DANGER! contestant Will Stewart lost on Wednesday after racking up $70,501 in just three games – and some fans blamed Ken Jennings for his downfall.
The political organizer from Nashville, Tennessee, faced Grant DeYoung of Arizona and Kathy Olson of Pennsylvania.
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Will came in with a bang and fans of the game show were excited about his skills.
However, his defeat came not from a Daily Double, but rather from an obscure moment when a crucial $400 clue went unclaimed.
In danger! round, Will advanced with $7,600 (and the Daily Double), Kathy was behind with $1,800, and Grant was left with $3,400.
During Double Jeopardy!, challenger Grant won both Daily Doubles, but split the winnings.
With just one row of six $400 clues remaining – one in each category – tensions rose.
The two players were side by side as they tackled the remaining clues, with Grant taking three and Will taking two.
But unfortunately time expired after the penultimate clue because Ken, 49, didn’t rule immediately.
The penultimate clue in “IN THE PERIOD MOVIE” was: “It’s the role Nicole Kidman played in Being The Ricardos.”
Grant replied, “What’s Lucy?” prompting a pause from Ken, who asked, “Can you?”
Before Ken could clarify, “Be more specific,” Grant completed the answer with “Arnaz” and Ken awarded him $400.
“Mmm, yes, we’ll take that,” Ken said. “’Lucille Ball,’” he confirmed when the time was up.
“You’re in the lead and we don’t have time for the final clue, so you’ll have a $400 lead before the final.”
As a result, Grant went to Final Jeopardy! with a minimum lead of $400, leaving Will visibly frustrated.
Grant was left with $13,200, Will was behind with $12,800 and Kathy was left behind with $6,600.
In the Final Jeopardy category “19TH CENTURY LITERARY CHARACTERS,” the clue read: “John Elwes, a millionaire member of parliament who went to bed before dark to save candles, inspired this character.”
All contestants correctly answered “Scrooge,” and it was Grant who sealed the win, betting $12,401 to finish with $25,601.
‘UNNECESSARY, KEN!’
Fans took to Reddit, speculating that if Ken had accepted “Lucy,” Will might have gotten the final clue before time expired, potentially tying the game.
One Redditor wrote: “I wonder if there is any chance that the last $400 DJ clue will be revealed if “Lucy” is immediately accepted.
“Obviously we’re dealing with hypotheticals about whether or not Will could have tied it at that point, but it’s one of those things where the shot clock just bothers the game a little bit.”
Will wrote in the thread: “I haven’t gotten around to watching the episode yet, so I’m not sure if it’s on the broadcast, but the moment the timer went off, I briefly sprawled despondently on top of my podium.”
A third wrote: “Another unnecessary Be More Specific from Ken.
“The character Nicole Kidman played was Lucy Ricardo, so “Lucy” should have been accepted immediately.
“That would have given Will a chance to tie with Grant on the 60th clue, and we would have had a one-question tiebreaker. [after Final Jeopardy].”
If Ken hadn’t asked for Be More Specific and the two players were tied after Final Jeopardy, they would have answered a tiebreaker clue.
Other fans predicted that Will could still make a splash in the upcoming postseason.
“Assuming the three winners don’t get a spot in the automatic ToC this time, Will could be scarily good in the CWC. Congratulations to Grant on his big win and payout!” wrote a fifth.
“Good job, Grant. As a colleague from Arizona, I’m happy”, wrote a sixth congratulating the new champion.
Grant will face two new challengers in tomorrow’s episode, while Will says goodbye to the show – for now.
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NEW QUEEN OF MASTERS
Meanwhile, Jeopardy! Masters Season 2 airs its penultimate round of quarterfinals tonight on ABC.
The six elite-level competitors are defending champion James Holzhauer, Amy, Matt Amodio, Mattea Roach and newcomers Victoria Groce and Yogesh Raut.
Rookies Victoria and Yogesh lead the special, with James in third place, a result that no one expected.
Victoria, the 2005 one-day champion, qualified by winning the recent Jeopardy’s Invitational Tournament and became the star of the special.
The Queen of The Chase has only lost once and is “dominating” so far – collecting a record $50,000 in her latest match as fans predict she will win it all.
James, who lost only once in the 2023 special, lost three times and is no longer presented as “Final Boss”.
“I’m a fan of James but he’s fighting Victoria,” noted one social media user.
“I think he met his match,” wrote another.
“I know we’ve seen her do this multiple times, but Victoria plays this game on a whole different level,” wrote a third. “Those Masters signs are an easy job for her. Blocking James is no easy task.”
“Is there ANYTHING she doesn’t know?” she wrote a fourth.
The Masters grand prize is $500,000, a flashy Alex Trebek trophy to honor the late iconic host and the title of Masters Champion.
Each Masters episode consists of two half-hour games, and the winner of each receives three points, while the runner-up receives one.
The round-robin tournament sees all combinations of the celebrity contestants face off before any eliminations take place, and everything is determined by points rather than dollar values.
The four players with the most points will advance to the semifinals, and the top three will face each other in the finals.
The bottom two will be eliminated before the two semi-final episodes starting on Friday, May 17th.
After the elimination of the fourth placed team, the final will air on May 22nd.
It looks like on Friday fans will say goodbye to Matt – and Mattea or Amy too.
Danger! airs at 7pm ET, while the Masters continues on Wednesday, May 15th with Games 11 and 12 on ABC at 8pm ET. and on Hulu.
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This story originally appeared on The-sun.com read the full story
