'Jeopardy! Masters' Episode 7: Amy Schneider stumbles in first round of semifinals

May 20—Dayton native Amy Schneider is in fourth place after the first round semifinals of the second annual "Jeopardy! Masters" tournament aired Friday, May 17.

The Oakland, California writer and winner of the 2022 Tournament of Champions is among the super champs vying for trivia glory: reigning "Masters" winner James Holzhauer; Season 1 "Masters" finalists Matt Amodio and Mattea Roach; 2024 Tournament of Champions winner Yogesh Raut; and 2024 Invitational Tournament winner Victoria Groce. Schneider, the runner-up in the Invitational Tournament, was specifically chosen as a Producers Pick.

Over the course of three weeks, nine one-hour episodes will feature two games among different combinations of the contestants, resulting in a champion who will win a $500,000 grand prize and the "Jeopardy! Masters" title.

Schneider, Holzhauer, Raut and Groce are in the semifinals. Game 2 of Friday's episode featured Schneider opposite Groce, a writer and television personality from Pittsburgh, and Raut, a cognitive and behavioral scientist from Vancouver, Washington.

In a brutal battle leaving her wallowing in the red, Schneider delivered her worst performance of the tournament. She never seemed to find her footing against her more solid competitors, who particularly had more luck with their buzzer timing.

At the end of the Jeopardy! round, it was apparent the game would be an extreme uphill battle. Groce led with 11,200 points followed by Raut with 4,000 and Schneider with -200.

Situations imploded during Double Jeopardy! with Schneider failing to correctly respond to four clues, including the following in the category The Tortured Poets Department:

"'The Awful Rowing Toward God' by this American was published in 1975, the year after she took her own life."

Schneider answered Plath (Sylvia) but the correct response was Anne Sexton. She ultimately finished the round deep in the red at -3,000 which eliminated her from competing in Final Jeopardy!

During the interview portion, Schneider humorously discussed her next possible writing project, which involves a Cleveland Cavaliers milestone.

"Having already finished my first book, 'In the Form of a Question,' I'm hoping to write a second one," Schneider said. "I've got a lot of different ideas. It may turn out to be 10 to 15 essays each talking about the 2016 NBA Finals. But maybe not. Maybe I'll come up with another angle for it."

The leaderboard at the end of the seventh episode: First: Raut (4); Second: Groce (3); Third: Holzhauer: (1); Fourth: Schneider: (0). The ranking takes into account the number of correct responses.

The semifinals resume tonight. Game 1 will feature Groce, Holzhauer and Schneider. Game 2 will feature Holzhauer, Raut and Schneider. Only three will advance to Wednesday's finals.

"Jeopardy! Masters" airs at 8 p.m. on ABC. The show also streams on Hulu.