Why ‘Jeopardy!’ Champ Cris Pannullo’s Shock Defeat Is Good News for Show Bosses
Cris Pannullo‘s impressive 21-game winning streak on Jeopardy! has come to an end as he was beaten on Tuesday (December 6) night by professor Andy Tirrell in a nail-biting Final Jeopardy round. But for the show’s bosses it could be good news as the super-champ was busting their budget with his big winnings!
The former professional poker player had amassed a massive $748K over the course of his 21 wins, giving him the 5th highest winnings in the game show’s history and its 6th longest streak. His victories were so decisive that the producers had started using the phrase “Pannullo’d” to describe contestants defeated by the South Jersey resident.
However, during Tuesday’s game, Pannullo met his match in Tirrell, a political science and international relations professor from San Diego, California. The two traded wins throughout the episode, with Pannullo having a slight lead of $12,600 compared to Tirrell’s $11,900 as they entered Final Jeopardy.
The final clue read: “A 1609 story in which an exiled king of Bulgaria creates a sea palace with his magic may have inspired the plot of this play.”
Pannullo answered incorrectly with “What is The Little Mermaid?,” decreasing his total to just $1,399. Meanwhile, Tirrell got it correct, answering with “What is The Tempest?,” giving him the win with $15,399 and unseating the fan-favorite super-champ.
While fans were disappointed to see Pannullo’s run come to an end, the show’s producers were probably breathing a sigh of relief. Pannullo had been breaking all sorts of records, including winning more money in 21 games than Ken Jennings had at that point. He’d also won $200,000 more than super-champ Mattea Roach had in her impressive 23-game streak.
In one game Pannullo made host Kennings go “Wow!” after he took home a whopping $71,821. This figure beat Tournament of Champions winner Amy Schneider‘s best ever one day total of $71,400.
On Monday’s edition of the Inside Jeopardy! podcast, executive producer Michael Davies said, “We’ve started having these big internal debates about how on earth we’re gonna manage our prize budget, based on how much money Cris was winning.”
“Those debates continue to this day,” he continued. “It’s a big issue, you know; the prize budget is something we do have to manage. We have to estimate at the beginning of the season what we’re gonna give away.”
He added: “You get an aggressive player like Cris who comes in and starts just making a lot of money, making those aggressive Daily Double wagers… There are finance people at Sony who we have to talk to and say ‘Uhh… just gotta let you know about something going on with the game.'”
While Pannullo’s time on the show is done, for now, viewers will get to see him again when he returns for the 2023 Tournament of Champions.
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C
Cris was great, a modest contestant.
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R
Modest contestants don't start at the bottom of the board.
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J
I'm not going to try to put words in Monasue's mouth, but I think the comment meant that Cris's personality was modest, not talking a lot about himself, and simply focusing on the game and nothing more. In which case I totally agree with Monasue.
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P
I think that long time winners attract more viewers, especially if the winner is a likeable person.
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M
I think that many times long-timers have gotten tired and just worn out. It happens. I also think that occasionally, they just decide enough is enough, and that is okay, too. I also think that considering recent history, it might be time to revisit the rules and figure out how long a contestant run could be to keep the ship afloat. There was a reason the original run was limited, just as there was a reason that limitation was removed. Yes, some of the fans will complain, but what else is new?
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J
I'm surprised Cris didn't know the answer to the FJ question... and a little disappointed. But he did a great job, and will do well in the next ToC.
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R
I wonder if Davies was being a bit facetious about the budget. They had no problem with Holzhauer's many 6-figure wins.
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P
I think many time long time winners deliberately loose. Pressure gets to be too much . Whether consciously or not the extra $ is not worth it
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R
This accusation gets made every time a long-running champ loses. NOBODY deliberately loses. Nobody.
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R
anyone here 2025
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C
By limiting the number of wins a contestant can have, the prize budget would be safe. And many fans dislike the extended runs that have become so frequent lately. Not to mention the advanced buzzer skill a contestant gains over first time players. Perhaps a 10 game limit?
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