‘Jeopardy!’ Fans React After Jamie Ding Surprise Result

Is Jamie Ding getting tired? Jeopardy! fans were shocked at his low score after 22 games of dominating the competition.

Ding, from Lawrenceville, New Jersey, entered his 23rd game with a total of $627,600. If he wins his 23rd game, he will be tied with Mattea Roach for fifth place for most consecutive games won, according to the Leaderboard of Legends.

On April 14, the law student and bureaucrat faced off against Iain Carpenter, from Mahomet, Illinois, and Stephanie Rice-Hoffner, from New York, New York. Was Ding finally taken down?  Warning: Spoilers for the April 14 episode of Jeopardy! ahead. 

Ding had the lead of $2,600 when he found the Daily Double on clue seven. He wagered all of his money in “Food Coloring.” The clue read, “The Swiss creator of these crackers came up with them as a birthday present for his wife, a Pisces.”

“What are goldfish?” he answered correctly. Ding doubled up to $5,200. He had $5,800 by the first 15 clues. All of the contestants were on the board and out of the red by then.

During the interviews, Rice-Hoffner, a former car wash tech manager, revealed that her grandmom was on Jeopardy! in 1970. She gave Rice-Hoffner a letter that she carried with her in her backpack.

By the end of the round, Ding had the lead with $8,400. Carpenter, a healthcare IT specialist, was in second place with $2,600. Rice-Hoffner had $2,400.

In Double Jeopardy, Ding answered most of the clues up until clue 11, when he found the first DD. He had $14,400 and wagered $4,600.

In “Historic Documents,” the clue was “Article 1 of the first of these, from 1864, says, ‘ambulances and military hospitals shall be recognized as neutral.'” “What are the Geneva Accords?” he answered incorrectly.

Ding dropped down to $9,800. The correct response was the Geneva Conventions. Carpenter had $3,600, so he could catch up pretty easily.

However, Ding found the last DD of the game on clue 11. With $9,400 in his bank, the game show contestant wagered $2,600 in “You Know More Dutch Than You Think.” The clue was “Haven means this; Rotterdam is een grote haven.”

After a brief pause, Ding answered, “What is a harbor?” He was correct, so he bumped up to $12,000, putting a bigger gap between him and Carpenter.

Ding ended the round with $18,400. Carpetner had $5,400. Rice-Hoffner did not compete in Final Jeopardy as she ended with -$800.

The category for Final Jeopardy was “20th Century Nonfiction.” The clue read, “‘Stop Fuming and Fretting’ & ‘I Don’t Believe in Defeat’ are chapters 6 & 8 in this book.” Neither contestant guessed The Power of Positive Thinking.

Carpenter wrote, “What is Jimi Hendrix‘s biography?” He wagered $5,399, ending with $1. Ding’s response was, “What is How to Win Friends and Influence People?” He wagered $2,00, making his total $16,400.

This ended him with a 23-day total of $644,00. Although he won, fans thought it was a low final total for him.

“Jamie got 16.4k and only 25/60. An ‘off’ session most of us all wish for,” a Reddit user said.

“Not his best game, but still a runaway,” another said.

“Jamie getting tired? Could this be the week he loses?” a third added.

“No, just an off session,” a fan replied.

Another fan pointed out that this was a tough board, due to the 11 Triple Stumpers.

Jeopardy!, weekdays, check local listings, stream next day on Hulu and Peacock