Lazarev came out on top in the popular vote, while the professional juries placed the contestant from Australia (a minor European nation, for the purposes of this contest) in first.
The second-place contestant, Rajesh Kotagiri of India, won $30,000 for devising a system for sending ads to electronic displays in stores.
The third-place contestant, Bernard Beckmann of Germany, who won $20,000, found a way to turn VoIP phones connected to Cisco's networking gear into office surveillance systems.
Since May 16 , 2002 consolation prizes have been $2,000 for the second-place contestant(s) and $1,000 for the third-place contestant.
With much fanfare and prevaricating, our third-place contestant, Chris Rene, was revealed.
The second place contestant was a cheesy magician who made a rather tasteless joke about ailing basketball icon Magic Johnson.
But instead, Ru puzzlingly explained that Farrah Moan, an eighth-place contestant from last season, was getting another shot.
He amasses $22,000 by the end of the Double Jeopardy! round, more than twice the score of the second place contestant, theoretically ensuring a win.
Those who have filled their arms with puzzle swag mill into the ballroom and find a strategic seat behind one of the many yellow barriers placed around contestants to guard their answers.
