Portland’s Mira Hayward falls short in ‘Jeopardy! Champions Wildcard’ tourney

Published 7:30 pm Thursday, February 22, 2024

Mira Hayward, a Portland podcaster and daughter of state Sen. Elizabeth Steiner, fell short in her quest to win the “Jeopardy! Champions Wildcard” tournament.

She was one of three competitors in the finals. She still won $25,000 for placing third; that gave her $62,000 combined winnings in her two appearances on the game show.

The games took place over a three-day period in Los Angeles several weeks ago.

“It was really fun,” Hayward said. “Deb (Bilodeau) and Jesse (Matheny) are extremely nice people. Contestants hang out in the green room, as shows tape Wednesday to Friday. By the finals, we had spent so much time together, it was fun to be on stage with them. We were genuinely rooting for each other.”

She and Matheny both had $2,800 after the first of two games Wednesday, Feb. 21 — while Bilodeau had $21,600.

Hayward, 28, played well in the Thursday, Feb. 22 second game, but missed on a “Daily Double” question in the “Double Jeopardy!” round, as she went from $5,000 to zero money.

She fought back to have $5,600 going into “Final Jeopardy!” But Bilodeau’s big lead and Matheny’s second-day total of $20,400 put victory out of reach for Hayward.

“Final Jeopardy!” category was “On Vacation in Italy” and the clue: “About 30 miles from Florence, a little hill gives this tiny Tuscan town its name, familiar to American visitors.”

Hayward answered incorrectly, “What is Uh Oh (in Italian); Go Deb & Jesse!” In other words, she didn’t know the answer. Her wager left her with zero (and $2,800 total). She also answered incorrectly in Wednesday’s “Final Jeopardy!”

Said Hayward later: “Hard to understand the question.”

Bilodeau answered, “What is sorry I forgot … thanks Mom and Dad.” Bilodeau wagered it all, and had $21,600 total.

Matheny answered, “What is Washington,” incorrect. He wagered $19,800, leaving him at $600 and a two-day total of $3,400.

The answer: “Monticello.”

Bilodeau moved to the “Tournament of Champions.” A Portlander, Matthew Marcus, and Vancouver, Washington resident, Yogesh Raut, were to be part of “TOC.” (Update: Marcus lost in the first game Friday, Feb. 23.)

Bilodeau won $100,000 for being “Champions Wildcard” champ, while Matheny made $50,000 and Hayward $25,000.

Hayward was a two-game winner in 2023 ($37,000), and also won two games to make the “Champions Wildcard” final.

She’s the host of podcast “History on Trial,” about famous trials, and she’s the daughter of Steiner, who represents Northwest Portland and Beaverton. Hayward attended Catlin Gabel School and Harvard University.

She just released the second episode of “History on Trial.”

“I gotta get back to the episode grind, writing and getting episodes ready,” she said. “It’s going well. The second episode came out (Feb. 22). The first one got 30,000 (downloads). I’m grateful for the people who watched ‘Jeopardy!’ and were interested.”