The second quarterfinal of the 2026 Jeopardy Tournament of Champions turned into a blowout. But it came with a twist. The winner missed Final Jeopardy. And it still did not matter.
The game aired Tuesday, January 20. Allegra Kuney faced Brendan Liaw and Andrew Hayes. Allegra is a Ph.D. candidate from New Brunswick, New Jersey. Brendan is a law student from Vancouver, Canada. Andrew is a judicial law clerk from Tupelo, Mississippi.
The game started rough. The first 3 clues went unanswered. Allegra found her rhythm fast. Brendan and Andrew struggled early and both dipped into the negatives. By the first 15 clues, Allegra was already sitting at $3,000.
During the interview break, Brendan shared an update. He is no longer a stay at home son. He moved out. He got a job. Just 3 days later, he was accepted into law school. Andrew shared that he and his wife welcomed a baby since his last appearance. Allegra told a painful story. After her earlier games, she stepped on a bee while walking on the beach with her mom.
Back in the game, Brendan found the Daily Double on clue 16. He only had $200. He wagered $1,000. The category was National Parks of the World. The clue pointed to a famous waterfall in Venezuela. Brendan correctly answered Angel Falls. That pushed him into second place.
By the end of the round, Brendan surprisingly led with $3,600. Allegra had $3,000. Andrew was still in the red at -$1,000.
Double Jeopardy finally gave Andrew some relief. He found the Daily Double early. With $200 on the board, he wagered $2,000. The clue asked for a Latin based word meaning to turn, found on the back of a painting. He answered verso just in time. He jumped to $2,200.
Soon after, Allegra found the last Daily Double. She had $5,000 and went big. She wagered $4,000. The clue referenced Mansa Musa and a powerful West African empire. She answered Mali. Correct. That move changed everything.
From there, Allegra took control. She dominated the rest of the board. No one could catch her. Going into Final Jeopardy, Allegra had $18,200. Brendan had $8,000. Andrew sat at $6,200.
The Final Jeopardy category was Scientific Words. The clue asked about a term created by a Nobel Prize winner to avoid saying mould broth filtrate. Andrew answered penicillin. Correct. He wagered $1,801. He finished with $8,001. Brendan also answered penicillin. He wagered $1,337. His final total was $9,337.
Allegra missed it. She answered agar. The wrong response could have cost her everything. But she only wagered $10. Her final score was $18,190.
Even with the wrong answer, Allegra won easily.
She now advances to the semi finals. She will face Tom Devlin and Scott Riccardi in the first semi final game. Three new players will take the stage in the next quarterfinal.
Jeopardy once again proved that strategy matters just as much as knowledge.
