Battle of the Decades preview: 1990s, game 10

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

To see what happened, click here.

Our last game this week features the only player never to lose a game against two humans. (Sorry, Watson – your buzzer finger was just too fast.)

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Jill Bunzendahl Chimka won four games in Season 18 and lost to Mark Dawson in the semifinals of her TOC. She has been an inconsistent wagerer. I don’t have much else to go on, as we’ve only seen her in a few games (she’s probably got the least experience of anyone this week, since she didn’t get a UTOC invite owing to her loss in her fifth game).

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Mike Dupée won the 1996 Tournament of Champions. His only loss came in the second round of the UTOC, when Robert Slaven caught him from way behind in Final. He’s been consistently strong and is a solid upset pick in this match.

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Brad Rutter needs no introduction. The top money-winner in the show’s history, he’s won every tournament he’s ever entered: the 2001 TOC, the Million Dollar Masters, the Ultimate Tournament of Champions. He’s been dominant for the most part, but in two games, he would have lost with more “typical” wagering by his opponents, so he’s not unbeatable.

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Prediction:

I’m going to be contrarian and pick Mike here, although it will “all come down to your wagers and your knowledge of this category:” DING!

Brad definitely wins this week for sharpest outfit, though.

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Jill Bunzendahl Chimka

Game 1 (05/28/02)

Wendy	Jill	Michael
15,600	12,200	8,300

Proper wager: 4,400
Alternate wagers: 3,400 – 3,900; 12,200
Actual wager: 3,500
Verdict: offering Michael the chance to overtake her

Game 2 (05/29/02)

Jill	Patti	Harrison
13,000	12,700	11,600

Proper wager: 12,400
Actual wager: 12,999
Verdict: probably not going to win if she’s wrong, so maximizing upside

Game 3 (05/30/02)

Jill	Thomas	Robyn
17,200	12,400	11,200

Proper wager: 7,600
Actual wager: 8,000
Verdict: a little extra

Game 4 (05/31/02)

Jill	Mala	Steven
11,200	8,800	4,600

Proper wager: 6,400
Actual wager: 7,000
Verdict: unnecessarily risking a loss to a 0 wager by Steven (max: 6,600)

Game 5 (06/03/02)

Marc	Shari	Jill
18,000	16,400	2,200

Proper wager: 2,200
Actual wager: 2,199
Verdict: “Sorry Cory no Jag”

TOC semifinal (05/13/03)

Mark*	Alan	Jill
16,300	15,000	7,900

Proper wager: 7,900
Actual wager: 0
Verdict: Alan wagered a rational 2,000, so she was toast

Mike Dupée

Mike had a lock in his fifth game and in UTOC Round 1.

Game 1 (04/09/96)

Michael	Ron	Rick
15,800	7,900	3,500

Proper wager: 0
Actual wager: 0
Verdict: attaboy

Game 2 (04/10/96)

Michael	Ron	Ann
7,300	6,700	200

Proper wager: 6,100
Actual wager: 6,101
Verdict: he didn’t want to bring Ron back for a third tussle

Game 4 (04/12/96)

Michael	Joe	Bruce
9,200	6,600	4,100

Proper wager: 4,000
Actual wager: 4,001

TOC semifinal (11/27/96)

Shane*	Mike	Beverly
11,500	11,100	5,500

Proper wager: 800 – 5,599
Alternate wager: 0 – 99
Actual wager: 0
Verdict: risking a loss to a small wager by Shane, but keeping Beverly out

UTOC Round 2 (04/22/05)

Michael	Eugene	Robert
21,700	13,200	11,200

Proper wager: 4,701
Actual wager: 4,701
Verdict: I hate when this happens

Brad Rutter

Brad had locks in his second and fourth, and fifth games, and in UTOC Round 2.

Game 1 (10/30/00)

Brad	Regina	David
7,800	5,100	4,900

Proper wager: 2,400
Actual wager: 2,401

Game 3 (11/01/00)

Brad	Eric	Ann
9,900	5,300	3,000

Proper wager: 700
Actual wager: 701

TOC semifinal (10/31/01)

Brad	Mark	Larry
10,800	8,500	2,600

Proper wager: 6,201
Alternate wager: 1,000 (Shore’s Conjecture)
Actual wager: 6,201

Million Dollar Masters semifinal (05/09/02)

Leslie F*	Brad	India*
20,400	19,600	3,800

Proper wager:  1,600 – 10,399
Actual wager: 19,600
Verdict: too aggressive, but it worked

UTOC Round 3 (05/09/05)

Steve	Michael	Brad
12,400	9,200	5,600

Proper wager: 5,600
Actual wager: 800
Verdict: too cute by half; Michael would have won with a different rational wager