Springboro’s Libby Jones Triumphs on Jeopardy! with $70,802 Win

Springboro, Ohio — Libby Jones, a recruiter from Davenport, Florida, won the Dec. 2 episode of “Jeopardy!” with a two-day total of $70,802. Jones competed against Anne Martyn, a high school English teacher from Los Gatos, California, and Eli Selzer, a post-production manager from Los Angeles.

Despite Selzer’s strong showing throughout the game, Jones made a significant comeback during the Double Jeopardy! round. She found both Daily Doubles and answered correctly to clues that earned her a total of $25,200 after the round.

One notable clue in the category African-American Firsts asked, “In 1955 she became the first Black soloist to sing at the Metropolitan Opera, receiving an ovation before singing a note.” Jones answered correctly with “Marian Anderson,” and wagered $5,400, bringing her total to $10,800.

In another category, It’s Astronomical, the clue was, “The Huygens Gap, the Encke Gap and the Keeler Gap lie between these.” Jones responded correctly with “Rings of Saturn,” adding $2,000 to her score.

During the Final Jeopardy! round, the clue in the category Celebrities was, “An Ivy League grad, actress and author, she was Vogue’s youngest cover girl at 14 and was called the face of the 1980s.” Jones correctly identified Brooke Shields and wagered $20,801, bringing her total to $46,001.

Selzer matched Jones’ answer but only wagered $2,201, finishing at $25,201. Martyn, meanwhile, answered correctly but did not wager, staying at $2,200.

Host Ken Jennings praised Jones for her impressive winnings over the two days, stating, “How about that! That’s a lot of money and she’ll be back tomorrow.”

In a post-game interview, Jones shared a personal anecdote about her college friends, saying, “We’re the Weenies. Over summers during college, we’d get together at a lake house with hot dogs and cheap beer… We named ourselves after the titular weenie roast.”

Tonight, Jones will face off against Sarah Murphy, a freelance transcript editor from Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, and Ron Lalonde, a medical physicist from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. “Jeopardy!” airs weeknights at 7:30 p.m. on WDTN Channel 2 and is also available for streaming on Hulu.