Wayne Man Takes Down Paoli Woman Who Defeated Jeopardy! Champ James Holzhauer

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Alex Trebek with Brendan Roach of Wayne, who defeated Paoli native Emma Boettcher, who in turn took down Jeopardy champ James Holzhauer. Image via Jeopardy Productions.

Paoli native Emma Boettcher, dubbed “the giant killer” by Jeopardy! host Alex Trebek after taking down James Holzhauer, was herself defeated Thursday night by Brendan Roach from the Main Line, writes Rob Tornoe for the Philadelphia Inquirer.

Boettcher entered Final Jeopardy in second place, just $200 behind Brendan Roach, a policy researcher from Wayne.

The Final Jeopardy clue? “Steinbeck called him ‘just a voice and a guitar’ but said his songs embodied ‘the will of a people to endure and fight against oppression.’”

Boettcher got the last name correct — Guthrie — but incorrectly said it was “A. Guthrie” instead of the correct response, “Woody Guthrie.” Ultimately it didn’t matter, because even if Boettcher had answered correctly, she wouldn’t have been able to top the $38,200 Roach ended the game with.

“It’s been a good week for the Main Line,” Roach told the Inquirer.

Steve Clarke, a teacher at Holy Child School at Rosemont in Bryn Mawr, Pa., said he wasn’t surprised at all to see his former student succeeding on Jeopardy!

“Even as a 6th grader, he had a head for factual information and intellectual curiosity,” Clarke told the Inquirer.

Read more about Brendan Roach and the battle for Jeopardy! champion here.

Editor’s Note: This post first appeared June 15, 2019.

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