Spoiler alert! This story reveals the results of the Celebrity Jeopardy! finale that aired on February 2. Consider yourself warned.
The games leading up to the finale of Celebrity Jeopardy!’s first season weren’t always the easiest to watch. The celebrities' levels of expertise were varied, leading to some less-than-competitive episodes, and some of the talent just straight-up rubbed viewers the wrong way. It was all worth it to get to this finale, though, as viewers were treated to a competitive and exciting game from start to finish that ended in dramatic fashion and $1 million going to charity. It was so impressive that fans are already asking for more.
Wil Wheaton, Patton Oswalt and Ike Barinholtz progressed through their respective quarterfinal and semifinal rounds to make it to Thursday’s finale, which was hosted by Mayim Bialik. The trio were correct on nearly every question, and the game remained close all the way through Final Jeopardy! In the end it was Barinholtz who took the $1 million prize for the charity Hollygrove, and he did it by besting Oswalt by just $1. Fans on social media were fired up over the photo finish, with one tweeting:
WOW holy shit Ike Barinholtz beats Patton Oswalt to win #CelebrityJeopardy by ONE DOLLAR. ONE MILLION dollars came to ONE single dollar. Unreal. What a game.
Regular viewers of Jeopardy! know that a common Final Jeopardy! betting strategy sees the player in the lead bet just enough to win by a dollar, but that didn’t make Ike Barinholtz’s accomplishment any less impressive. In fact, it proved that these three celebrities likely have what it takes to compete in the real game, which one Twitter user would love to see, saying:
There were a few episodes of Celebrity Jeopardy that were rocky this season, but holy cow that finale was incredible!! Please please please @Jeopardy invite the winner to ToC.
Extending an invitation to the Celebrity Jeopardy! winner to join the Tournament of Champions is an idea executive producer Michael Davies has bandied about, so we’ll have to see if Ike Barinholtz gave the performance the EP needed to see.
But consider these stats. In the finale, there were only four incorrect answers given: two by the eventual champion and one apiece from Patton Oswalt and Wil Wheaton. What’s more, one clue resulted in incorrect answers from all three players, which means only one other clue in the entire game involved an incorrect answer.
The players also kept the game exciting with their Daily Double wagering. Ike Barinholtz went for a True Daily Double in the first round, Patton Oswalt did it with both in Double Jeopardy!, and Barinholtz again went all-in for the first Daily Double in Triple Jeopardy!
The exciting game and the camaraderie between the three celebrities had fans begging for a Season 2, and the sooner the better, as other reactions included:
- Celebrity Jeopardy cannot come back soon enough. The game play continually improved. The final was insane. – @thatmikeklauss
- Now that Ike won, will we get a second season of #CelebrityJeopardy soon? – @SeanHorace
- Can we please get #CelebrityJeopardy to be an annual event? That was such an amazing finale! – @racinemachine
There’s been no official word on whether or not Mayim Bialik and Celebrity Jeopardy! will be back for another season, but there could be no stronger argument than the game that was played by the three finalists. While we wait for an announcement from ABC, you can stream Celebrity Jeopardy!’s first season with a Hulu subscription, and be sure to check out our 2023 TV schedule to see what premieres are coming soon.
