JEOPARDY! viewers have called out Ken Jennings for accepting an ‘illegible’ response that was ‘impossible’ to read before Rishabh scored his second win.
Due to the difficulty of the audience being able to make out what the handwritten Final Jeopardy! answer said, many are demanding the show change to a keyboard for the iconic segment.
On Wednesday night’s game, Rishabh – who has already become a season 41 fan favorite following yesterday’s dominating debut – seemed eager to continue his winning streak.
The Illinois native, who is currently a Sophomore at the University of Pennsylvania, played against Jay Eversman, an environmental attorney from St. Louis, Missouri and Rachel Cassidy, an associate professor from Providence, Rhode Island.
Rishabh tried making aggressive wagers early which cost him $1k when he incorrectly answered the first Daily Double.
He picked up momentum though and gained the lead back, having $3,000 by the time of the first break.
Jay and Rachel were tied in second place with $1,400 each.
Rachel began to pick up the pace and added $2k to her score when she correctly answered the second Daily Double under the category “The Book Nook.”
Her quick-thinking brought her total to $10,100 heading into Final Jeopardy! – just $300 behind Rishabh who had accumulated $10,400 and had to be smart with his wager for a chance to win.
Meanwhile, Jay was far behind with a total of $4,800 going into the last round.
Host Ken Jennings read out the clue for Final Jeopardy! under the category “College Towns.”
“Two schools in the Southeastern Conference are located in cities with this same name but in different states,” he read.
Rishabh and Rachel were both ruled to be right after writing “What is Columbia?” and he added $9,801 to win with $20,201 for a two-day total of $42,402.
After Rachel failed to wager enough when she found the second Daily Double, she could have taken the lead and likely would have won the game.
However, many viewers can’t help but call out Ken for accepting Rishabh’s answer that they claim was “completely illegible.”
The contestant appeared to be nervous and rushing, so quickly jotted down his answer which read more like “Cdumlacf” than actual “Columbia.”
Still, Ken and the judges the show uses to determine any discrepancies decided to take the two-day champ’s answer – leaving mixed reactions from fans.
MMM WATCHA SAY?
“Man I just do not know if that said ‘Columbia.’ I guess if it’s good enough for Ken though,” one person suggested.
Another agreed, writing: “It’s very messy (“Cdumlaq”?), but all the necessary strokes for “Columbia” are there as far as I can tell.
“Also, it’s not up to Ken. The judges can see what each contestant is writing in real time, and they make the ruling.”
“It’s beyond time for contestants to have a keyboard for FJ,” a third demanded – referencing the current tradition of the last answer being handwritten and timed.
Jeopardy! Contestant Rules
Passing Jeopardy!’s online Anytime Test is hard enough, but there are also many rules players must follow once they make it to the stage:
- The returning champion is always at the leftmost podium and keeps playing until they lose.
- Contestants don’t have to say “who is” or “what is” in the first round but must do so in Double Jeopardy! and Final Jeopardy.
- Contestants can change their responses as long as Ken Jennings or the judges haven’t made a ruling.
- The minimum wager for a Daily Double is $5. The minimum wager for Final Jeopardy! is $0.
- Written responses in Final Jeopardy! do not have to be spelled correctly, but they must be phonetically correct (the judges decide this).
- If there’s a tie after Final Jeopardy, the tied players enter a bonus clue shootout, and whoever buzzes in first correctly wins.
- If all three contestants wager everything in Final Jeopardy! and are incorrect, leaving them with $0, there will be no returning champion (it’s happened before—six times).
While one more said: “My ruling was that his response was illegible. Apparently my rulings have very little influence.”
Due to Rachel missing out on a win by the slightest margin, she grew a fanbase that hopes to have her back with the franchise in the future.
“Strong showing for Rachel. She’d make a good addition whenever they do another Second Chance Tournament,” an admirer wrote.
After winning his first game, Rishabh won over much of the audience with his intelligence and charming personality.
“Rishabh is the smartest (and my favorite) player of season 41,” an excited viewer said with a heart emoji.
The college student is no stranger to trivia, as he has a long resume competing in National Academic Quiz Tournaments.
He now is an intern with a pharmaceutical company and focuses on his studies at the University of Pennsylvania, where he will receive his Bachelor’s in Mathematical Economics in 2027.
