SOUTH DAYTON - "This is the first day of a two-day final event and it is, if my memory serves me correctly, a unique situation on Jeopardy!" Alex Trebek said at the opening. "This is the first time we've had a rematch of sorts."
By chance, local champion Jason Zollinger was facing off in the finals of the Jeopardy! Tournament of Champions with the two men he faced in the first round: video game tester Stefan Goodreau from Los Angeles and chemical engineer Vijay Balse from Chatham, N.J.
Zollinger and Goodreau were able to watch Balse's victory in the last semifinal match from the audience and Zollinger said the prospect of a rematch was at the forefront of their minds.
"There's 'Better the devil you know than the one you don't,'" Zollinger said, "but I also finished third that game. I knew they could beat me."
And after the first of two matches, Zollinger has a good deal of ground to make up if he is not to finish third again.
Zollinger drew first blood in the "Jeopardy!" round, but his next answer was incorrect, sending him into negative territory. He struggled up to the commercial break, where his score was $-800 to Balse's $1,600 and Goodreau's $3,200.
Balse hit the Daily Double and went all in, but answered incorrectly. Zollinger was able to climb out of the hole and ended the round second with $800, $200 ahead of Balse. Goodreau's dominance of the buzzer, however, placed him solidly in the lead with $5,000.
Zollinger's recovery continued when he hit a Daily Double on the second question of the "Double Jeopardy!" round. He bet the maximum of $2,000 and answered correctly, lifting himself up to $3,200. He also snagged a question on the Finger Lakes, much to the delight of the audience at Zollinger's Restaurant, and provided two of the rather lengthy responses in the intimidating "Before, During and After" category.
Balse hit the second Daily Double shortly after taking the lead mid-round, however, answering correctly to widen the gap. He maintained his lead to the end of the round, earning $14,600. Goodreau was second with $9,400 and Zollinger just behind with $9,200.
Zollinger bet everything on the "Final Jeopardy!" category of African Capitals but answered incorrectly, leaving him with $0 to carry over into the second night. Neither of his opponents answered correctly either, however, leaving Balse with $9,200 and Goodreau with $5,800.
An apparent flashback to the first round game may have led Zollinger to make such a risky bet.
"I was really kicking myself; not just for getting it wrong, but for betting everything," Zollinger said. "I was already second-guessing myself. Going into "Final Jeopardy!" I was playing against the same two guys, I was in the same position - I was in last place - and I had the same score, even. I thought I had to make a move, I had to try something, so I tried the most dramatic move I could. I went all in and it didn't work out."
The tournament finals is played over two games for a reason, however, and Zollinger said he still held a note of optimism between the two matches.
"I knew I was going to have a long way to go to come back," he said, "but I knew there have been some really big comebacks in tournament history before, so I knew I had another whole game to play and I was still in the game anyway."
The last game of the Jeopardy! Tournament of Champions will be aired Friday at 7:30 on WKBW Channel 7. Players' totals from both games will be added together to determine the overall tournament champion. The winner will receive $250,000, with the first runner-up receiving $100,000 and the second runner-up receiving $50,000.
