‘Jeopardy!’: Ken Jennings Accused of ‘Jinxing’ Player in ‘Fantastic’ Game
Spoiler Alert
Fans think Jeopardy! host Ken Jennings jinxed eight-day champion Chris D’Angelo during his ninth game. They also praised the contestants for a “fantastic” game.
D’Angelo, a content manager from Washington, D.C., entered his ninth game on June 1 with a total of $194,201. On Monday, he played against Peter McFerrin, from Corona, California, and Camryn Bell, from Minnetonka, Minnesota. Warning: Spoilers for the June 1 episode of Jeopardy! ahead!
“We wrapped up the month of May with champion Chris D’Angelo earning his eighth win and his fifth runaway,” Jennings said. “Despite all of his success here on the Alex Trebek stage, Chris still has a ways to go if he wants to match the accolades earned by the Awkwafina character in Quiz Lady, the character that we learned Chris’ sister is based on him. In that movie, Awkwafina wins 93 straight times, Chris, so you’re just 85 wins away right now.”
Fans thought Jennings might have jinxed D’Angelo when he said that. By the first 15 clues, D’Angelo sat at -$1,200, so he might have. Both McFerrin, an energy industry professional, and Bell, a museum educator, were tied with $4,200.
On clue 19, McFerrin found the Daily Double. He had $5,600 and wagered $2,100.
In “Code Red,” the clue was “He began organizing the Red Army in 1918 but lost his post as people’s commissar for war in 1925.” “Who is Leon Trotsky?” he answered correctly, giving him $7,700.
Although D’Angelo got out of the red by the round, he only had $600. Bell was in second place with $5,000. McFerrin led with $8,300.
“Ken introducing Chris at the top of the episode by comparing his win streak to Awkwafina’s fictional 93-game streak felt very jinx-y. Oh well,” a Reddit user said.
D’Angelo had the chance to catch up in Double Jeopardy when he found the first DD on clue 14. He had $5,400 and wagered all of his money.
The clue in “Signs & Symbols” read, “An interrobang combines these 2 punctuation marks into a single one.” “What is a question mark and an exclamation point?” he answered correctly. This gave him a total of $10,800 compared to McFerrin’s $15,500.
“You look relieved,” Jennings said.
D’Angelo found the final DD on clue 24. He had $13,600 comapred to McFerrin’s $19,500. D’Angelo wagered $3,600 in “The Glorious First of June.”
The clue was “1533: No. 2 in a series, she’s crowned Queen of England, briefly.” “Who is Lady Jane Grey?” he answered incorrectly. The correct response was Anne Boleyn, so he dropped down to $10,000.
At the end of the round, McFerrin was in the lead with $20,700. D’Angelo was in second with $11,200. Bell had $10,200.
“Idioms & Expressions” was the category for Final Jeopardy. The clue read, “In the 1830s, cities on the Mississippi banned cardsharps, creating more of these, now meaning one who takes big risks.” The correct response was “What are riverboat gamblers?” which none of the game show contestants answered.
Bell answered, “What are big spenders?” She wagered all of her money, knocking her down to $0. D’Angelo also wagered all of his money after answering “What are high rollers?”
McFerrin’s response was “What are mavericks?” He wagered $1,701, making his total $18,999. He became the new champion, ending D’Angelo’s streak.
Despite the loss, fans thought it was a great game. “That game was fantastic, but I did not like that Final at all. I’ve heard of the answer, but absolutely never in the context of that clue,” a Reddit user said.
“Excellent game! Congrats to Peter. Sorry to see Chris go, but he’ll be back at TOC,” another wrote.
“Peter played great throughout!” a third added.
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Conversation13 Comments
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D
I did not care for the final question. A bit too esoteric.
Do not think comments by Jennings were a jinx
I have wondered, however, why many strong winning contestants suddenly become weak. They do not buzz in on round one frequently and those are easier questions Very different from their previous games
I wonder if they get tired of playing.
James H. last game started me wondering and cChris’ play last night likewise . I felt sure he knew a large number of the answers but for whatever reason did not buzz in.
Just my humble opinion
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C
I think they are tired. Remember they film 5 episodes in one day and keep doing that until they lose. The challengers are in their first game. They are fresh!
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G
I noticed the same thing. They seem to hold back and it looks fishy
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S
I don't believe in jinxes. It's silly superstition.
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M
It’s too bad. He’ll be in the TOC. It was time for someone else, but I hope Peter loses today. Don’t care for his smirks and self-applauding.
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L
Agreed!
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J
U are so right I do not care for Peter at all it was such a pleasure to watch Chris and Jennings isn’t entertaining either sometimes
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J
The next day as I was thinking this episode over, it seemed like Chris just “threw” the game. He sat there motionless when surely he could have rung in and answered a dozen early questions for money. I was very disappointed. Perhaps that early inflammatory comment by Ken threw off Chris’s mental chemistry.
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J
I did read he was in a play ? Production and they gave him time off to go so maybe he did just need to go !
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J
Chris did very well but you can only know so much trivia. After a while, the categories are outside your scope of recall and knowledge.
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P
No jinx. He has made comments like that to others on a run about who next to beat.
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D
I don’t care for Jennings, he thinks he is so clever. I think he should just stick to the questions and stop with all the comments he makes after the contestants answer.
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M
Jennings has gotten in players’ heads many times. He just talks too much. Producers let it happen. Why?
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