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Grace Biermann didn’t have the pressure of going up against a 12-day Jeopardy! champion on Tuesday, July 21, but she did have the pressure of going up against two men. In a season dominated by male competitors making it through to the Tournament of Champions, the librarian from Valparaiso, Indiana, was hoping to be a rare female winner just lately on the show.
After making a big Daily Double wager during her first game, the writer and librarian spoke out about it and how her win was significant.
She faced off against one-day champion Sam Ryan, from Kansas City, Missouri, who had taken down super champion Caleb Groen during his first game, and Joey Sisk, from Cape Carteret, North Carolina. Biermann found the first Daily Double, which she got correct and only wagered $1,400.
She kept the lead throughout the round and well into Double Jeopardy. She found the last DD on clue 2 and wagered $10,000, already having $19,200 in her bank.
In “Beyond the Sea,” the clue was “The Fourth Amendment shields privacy by barring this pair of unreasonable actions.” “What are search and seizure?” she answered correctly.
Biermann got it right and gave herself a huge lead going into Final Jeopardy. She won the game with $32,000 and is returning on Wednesday for her second.
After the game, Biermann talked to host Ken Jennings about her wager and why it was important that she won now. “Everybody’s playing well there,” he said in an Instagram video, “but what I want to talk about was the big Daily Double wager. What was going through your head?”
“I mainly wanted to avoid betting too low, especially because I’ve been watching a lot,” she said. “I feel like there have not been a lot of female winners lately.”
“We have noticed that as well,” Jennings responded.
“Women, are maybe culturally encouraged, to not be quite as aggressive, and I wanted to make sure that I didn’t fall into that mistake,” Biermann said.
“So, you were going to make sure you erred on the side of aggressive wagering?” the host asked.
“I was really, really lucky to be in a position to do so,” she said.
The last female winner of the season was Katelynn Muller-McLean, who won on June 10. She returned for a second game, but lost that. Before that, it was May 5 when Shannon Crisenbury won. She lost her second game to Tristan Williams, who went on to become a super champion. There have been many streaks of male players winning multiple games this season.
Season 42 is set to end on Friday, July 24, so can Biermann make it to the end of the season? Tune in to find out.
Jeopardy!, weekdays, check local listings, stream next day on Hulu and Peacock
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