Jeopardy! Is Changing How The Daily Double Works
Jeopardy! Masters will allow fans to see where the Daily Double is hidden on the board.
Jeopardy! fans are often very resistant to any format changes for the long-running and beloved trivia show, but the upcoming change to the Daily Double seems like it could win them over. Kotaku reported that in the newly aired Masters series, fans watching at home will actually be able to see the Daily Double highlighted on the board when they are briefly introduced by Ken Jennings at the start of the show. This way, fans will know where the Daily Double is located, but contestants won’t.
This should ramp up a bit of excitement for fans watching at home, as they have some insider information that the contestants aren’t privy to. The Jeopardy! Masters tournament is also a tournament stacked with heavy hitters, as Amy Schneider, Andrew He, James Holzhauer, Matt Amodio, Mattea Roach, and Sam Buttrey are all competing for the prize of $500,000 and the “Trebek trophy.” The first episode aired on May 8, and the tournament will consist of ten episodes in total with plenty of Daily Double squares to mix things up.
Of course, the Jeopardy! purists don’t have to worry about this Daily Double change being applied to the regular show that is co-hosted by Jennings and Mayim Bialik. That show will continue running as normal, as they’re only trying this new mechanic out on the Masters series. But maybe if fan reception is unanimously positive, we could see the Daily Double reveals brought over the flagship series.
Fans of Jeopardy! know just how crucial the Daily Double can be as a strategic component of the game show. When a player lands on a Daily Double space, they’re free to wager as much of their score as they want before the question is revealed. Getting the question right awards them the amount they wagered while getting it wrong can lead to them losing that amount.
The Daily Double can easily turn the tide of a game in either direction. A Jeopardy! contestant could potentially take a big lead with a Daily Double or spectacularly fail and lose a ton of money. Clueing the audience into the location of this game-changing mechanic could build some anticipation and hype at home as fans see a contestant dance around that particular square.
The first episode of Jeopardy! Masters aired yesterday, and fans who didn’t tune in missed out on the debut of the Daily Double mechanic and a fierce battle between Andrew He, Matt Amodio, and Amy Schneider. The winner of said battle would go on to place in the tournament, with the winner getting three standing points, second place getting one standing point, and third place getting none. Andrew ended up coming out on top with $28,401, and Amy finished in a close second with $28,200.
Game #2 also aired yesterday and saw contestants James Holzhauer, Mattea Roach, and Sam Buttrey competing. Holzhauer ended up coming out on top with $30,998, and Buttrey placed second with $18,401. Fans will be able to tune in today on ABC network at 8 pm EST to check out Game #3 and Game #4 of the Jeopardy! Masters tournament along with the new Daily Double changes. Game #3 will be a battle between Buttrey, Schneider, and Roach, while Game #4 will be a battle between He, Holzhauer, and Amodio.
