Show #9472 2026-01-06 (taped 2025-11-06) Champions Wildcard

2026 Champions Wildcard quarterfinal game 2.

Contestants

Geoff Barnes — an analyst from Washington, D.C.

Dave Bond — an art student from Rochester, New York

Michelle Tsai — a tutor originally from Honolulu, Hawaii

Scores

Player	First Commercial	End of Jeopardy!	End of Double Jeopardy!	Final	Coryat
Michelle	$6,400	$7,200	$16,000	$14,398 Automatic semifinalist	$18,800 23 R (including 1 DD), 4 W (including 2 DDs)
Dave	$3,800	$6,200	$11,800	$10,000 2nd place: $5,000 if eliminated	$11,800 15 R, 1 W
Geoff	$0	$1,600	$8,800	$800 3rd place: $5,000 if eliminated	$8,800 12 R, 3 W

Jeopardy! Round

WORDS THAT SHOULD RHYME	SHAKESPEARE GETS WILD	THE COUNTRY THAT BORDERS...	AT THE AIRPORT	THAT'S KEY	COMEDY GETS PERSONAL
$200 [19] A flower of romance & to fail to achieve victory rose & lose Michelle	$200 [27] This historical king speaks of "the wild sea of my conscience", which must have been rough sailing indeed with all the wife killing Henry VIII Geoff	$200 [28] The United Kingdom & the North Atlantic Ireland Michelle Geoff	$200 [29] The N.Y. Times recommends tipping a few dollars per bag--more for an unwieldy golf or ski bag--to these airport porters skycaps Michelle Dave Geoff	$200 [21] This type of 3-letter key uses radio frequency identification technology to unlock a room or a car fob	$200 [30] (Will Arnett presents the clue.) In his first HBO special, Gary Gulmanbravely went into his struggles with this mental health condition; some say Bojackhas it, though Mr. Peanut Butterwent on tour as the face of it depression Michelle
$400 [18] The business end of a firearm & an angry disagreement between 2 parties barrel & quarrel Michelle	$400 [26] "These are but wild and whirling words, my lord", says Horatio to this title character Hamlet Dave	$400 [23] Colombia, Peru & the Pacific Ocean Ecuador Dave	$400 [22] Itching to get home? Many airlines offer 2 options for moving up your flight: same-day confirmed & same-day this other type of ticket standby Geoff	$400 [20] The Ceremony of the Keys is a nightly occurrence at this fortress; it's kept the Crown Jewels safe for hundreds of years the Tower of London Michelle	$400 [25] (Will Arnett presents the clue.)Thiscomedian is pretty irreverent about the religion of her ancestors, but her sister, a rabbi, doesn't seem to mind Sarah Silverman Geoff
$600 [3] The prevailing weather in a region & a lemur, for example climate & primate Geoff	$600 [9] "Winter's not gone yet if the wild geese fly that way", says the surprisingly wise fool to him (King) Lear Dave Geoff	$600 [10] Norway, Sweden &Russia Finland Michelle	$600 [15] Head to one of these rotating conveyor belts to claim your luggage, but despite the name, we don't recommend riding it a carousel Dave	$600 [17] "Major Key Alert" is "anotha one" of the catchphrases from this DJ born to Palestinian immigrant parents DJ Khaled Geoff	$600 [24] (Will Arnett presents the clue.) Having five kids has been a frequent topic for this man, who suggests that Mother's Day should be immediately followed by Father's Day Month (Jim) Gaffigan Dave
$800 [1] A sudden torrent & a group of birds hatched around the same time flood & brood	$1,000 [13] In a poem, he is "hot, faint, and weary with" Venus' "hard embracing, like a wild bird being tamed with too much handling" Adonis	$800 [11] Nobody, though there's a 1-kilometer causeway to Malaysia Singapore Dave	$800 [6] If the interval between 2 connecting flights gets longer than 24-ish hours, it goes from being a layover to being one of these a stopover Dave	$800 [12] Each July, a Hemingway lookalike contestis held at Sloppy Joe's Bar in this Florida city Key West Michelle	$800 [16] (Will Arnett presents the clue.) In his stand-up, Gabe Kaplantalked about his time in remedial classes at Brooklyn's Erasmus Hall High School; however, New Utrecht High was used for the opening of "Welcome Back, Kotter", which turned Gabe's classmates into this misfit group Sweathogs Dave
$1,000 [2] A room such as milady's & to heave oneself up awkwardly chamber & clamber	DD $2,000 [8] This king's horses "turned wild in nature, broke their stalls... 'tis said they eat each other" after his murder by Macbeth Duncan Michelle	$1,000 [14] Guatemala &Mexico Belize Michelle	$1,000 [4] These are numbered based on their position relative to the magnetic north pole & are sometimes renumbered as the pole moves runways Dave	$1,000 [7] For inventing public key cryptography, Martin E. Hellman was given the communications award named for this Italian inventor Marconi Michelle	$1,000 [5] (Will Arnett presents the clue.) It was no problem to talk onstage about his obscenity bust for this comic, including one in 1962 for saying "schmuck" onstage; he even read his trial transcripts to audience (Lenny) Bruce Michelle

Double Jeopardy! Round

I'M THE PROBLEM	SECOND LETTER "Q"	DISEASES	NAME, MYTH & MODEL	LINGUISTICS	SO LONG, FAREWELL, JUST KIDDING
$400 [29] Shortly after hearing, "We'd like you to stir up your cryo tanks", a man on this mission said, "Houston, we've had a problem" Apollo 13 Geoff	$400 [28] As the saying goes, this type of "wheel gets the grease" squeaky Michelle	$400 [27] Bradykinesia, a slowness of movement, is a sign of this neurological disease named for the British doctor who IDed it in 1817 Parkinson's Michelle	$400 [30] In a statue in Odense, Denmark, he wields a hammer & gets to work hammering some giants Thor Dave	$400 [26] From Greek for "relating to speech", it's the branch of linguistics dealing with vocal sounds & their production phonetics Geoff	$400 [25] Shecalled her farewell tour "Living Proof"; time until next tour--nine years Cher Michelle
$800 [22] This math branch that analyzes random phenomena uses the birthday problem (will 2 folks in a random group have the same birthday?) probability Geoff	$800 [12] One of the big 3 credit bureaus, it was founded in 1899 as the Retail Credit Company Equifax Michelle	$800 [21] Key to stopping outbreaks of this hemorrhagic fever in Africa, which began in the '70s, are safe burial methods & avoiding bushmeat Ebola Geoff	$800 [20] In asculptureby Bernini, this god chases Daphne as she is metamorphosing into a laurel tree Apollo Michelle Dave	$800 [23] In the Bouba-Kiki effect, people across cultures tend to assign the nonsense word "kiki" to a spiky object & "bouba" to this type a rounded object Michelle	$800 [24] This band famous for stagecraft & kabuki-inspired makeup ended a goodbye tour in 2001 & another, the "End of the Road World Tour", in 2023 KISS Michelle
$1,200 [11] This astronomical conundrum, later a book title, is illustrated here the three-body problem Dave	$1,200 [8] With marriages & such, in the 1100s it was a game of pass this duchy, which reverted back to Eleanor before her death Aquitaine Michelle	$1,200 [18] Zachary Taylor had it rough at the end, dying of this water-borne bacterial infection cholera Michelle	$1,200 [17] On a vase at the Louvre, one of these creatures neighmed Chiron holds the hero Achilles a centaur Michelle	$1,200 [2] In Thai the P-sound with a puff of air is its own letter; in English, we write the puff-P with "Ph", as in this largest Thai island Phuket Dave	$1,200 [19] Nine Inch Nails' 2009 Wave Goodbye Tour was more wave-goodbye-for-now; by the next tour in 2013, this frontman had won an Oscar (Trent) Reznor Michelle
$1,600 [10] This famous ethical dilemma was posed by philosopher Philippa Foot in 1967 & demonstrated on a 2017 episode of "The Good Place" the Trolley Problem Geoff	$1,600 [7] Altair is the brightest star in this constellation that flies like an eagle in the summer sky Aquila	DD $2,000 [9] 2025 saw an outbreak in New York of this form of pneumonia first identified in 1976 Legionnaires' disease Michelle	$1,600 [5] A sculpture at the Getty Villa shows this Spartan queen with a swan on her lap Leda Dave	$1,600 [4] Using a double negative like "ain't nobody" is common in AAVE, where the "V" stands for this vernacular Michelle	$1,600 [3] This British metal band said goodbye to touring after 2012's Epitaph Tour; next tour, 2014 Judas Priest
$2,000 [13] This 18th century Scottish philosopher on the problem of evil: Is God willing to prevent evil but not able, or able but not willing? (David) Hume Geoff	$2,000 [1] This word meaning "scaly" is found in the name of a common skin cancer squamous Dave	$2,000 [14] Regional ileitis is the former name of this type of inflammatory bowel disease that might be an autoimmune disorder Crohn's Michelle	$2,000 [6] A sculpture of this trickster god outside of the Oakland Museum of California doesn't look like a spider, but does have 8 arms Anansi Geoff	DD $2,000 [15] If you see "PIE" as part of the etymology of a word, it stands for this reconstructed parent language Proto-Indo-European Michelle	$2,000 [16] This band, which may sometimes just be James Murphy alone in a studio, held a farewell concert in 2011; yrs. to next tour: 5 LCD Soundsystem

Final Jeopardy!

TYPOGRAPHY

Inspired by Port Authority bus terminal signage, it was adopted as a font by NYU & the Tribeca Film Festival

Gotham

Geoff "What is Helvetica?" — wagered $8,000

Dave "What is Arial? Go Bills!" — wagered $1,800

Michelle "What is" — wagered $1,602

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