Elyse Mancuso appeared on Jeopardy during 2012’s Teen Tournament.
Jeopardy![]
Elyse is one of very few contestants to have never lost on the show. She got an automatic spot in the semifinals, won her semifinal game, and finished both days of the Finals with more money than either of her opponents, Catherine Briley and Rose Schaefer.
Elyse gained fame for being the only Teen Tournament contestant to break the $75,000 minimum offered to the winners of the tournament. In the second day of her Final, she entered Final Jeopardy with a cumulative total of $51,600. This was more than enough to give her a lock tournament, as Catherine and Rose could only finish with $40,800 and $36,000, respectively. However, Elyse chose to go beyond her maximum safe bet of $10,799, and wagered a massive $28,000. This would have caused her to lose the tournament had she gotten Final incorrect and either Catherine or Rose gotten it correct; thankfully for her, Elyse barely managed to respond correctly in Final and finished with a 2-day total of $79,600, while Catherine received $31,000 for third place and Rose $36,000 for second place.
Not adjusting for doubled dollar values, Elyse’s 2-day total is the largest 2-day total in any tournament final, beating out fellow Teen Tournament winner Rachel Rothenberg’s $63,800, won three seasons before. Adjusted for doubled dollar values, Elyse’s total is only beaten out by 1995 Teen Tournament winner Matt Zielenski, with Matt’s total reaching $84,600 after two days. Additionally, Elyse’s Final wager on the second day of the finals - $28,000 - was the record for highest Final Jeopardy wager of anyone not named Roger Craig, until Skyler Hornback tied Roger’s $30,000 wager the following season during that season’s Kids Week.