Minnesota meteorologist moves on in 'Jeopardy' Tournament of Champions

Twin Cities meteorologist Eric Ahasic took full advantage of the Daily Doubles to qualify for the semifinals of the "Jeopardy" Tournament of Champions.

Ahasic, who earned a spot in the contest by going on a six-game winning streak earlier this season, struggled early in Thursday's episode, even missing a question about hockey's Frozen Four, a sin for anyone living in Minnesota (He made up for it in the introductions, when he gave a shout-out to the State Fair).

But in the second round, he hit on two consecutive Daily Doubles, betting it all each time. He nailed both of them. The gamble gave him a decisive lead over Jaskaran Singh,who had won the National College Competition, and four-time winner Jackie Kelly, who actually answered more questions than her opponents.

But Ahasic's Daily Double risk — and the fact that he knew the Final Jeopardy question about Zurich — resulted in a total of $39,201, substantially more than the others.

Betting big on Daily Doubles is a primary reason for Ahasic's previous success on the show.

"I'm a calculated gambler," he told the Star Tribune this past June. "When I was playing hundreds of games at home, my track record on Daily Doubles was about 80 percent. That's a bet I'll take anytime. It's been working for me so far."

Ahasic is now among six top competitors who will compete for the title of 2022's ultimate champion. The semis air next week. "Jeopardy" can be seen locally at 4:30 p.m. weekdays on KARE, Ch. 11.