Daily analysis, Wednesday, April 2 – Battle of the Decades game 13
| Battle of the Decades – preliminary round | ||||||||||||||
| 1980s | 1990s | 2000s | ||||||||||||
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 |
| knockout rounds | ||||||||||||||
Game three of 2000s Week features Tom Kavanaugh, Larissa Kelly, and Russ Schumacher. Who will advance to May’s quarterfinals? Check out my preview.
Larissa looked most impressive, and it seemed like neither of the gentlemen wanted that second Daily Double given their play at the end. (I actually think Tom was being strategic by not chasing after it – since he couldn’t have gotten to half of Larissa’s total even with the DD, my hunch is he wanted Russ to get it, go big, and then go into a tandem dive with Larissa.)
Russ did find it, but made a weak wager (see below), putting him into contention but with a mind-games situation against Larissa rather than a “I’m gonna make you get it right” scenario.
Tom Kavanaugh: 5,600
Larissa Kelly: 22,800
Russ Schumacher: 15,400
The Final Jeopardy! category: MONARCHS
It’s just between Larissa and Russ, because Tom has less than the difference between the other two.
Basic strategy
Larissa should wager 8,001 to lock out Russ.
Russ should wager no more than 600 to stay above Larissa should they both miss.
Mind games
If Larissa thinks Russ will go small – which history suggests will happen – she should wager no more than 6,799.
In response, Russ could wager everything to cover this – but Larissa’s history suggests she’s going to go big!
And, yes, both did what we thought they might do, and both missed. Russ advances! Go Class of 2004!
As for that last Daily Double, here were the scores with one 400 clue remaining:
Tom: 5,200
Larissa: 22,800
Russ: 10,400
Russ needs to get it right to win, and since the only goal here is to win, there’s no point in holding anything back. Had he doubled up, the scores would have been as follows:
Tom: 5,600
Larissa: 22,800
Russ: 20,800
Now Russ wagers between 4,000 and 9,599 (preferably at most 5,599) and has a much better chance of winning. Just because you’re my friend doesn’t make you exempt from The Final Wager’s, um, wrath!
The Final Jeopardy! clue for April 2, 2014 (MONARCHS):
IN 2005 THE KUL SHARIF MOSQUE OF TATARSTAN WAS REOPENED 453 YEARS AFTER IT WAS DESTROYED BY THIS MAN
Correct response: Who was Ivan the Terrible?