Low Score, Big Win: Michigan Player Shocks ‘Jeopardy!’ Fans

He may not have shattered records like Brad Rutter or James Holzhauer, but a Michigan man has still earned bragging rights as the latest Jeopardy! champion.

Meet Michigan’s New Jeopardy! Champ

Tyler Griffith is a Criminal Forensic Scientist originally from Sturgis, Michigan. On Tuesday’s show (5/27), he took the stage in a sharp suit, smiled brightly through his braces, and outplayed the show's other two contestants to claim victory, even if his final total was on the modest side.

The Power of Daily Doubles

Griffith started out strong in the Jeopardy! Round, quickly amassing $1,600 before hitting the show's first Daily Double. He bet everything, making it "a true Daily Double," as players like to say, and doubled his score. By the end of the round, he was still ahead of his challengers: Jackie Yang from New York and the show's returning champ, Judith Friedman from California.

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In the show's second round, Griffith hit another Daily Double with $4,800 to his name. It was a gutsy move, but he did it again, opting to go all in. Would you have been able to come up with the correct question based on this clue?

Linking Prudhoe Bay to the Port of Valdez, this controversial project was completed in 1977 at a cost of $8 billion. 

Tyler didn't seem sure of himself, waiting until the last second before he said, "What is the Alaska Pipeline?" Much to his relief, host Ken Jennings affirmed that he was correct, noting that Griffith had just doubled his score.

That wager helped give him a narrow lead going into the show's Final Jeopardy round.

A Nerve-Wracking Final Jeopardy

It was a challenging clue in the category of American History:
In 1847, a decade before making national news, he was the plaintiff in a Missouri case against Irene Emerson.

None of the players came up with “Who was Dred Scott?”

Friedman, the returning champ, bet everything, leaving her with $0. Yang lost all but $300. Griffith, who also guessed incorrectly, made a smart wager, leaving him with just $799.

Ordinarily, $799 is a rather small amount on Jeopardy!, but for the Michigan native, it was enough to make him the champ.

Tyler competes against two new contestants again today. Jeopardy! is seen locally on WNEM-TV 5 at 7 PM.

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