Reston’s Mark Lowenthal returns to Jeopardy tonight as he seeks to move on — and win big — in the show’s Battle of the Decades.
Lowenthal, who first competed on the show in 1988, returned to Jeopardy as a Battle of the Decades winner in February.
He earned a come-from-behind victory, along with $17,000, to advance to the quarterfinals. Both rounds were taped last year, Lowenthal says. He is sworn to secrecy about the results.
Overall, Lowenthal, a former State Department and CIA official and noted U.S. intelligence analyst, has won $163,901 in his four Jeopardy appearances since ’88. He is also the co-author of a book, Secrets of the Jeopardy Champions.
But the competition will be stiff in this next round. He will go up against Brad Rutter of Lancaster, Pa., who has won $3,385,702 in his Jeopardy appearances, and Dan Pawson of Brooklyn, NY, who has won $433,602. Ken Jennings, who holds the show’s record for longest winning streak (74 games in a row in 2004), will compete in the quarterfinal round on Thursday.
The Battle of the Decades will continue with the semifinals and final next week.
Jeopardy airs on WJLA (Channel 7) at 7:30 p.m.
Reston’s Mark Lowenthal earned a come-from-behind victory in Jeopardy’s Battle of the Decades tournament, which aired on WJLA-7 on Thursday.
Lowenthal, a former State Department and CIA official and noted U.S. intelligence analyst, first competed on Jeopardy in 1988. He has been on the show twice since — winning the Tournament of Champions and pocketing a total of $154,901. He is the co-author of Secrets of the Jeopardy Champions.
On Thursday — in a segment taped several months ago — Lowenthal was up against lawyer Phoebe Juel of Cranberry Township, Pa., who won $38,000 as a college student 20 years ago, and Frank Spangenberg, a law enforcement official from Douglaston, N.Y. who earned close to $250,000 in previous appearances.
Lowenthal was leading after the first round, but Juel went on a run during the “Rare Breeds” category to have $17,001 to Spangenberg’s $14,000 and Lowenthal’s $10,400 going into Final Jeopardy.
The Final Jeopardy answer was this: This former poor British protectorate in 2012 was ranked as the world’s richest per capita.
Lowenthal risked $5,000 and got the answer wrong, leaving him with $9,000. Spangenberg was left with $7,801 after also answering wrong. Juel risked a lot — she wagered $15,000 of her $17,000. She was down to $2,000 after also answering incorrectly.
The correct answer was Qatar — and Lowenthal emerged the winner.
He moves on to a quarterfinal appearance against other Battle of the Decades winners. Those episodes will air in May.
Photo of Mark Lowenthal courtesy of Sony Pictures.
