Semifinals: Madden/MacDonald/Marshall - May 16

Fifteen of the best Jeopardy! players this year have been whittled to nine, as the quest for a title and $250,000 continues.

Another standard two-week affair awaits with an increased minimum guarantee of $100,000 for second place and $50,000 for third.

Semifinalists are guaranteed at least $10,000, while quarterfinalists are guaranteed $5000 for participation. As always, any and all winning accrued depends on how far up the ladder a player goes.

Who joins Vik Vaz in the final on Friday? Find out... right now.
 

DAVID MADDEN orig. from Ridgewood, NJ Student 20 days, $430,400	BILL MacDONALD Bonita Springs, FL Attorney Four days, $75,399	KEVIN MARSHALL Metairie, LA Student Six days, $98,201

Jeopardy! categories: Sociology, The Starting Infield, Dictators & Tyrants, The Onion, World Authors, Crossword Clues "J".

Daily Double: $800 Dictators & Tyrants. David, on the first clue of the round, bets the max of $1000. The clue: the pro-Soviet dictator Babrak Karmal came to power in this country after a 1979 invasion. David's response: "What is Afghanistan?" Correct for $1000.

End of round:
David: $3400
Bill: $6600
Kevin: $2200

Double Jeopardy! categories: Business Leaders, Radio, That's Italian!, Reduced Shakespeare, New Weapons, 5-Letter Words.

Daily Double #1: $1200 5-Letter Words. Bill ($7800 over Kevin's $6600 and David's $5000) bets $3000. The clue: it can mean "brief & forceful" or "resembling the inner core of a stem". Bill's response: "What is pithy?" Correct for $10,800.

Daily Double #2: $2000 Radio. Bill ($14,800 over Kevin's $10,600 and David's $5000) goes for $1000. The clue: on April 3, 1936 a nation listened as Gabriel Heatter covered this man's execution. Bill's response after a lengthy pause: "Who is Bruno Hauptmann?" Correct for $15,800

End of round:
David: $4600
Bill: $22,200
Kevin: $10,600

As evidenced by the scores, not much need be said, except maybe... "Damn, son."

Final Jeopardy! category: Scientists. The clue: "American Prometheus" is a biography of this physicist who died in 1967. Correct response: What is J. Robert Oppenheimer?

David's response: Who is Congrats Bill Good luck in the final!? WRONG, but cute. Wager: $4600. Total: $0.
Kevin’s response: Who is Oppenheimer? RIGHT. Wager: $400. Total: $11,000.
Bill's response: Who is Oppenheimer? RIGHT. Wager doesn't matter.

To quote Joe Mello: "Out by the woodshed and everything." This was the Bill MacDonald show, especially late in the Double Jeopardy! round. If he keeps his pace up, he'll give Vik and tomorrow's winner a serious run at it.

Tomorrow, semifinal match 3. See you then.