KEN Jennings caused an awkward scene on Friday’s Jeopardy! episode when he ruled a player incorrect, correct, and then incorrect again.
Ongoing champ Matthew Marcus claimed on Reddit he was “locked out” from responding instead after the host “changed his mind.”
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The returning champ faced Ricky A. Rivera II, an employee stock ownership plans analyst from Chicago, Illinois, and Andrew Bembenek, a construction project manager from Los Angeles.
Matthew, a software developer from Portland, Oregon but originally from the UK – took to the left podium after a big first win of $42.2K.
During the Double Jeopardy! round, a $1200 clue under “The National Park System” was read by host Ken, 48.
“An Alabama historic site invites you to journey back to the 1940s and learn about this group of Black military aviators.”
‘WE’RE NOT TAKING THAT’
Ricky buzzed in with: “What is the Tuskegee Red – Red Wings.”
“No,” Ken replied. “Oh yes, No.” the host replied in a muddled moment.
Ricky slumped on his podium and none of the contestants knew what to do, champ Matthew could be seen buzzing in but wasn’t allowed to respond.
Ken broke the silence: “We’re not taking that.”
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Andrew then buzzed in when the coast seemed to be clear: “What are the Tuskegee Airmen?”
“Yes,” Ken replied. “Or the Tuskegee Red Tails. Ricky, so close.”
It seemed the host was confused as Ricky was close to the correct alternate response, leading to the clunky back-and-forth.
‘THAT TUSKEGEE QUESTION’
Champ Matthew brought up the odd clue incident in the Reddit thread about the game and didn’t like how it was handled.
He accused Ken’s handling of it “locked him out” of the clue.
A user claiming to be Matthew wrote: “I was quite sad about how that Tuskegee question played out. If you watch closely, Ricky buzzes in, gives the wrong answer, I immediately buzz in, then Ken changes his mind and I’m locked out, then Ken changes his mind back and Andrew buzzes in. Lucky it didn’t matter!
One fan replied: “I agree with you and noted the same thing during my watch. I’m actually surprised they kept it in, as it’s pretty clear you should’ve been able to respond before Andrew. Like you said, it didn’t matter (thankfully).”
And a third wrote: “Interesting point. Is that how it played out in real time? I’m surprised that didn’t result in a stoppage and reshoot, or some kind of editing.”
Matthew replied: “I guess I could have kicked up a fuss if I wanted to but I think the show just powered onwards very quickly so I shrugged it off.”
‘SCARED ME AT THE END!’
From there, the episode flew to an exciting conclusion going into Final Jeopardy.
Matthew had $28,800 Andrew $11800 and Ricky $11,200.
The category was “World War II” and the clue read: “Mimi Reinhard, who never learned to type using more than 2 fingers, produced this with 1,100 names, including hers.”
Ricky was correct with “What is: Schindler’s List?” and doubled up, leaving him with $22,400.
Andrew also nearly doubled up giving him $23,578.
Matthew was incorrect with “What is the Holocaust Memorial?” and for a moment, it looked like he could have wagered too big and lost.
Luckily for him, he only put $5K on the line and by a mere $302 wiped his brow and won the game with $23,800.
“Scared me in the end!” one Youtube user wrote under a clip of the fiery finish.
“Matthew is the real deal of a champ. Congrats!” applauded another on Reddit.
“Phew! I love a close game. All 3 contestants were excellent!” gushed a third.
“What is with this abundance of talent on Jeopardy! nowadays. Matthew is amazing!” wrote a fourth.
“I was thinking the same thing. Andrew or Ricky could have won a game against most other contestants. Matthew was just too strong.” a fifth agreed.
So far this season – which is reaching its midway point, only five contestants have won big enough to qualify for next year’s Tournament of Champions.
This year we’re looking at most recent 6-day winner Troy Meyer, fan-favorite Ray Lalonde with 13 wins, former poker ace Cris Pannullo with 21 wins, five-day champ Luigi de Guzman, and four-day champ and priest David Sibley.
With two solid scores, fans are hoping Matthew – whom fans have noted has a great British accent – will be next.
The sour note regarding that odd clue mid-way through comes after fans “felt bad” for a contestant earlier this week as she ran out of time while correctly guessing Final Jeopardy.
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