriana used an old-school strategy that set her apart from all other streakers in the post-Holzhauer era.
She’s only found 14 of the 45 hidden clues in her streak, and she doesn’t bounce across the board to find them.
She relied on pure knowledge, going an astounding 92% correct on clues overall and 13/16 on Final Jeopardy.
The other qualifiers for the next Tournament of Champions (all female) are five-day winners Alison Betts and Dr. Amy Hummel and Celebrity Jeopardy!’s Lisa Ann Walter.
Wendy Williams thought manager was ‘putting her in peril,’ friend says
That said, with four wins, Grant DeYoung and Amar Kakirde will likely join in as well.
Jeopardy! airs at 7 pm Eastern on ABC – check your local listings.
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Instead, Drew Basile won the game as Jeopardy! fans know all too wellCredit: Jeopardy!
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Adriana Harmeyer will be in the next Tournament of ChampionsCredit: Jeopardy!
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Adriana and Drew exchanged an awkward handshake after the shock episodeCredit: Jeopardy!
