Jeopardy! fans blast ‘awfully inconsistent’ rule that hurt contestant who finished with negative score

JEOPARDY! fans have criticized an inconsistent rule that hurt a contestant who finished the game with a negative score.

On Friday, seven-day champ Isaac Hirsch’s win streak increased to eight as he defeated chemistry professor Mike Ferguson and attorney Ashley Weaver.

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Jeopardy! host Ken Jennings considered contestant Ashley’s response incorrectCredit: ABC

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Ashley’s answer was considered wrong for not including the first name of a past U.S. president’s wifeCredit: ABC
While the game ended with Isaac collecting $34,001, increasing his 8-day total winnings to $195,389, fans seemed particularly perturbed by a seeming injustice toward Ashley.

Annoyed fans called out a repeated Jeopardy! inconsistency that occurred again during the Double Jeopardy round concerning the “First Ladies” category.

When responding to the $1,600 clue, “From a prominent & wealthy Ohio family, she was known as the ‘Belle of Canton,'” the contestant’s answer was denied after she answered with only the first lady’s first name.

Jeopardy! host Ken Jennings, 50, asked, “Can you be more specific?”

When she could not, her answer was deemed incorrect and her score dropped from “- $2,600” to “- $4,200.”

In response to Ashley’s answer being considered incorrect, a fan wrote on a Reddit board dedicated to the long-running game show, “Ok, so apparently now they’re requiring first names for First Ladies?”

They continued, “As I’ve pointed out before, they have been awfully inconsistent about this over the years.

“It would have been nice if Ken had at least warned the contestants about that at the top of the round–particularly for Ashley, who lost 1600 on that Ida McKinley clue.

“I can think of several situations where it makes sense to clarify (if there were more than one First Lady McKinley or if the clue gave away who the President was) but none of that fits here. It seemed strange to me too,” they added.

CLOSE GAME

On Friday’s episode, the Burbank, California champ pulled off his closest win yet for eight victories and second-longest run all season.

After an all-out runaway on Thursday, Isaac faced Ashley from Lakewood, Ohio, and Mike from Edmond, Oklahoma.

After the Jeopardy! round, Isaac—his only miss was a $2,600 Daily Double—led with $6,600, Chemistry teacher Mike had $5,800, and Ashley had -$1,000.

Isaac’s interview had Ken buckling over, recalling a “brutal” stand-up comedy gig on a baseball field where his mic didn’t work.

But the competition was no joke, as Ken remarked, “Mike’s giving the champ a run for his money!”

In Double Jeopardy!, Isaac gained $2,500 on the second Daily Double.

Then, Mike found the last Daily Double and doubled up with a gutsy $6,000 play.

This made Final Jeopardy a nail-biter between Isaac, with $21,500, and Mike, who had $17,000.

Ashley was removed with an unfortunate -$2,600, and the category was “Names in Medicine.”

Ken, 50, once again reminded the players, “We’ve got a tight game.”

The clue was, “He got a special presidential citation in 1955, passed away in 1995 & was dubbed “the man who saved the children.”

Tensions were palpable as Ken turned to Mike first; he was correct with “Salk” and seized a $1 lead.

Isaac revealed he was also correct, wagering $12,501 to win $34,001 for a towering eight-day total of $195,389.

He pumped his fist and sighed deeply as Ken closed, “He dodged a bullet!”

‘WILL HE CATCH ADRIANA?’

Fans flooded social media, blown away by Isaac’s biggest payday yet and how he’s only training Adriana Harmeyer in wins this season.

“Isaac ended the week very strong,” one Redditor wrote. “He’s going to be tough to beat in the TOC, though he seems to be settling into a more conservative DD wagering strategy.”

“Ya think he will catch up to Adrianna’s track record of 15 wins?” wondered another.

“Mike has an excellent shot at making Second Chance after his performance today,” wrote a third.

Jeopardy! Universe

Jeopardy! first aired in 1964 until 1975. Then the nighttime version began in 1974. Since then, many spinoffs of the game show have emerged. Here they all are:

Jeopardy! – (syndicated) 1974 to present, weekdays on ABC at 7 pm ET.

Tournament of Champions – 1984 to present, features the top champions who have appeared on the show since the last tournament.

Second Chance Tournament – 2022 to present features hand-selected non-winners from the season prior, where the prize is entry into Champions Wildcard.

Champions Wildcard – 2023 to present, features all one, two and three-day champions from the season prior worth entry into the Tournament of Champions.

Jeopardy! Invitational Tournament (syndication) – 2023 to present, features past greats invited by producers to vie for a slot in Masters.

Jeopardy! Masters (primetime) – 2023 to present, features the six highest-ranked Jeopardy! champions competing against each other.

Celebrity Jeopardy! (primetime) – 1992 to present, has celebrities compete against each other to raise money for charity.

Pop Culture Jeopardy (streaming) – 2024 to present, will feature teams of three tasked with pop culture trivia on Amazon Prime, host and airdate TBD

Jeopardy! has done away with specialized tournaments like its College Tournaments, Kids Week, and Professor’s Tournament to gear towards a more sports-like model, with Masters being the top of the Jeopardy pyramid.

Other versions of Jeopardy! have fizzled out throughout the years as well, like Sports Jeopardy!.

“Isaac’s incorrect response per game average rate could be his downfall at some point,” speculated a fourth.

Other fans predicted that Isaac may now be the frontrunner for the next Tournament of Champions, given how well he’s playing.

So far, the other qualifiers for the next Tournament of Champions are Survivor alum Drew Basile (7 wins), Adriana (15 wins), Alison Betts (5 wins) and Dr. Amy Hummel (5 wins), and Celebrity Jeopardy!’s Lisa Ann Walter.

With four wins, Grant DeYoung and Amar Kakirde will also likely join in.

Isaac will go for his ninth win on Monday’s episode as he inches closer to setting the record for the longest run all year.

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Ashley’s score dropped from ‘- $2,600’ to ‘- $4,200’ after she got the clue wrongCredit: ABC

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Seven-day champ Isaac Hirsch’s win streak increased to eightCredit: Jeopardy!

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The game ended with Isaac collecting $34,001, increasing his 8-day total winnings to $195,389Credit: Jeopardy