DANGER! contestant Weckiai Rannila defended herself on social media after offending fans with an extremely negative reaction to her defeat.
On Monday’s episode, the three-day champion neither applauded nor shook hands with her spirited winner Matthew Smith.
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The engineer from Albuquerque, New Mexico, accumulated a total of $35,200 before facing off against Matthew and Carrie Klaus.
Going into a nail-biting Final Jeopardy round, Weckiai led with $19,600, closely followed by Matthew with $13,200 and Carrie with $10,600.
The suddenly crucial clue read: “Like their uniform, the flag of this group created in 1506 has red, blue and yellow stripes, the colors of the Medici family.”
Matthew had the only victory with the “Swiss Guard”, doubling his winnings to $26,400 and securing victory in the runner-up position.
When Ken Jennings named him the new champion, he seemed emotional and Weckiai remained impassive, offering neither congratulations nor recognition.
Even as the credits rolled, she remained steadfastly silent and did not look in his direction.
Danger! contestants almost always exchange a “good game” at the end of an episode (hugs are in).
And this is especially true when a new player takes someone down in a sequence.
‘I KNOW’
Taking to Reddit post-game, Weckiai didn’t shy away from the controversy, acknowledging the stir it caused among fans.
She wrote: “What an exciting game it was to play! Congratulations again to Matthew Smith, our new champion! I was so happy to take part in a game where I was genuinely happy with my performance.
“I would love another opportunity to prove myself on the Alex Trebek stage.
“I know I may have given some viewers the impression of being cold or strange, but I was really impressed with what I was able to do by appearing on the show.”
His Reddit post sparked mixed reactions, with some giving him support while others were still unimpressed with his behavior.
“I didn’t think you seemed cold or strange. You seemed confident and self-assured to me,” one user responded.
“To be honest, I would have no idea how to act on stage. I didn’t get the cold/weird vibe from you. You nailed it! Congratulations on a great race,” wrote another.
A third replied: “I’m glad you came here to say this cause honestly, when you didn’t win last night you looked very cold and looked like a sore loser.
“You didn’t even congratulate (at least not on camera/while the credits rolled) that guy or look in his direction.
“While you probably owe him an explanation or an apology, I respect that you acknowledged that here, where you know you have a fan base.”
‘Boy, did she pout!’
Shortly after the broadcast, fans took to social media, shocked by what they saw as a lack of sportsmanship.
“Man, Weckiai pouted when he lost,” wrote one Facebook user.
I’ve never seen a sore loser on Jeopardy like Weckiai. That was so disgusting,” another said.
“I think she was just disappointed in herself,” argued a third.
A fourth agreed: “She wanted to go further, quite understandable! I prefer genuine emotion – she lost, she was upset.”
Losing in the fourth game is especially difficult for Jeopardy! competitors in regular play.
A fourth victory practically guarantees a place in the next Tournament of Champions.
Weckiai was aware of this, saying on stage that the esteemed tournament was “in his sights” but fell short.
So far, the official qualifiers for the next ToC are five-day champions Alison Betts, Amy Hummel and Lisa Ann Walter from Celebrity Jeopardy.
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NIGHT OF THE MASTERS 2
Meanwhile, Jeopardy! Masters Season 2 aired its second episode of two quarterfinal matches on ABC the same night.
The six elite competitors are Amy Schneider, James Holzhauer, Matt Amodio, Mattea Roach, Victoria and Yogesh Raut.
In Game 1, Mattea faced Matt and the “self-proclaimed final boss”, defending champion James (a rematch of last year’s Masters final).
James — who lost Episode 1 to Yogesh — finished Double Jeopardy with a 45.200, the highest score in Masters history.
Fans flooded social media in awe of James’ big win, though some admitted they were hoping for a Final Jeopardy comeback joke with an escape.
In fact, other than his name being written in Japanese on his podium, there were no jokes from James on the board, who seemed determined to just win.
“I thought James might bring a disturbing message,” joked a third party, surprised by James’ seriousness.
A fourth agreed: “I’m a little sad we didn’t get a pro wrestling tease intro or a Final Jeopardy comeback joke from James this year.
In Game 2, Amy faced last week’s winners, Victoria and Yogesh.
Victoria found the last Daily Double and nailed it like “Hoover”, taking her to 33,600 and an escape.
At the end of Double Jeopardy, Victoria had an impressive score of 41,000, Yogesh 11,800, and Amy 10,200 – which meant Amy once again finished in last place.
“We knew Victoria would be good but WOW,” one fan wrote.
Another lamented: “Amy’s confidence is so shaken. 40 games and second place in JIT is sooo commendable, chin up girls!”
An additional fan wrote, “Imagine if Producer’s Choice ended in 6th place haha,” referring to Amy.
One more wrote: “She probably will. Amy is super smart and friendly and one of my favorite players, but she’s just not on the same level as the others.”
“I feel horrible for Amy,” wrote another, and “Yeah, she’s having a rough tournament.”
The standings are now as follows: Victoria leads with 6 match points, James has 4, Yogesh has 4, Matt has 1, Mattea has 1 and Amy has 0.
Danger! airs at 7pm ET while Jeopardy! The Masters continues on Wednesday, May 8th with Games 5 and 6 on ABC at 8pm ET and on Hulu.
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This story originally appeared on The-sun.com read the full story
