Miami teacher loses first ‘Jeopardy!’ round. Will he be a wildcard semi-finalist?
Going into the final round of “Jeopardy!” Miami-Dade middle school teacher Matthew Bunch was in second place with an impressive $12,400, only $3,200 behind the first-place finisher.
Then came the final category: Teachers.
The answer: As a teenager, this woman regained her sight thanks to 2 surgeries in 1881 and 1882.
Bunch, 31, who when introduced gave a nod to his alma mater, the University of Miami, by throwing up a “U” with his hands, said Tuesday night his mind went blank.
“When the question came up I knew it was related to Helen Keller, but I couldn’t even think of her name,” he said after the episode aired. “I was just so out of luck. I was waiting for divine intervention. That’s why I put a question mark.”
His bet: $2,800. He ended with $9,600. His competitor, a high school Spanish teacher from California, Trevor Crowell, didn’t get the answer right either, but finished with $15,500. The third-place finisher was a high school English teacher from Arizona, Tara Baxter, who finished with $2,000.
She had the correct answer: Anne Sullivan, who was Keller’s teacher.
While Bunch didn’t win, he still has a chance of getting a wildcard spot in the semi-finals, which will air May 13, 14 and 15.
In all, 15 teachers from across the United States participated in the two-week tournament. The series will air through May 17. The winner of the tournament is guaranteed $100,000.
“You have heard me say this many times in recent years, but the Teachers Tournament is ‘Jeopardy!’s way of saluting those important members of our society who quite often get to spend just as much quality time with our kids as we the parents do,” said host Alex Trebek at the beginning of Tuesday night’s episode.
Bunch, a lifelong fan of the show, teaches civics and world history at AcadeMir Charter School Middle in west Miami-Dade. He is also a digital producer at the Miami Herald.
He said he was proud of his performance. Some of the categories he faced included The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Juice World, In the Principal’s Desk, Quoting the Classics, In the Orchestra and the Transcontinental Railroad. He answered all the questions correctly in the category That’s The Ticket, about presidential and vice presidential running mates.
On Tuesday, he gathered at the home of his wife’s parents to watch the show with family and friends.
Bunch was in Los Angeles at the end of March for the filming. He had to keep the results a secret.
“I was able to share it with my wife in Los Angeles, but being able to share with everyone else in my world is really fun.”
He couldn’t say how the tournament ends, but had this message: “Continue to watch so you can see if my score holds.”
This story was originally published May 7, 2019 at 9:09 PM with the headline "Miami teacher loses first ‘Jeopardy!’ round. Will he be a wildcard semi-finalist?."
