Jeopardy fans upset after a spelling mistake ends Ben Chan's nine-day winning streak
What's in a name? The key to winning Jeopardy, apparently.
Thanks to a single spelling error in a Shakespearean name, Ben Chan's nine-day winning streak has come to an end.
The Tuesday night episode kicked off with a rocky start for Chan, whose daily double loss put him neck and neck with retired museum educator Lynn Di Vito. But it was Final Jeopardy that officially ended Chan's reign.
Jeopardy Productions, Inc. Ben Chan on Jeopardy
The clue, under the category, "Shakespeare's Characters," read: "Both of the names of these 2 lovers in a Shakespeare play come from Latin words for 'blessed.'" The answer is Much Ado About Nothing's Beatrice and Benedick. None of the three contestants answered correctly, but it was Chan who lost the biggest, having bet $12,201. With only $3,000 on the line, Di Vito ended up the winner with $11,800 to Chan's $5,199 and Danny Leserman's $1,000.
Jeopardy devotees are taking Chan's loss particularly hard because the champ was only one letter away from the correct answer. While both of his competitors incorrectly named Romeo and Juliet, Chan wrote down "Beatrice and Benedict," an answer deemed incorrect because he misspelled Benedick.
Viewers were not shy about their outrage and quickly hopped on social media.
Awful ruling against Ben Chan on tonight's #Jeopardy
— Dani (@TheDanimatrix) May 23, 2023
Since when does being off by one letter count in final jep? There's no other character he could have meant. #jeopardy
— David Peterle (@david_peterle) May 23, 2023
Lynn doesn’t finish spelling “Juliet” yet it’s ruled as a complete (albeit incorrect) response, and Ben misspells Benedick by one letter and is ruled incorrect. Clearly they knew what he was going for and yet ended his run on a terrible technicality. #Jeopardy pic.twitter.com/M9ZjJpfF5h
— Not Mark Wahlberg (@_MarkWithAnM) May 23, 2023
The thing I hate about #Jeopardy is if Ben had said that response he would have got it correct, but writing it was wrong. The inconsistency has always bugged me.
— db (@metallidan) May 23, 2023
Earlier in the season Chan became the first contestant to win nine consecutive runaway victories — ending each game with winnings so large that no wager from the second or third place players would allow them to catch up. It began with Chan winning four runaway games before briefly exiting the game show in April due to COVID-19. When he returned to defend his title, the streak continued — until it didn't.
Some fans in the episode's Reddit thread lamented that the ruling was harsh, while others deemed it perfectly in line with rules long-established by the gameshow. Chan himself weighed in on Reddit to say that he stands by the ruling. "Benedict" is incorrect," the Jeopardy contestant wrote. "The character's name is Benedick. As Ken (presciently) noted on my first episode, there is no partial credit on Jeopardy! (Yes, I was sooo close!)" He added that the mistake can be blamed on "bad flashcards," explaining: "The 'Benedict' misspelling is common, and it worked its way onto a couple of my flashcards."
This is far from the first time that a harsh ruling has prompted backlash from Jeopardy fans — it's not even the first instance this season. Earlier this month, fans of the quiz show were similarly upset when all three contestants lost a $1600 clue over the mispronunciation of Russian writer Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn's name.
While Chan's streak has ended, he will advance to the 2023 Tournament of Champions.
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