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JEOPARDY! fans have told Ken Jennings to ‘chill’ after the host made a moment ‘awkward’ as the returning champion lost his third game.
Mehal Shah a software engineer from Seattle, Washington, was looking to extend his winning streak, but his third game ended with an odd moment with the host.
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Returning champ Mehal, a two-day winner, has already secured impressive winnings of $46,062.
He went up against Adam Hersh, an attorney from Brooklyn, New York and Courtney Schooley, a preschool teacher from Tulsa, Oklahoma.
Mehal was out to another impressive start at the top of today’s game and entered the Double Jeopardy! round in the lead with $7,200.
His lead increased when he added $4,000 to his total with an accurate Daily Double guess.
However, Adam gave him a run for his money with many correct answers and quick buzzer reactions – leading them to swap leads throughout the game.
Adam’s total only improved when he found, and accurately answered, the two other Daily Doubles.
Heading into Final Jeopardy!, Adam maintained his lead with $16,600 while Mehal was not far behind with $14,400.
Courtney stayed in third place during the game, but still garnered up an impressive $8,400 by the last round.
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Host Ken, 50, revealed the category to be “Movies and Psychology” as the trio placed their wagers.
“In this film, Paula Alquist tells Gregory Anton, ‘Have you gone mad, my husband? Or is it I who am mad?’” the final clue read.
Adam and Courtney were both correct in writing down “what is Gaslight?”
Courtney nearly doubled her total to end with $16,601 while Adam won the game with a prize pot of $29,000.
Mehal appeared disappointed as he knew he was wrong in submitting “What is folie de deux?”
Despite appearing upset at the moment, Ken took the time to still make a quip at the moment.
“What is folie de deux? The Joker movie?” Ken asked with a laugh as Mehal disappointingly shrugged.
“Not correct. What did you wager? Everything. You drop down to zero,” the host added.
Ken was jokingly referring to the Lady Gaga and Joaquin Phoenix film that came out recently, Joker: Folie à deux.
Jeopardy! Universe
Jeopardy! first aired in 1964 until 1975. Then the nighttime version began in 1974. Since then, spinoffs of the game show have emerged. Here are all of those
Jeopardy! – (primetime) 1974 to present, weekdays on ABC at 7pm
Tournament of Champions – 1984 to present, features the top champions who have appeared on the show since the last tournament
Celebrity Jeopardy! – 1992 to present, has celebrities comepete against each other to raise money for chairty
Jeopardy! Masters – 2023 to present, features six notable recent Jeopardy! champions competing against each other
Jeopardy! National College Championship – 2022 to present, undergraduates from 36 colleges and universities across America compete to win $100,000
Other versions of Jeopardy! have fizzled out throughout the years
Folie à deux is also a phrase for “delusion” or “mental illness shared by two people in close association,” according to the Oxford Dictionary.
Fans took notice of the sly comment from Ken – even if the moment seemed inopportune.
“’The Joker movie?’ LOL damn Ken chill,” one person wrote.
“Did anyone else think Ken’s Joker joke was awkward timing? I know he didn’t mean anything by it but Mehal looked so sad,” another said.
“Read the room Ken not the time to joke when his dream just got crushed,” another said.
Due to Mehal losing his third game, he most likely just missed out on scoring an invite to the Tournament of Champions.
However, there are still a couple of slots left for the highly-coveted tournament so the final players to make it will be determined by the upcoming games.
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