Battle of the Decades preview: 1980s, game 4
| 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 | ||||||||||||||
Check out what actually happened.
We’re back with another Grand Champion of years past. The big question: will he continue his roll from the Ultimate Tournament of Champions, or will an underdog trip him up?
Phoebe Juel took care of business in the 1993 College Championship, representing Grinnell College. She made the TOC semis, and had a fighting chance in the first round of the UTOC. Unfortunately, the College format doesn’t give us much of an opportunity to analyze her past wagers.
Mark Lowenthal won the 1988 Tournament of Champions, and went on to write Secrets of the Jeopardy! Champions with Chuck Forrest, still a good read for any aspiring player. Michael Rooney (who was, to my chagrin, not invited to the tournament) was too quick on the buzzer for him in the UTOC.
Frank Spangenberg is Jeopardy! royalty. And then there’s that moustache! He’s one of the most popular and memorable players of all time, and for good reason: this NYPD cop doesn’t fit the profile of a typical champion. He was one question from heading to the finals of the UTOC, but he missed the last clue, and Jerome Vered claimed the spot.
Prediction: Frank should win this one handily, unless his opponents get aggressive on the Daily Doubles.
Phoebe Juel
Phoebe was locked out of her TOC semifinal.
UTOC Round 1 (03/23/05)
| Steve | Phoebe | Brad |
| 13,200 | 10,400 | 8,400 |
Proper wager: 10,400 (but at least 6,401)
Actual wager: 10,000
Verdict: leaving a few hundo on the table, perhaps.
Mark Lowenthal
Mark had a lock in his second game.
TOC semifinal (11/14/88)
| Michael | Mark | Kate |
| 3,000 | 2,200 | 1,200 |
Proper wager: 801 – 999
Alternate wager: 1,400 – 2,200
Actual wager: 2,200
Verdict: yeah, those scores are correct. Michael might pull some funny business with a small wager so as not to fall below Kate, so Mark could go all in.
Super Jeopardy! quarterfinal (07/14/90)
| Mark | Keith | Paul | Cathy |
| 27,000 | 20,100 | 10,800 | 5,600 |
Proper wager: 13,201
Alternate wager: 0 – 599
Actual wager: 13,300
Verdict: this is one of those “small wager” mind-game situations.
UTOC Round 1 (03/09/05)
| Michael | Erik | Mark |
| 24,000 | 17,600 | 3,800 |
Proper wager: irrelevant
Actual wager: 3,799
Frank Spangenberg
Frank had locks in his first, second, fourth, and fifth games; and in UTOC Round 2.
Game 3 (01/11/90)
| Frank | Dan | Bill |
| 10,500 | 5,600 | 2,800 |
Proper wager: 700 (but no more than 4,900)
Actual wager: 4,500
Verdict: go big or go home? Sure, if you like the category.
TOC semifinal (11/13/90)
| Erik | Larry | Frank |
| 10,400 | 6,300 | 5,400 |
Proper wager: 5,400 (must wager at least 2,800)
Actual wager: 5,299
Verdict: a Cruella de Ville shout-out?
Super Jeopardy! quarterfinal (06/23/90)
| Frank | Eugene | Brian | Kate |
| 17,500 | 13,000 | 9,200 | 7,900 |
Proper wager: 8,501
Actual wager: 8,501
Verdict: good wager, but Eugene held tough.
10th Anniversary semifinal (12/01/93)
| Frank | Lionel | Robert |
| 15,200 | 8,000 | 4,700 |
Proper wager: 801
Actual wager: 1,000
Verdict: no reason to wager more since the only prize is advancing.
UTOC Round 3 (05/11/05)
| Shane* | Frank | Grace |
| 18,400 | 17,200 | 10,000 |
Proper wager: 2,801 – 9,999
Actual wager: 17,199
Verdict: but that dollar!