SALT LAKE CITY — For Betsy Knudson, achieving victory on Wednesday night’s “Jeopardy” came down to just one question.
Fortunately, she had the answer, and it paid off in the end — literally.
The attorney and one-day “Jeopardy” champion from Salt Lake City was up against Julie Roth of Odessa, Texas, and Justin Torello from Monroe, New York.
Compared to Tuesday’s game, Knudson was not as quick on the buzzer, and most of the answers fell to Roth, who led for the majority of the game.
The first half covered topics ranging from memes to state capitals, and at the conclusion of the half, Roth was in the lead with $4,600 — $1,600 more than Knudson, who finished the half in second place.
Entering the Double Jeopardy round, Roth continued to race through the questions and maintain her lead.
Knudson got an opportunity to catch up when she selected a Daily Double question in the Marine Biology category. At this point, she was in last place with $5,400 — $1,600 behind Roth. She took a risk and wagered enough money to tie for first if she answered correctly.
The clue was, “Since it is lighter than water, the oil mainly in this organ prevents sharks from sinking.” Knudson correctly responded with “What is the liver,” bringing her to a tie with Roth at $7,000 with less than a minute to go.
Despite this effort, Knudson still entered the Final Jeopardy round in last place with $7,000. Roth finished in first with $9,400 and Torello in second with $7,700.
The final question referenced the state that changed a letter in its abbreviation from “B” to “E” in 1969 to avoid confusion with a Canadian province.
It was a question to which only Knudson provided an answer, and it was the right answer — Nebraska.
Even though the attorney only wagered $2,401, it was enough to put her in the lead, with a total of $9,401, bringing her two-day sum to $38,601.
Watch if Knudson’s winning streak will continue tonight at 6:30 p.m. on KJZZ Salt Lake City.