Why the Internet Is Obsessed With This Jeopardy! Loser
Contestant Matt King made Jeopardy! history, but probably not in the way he intended.
On Tuesday, Nov. 23, King received one of the worst Jeopardy! scores ever. The lawyer from Lewisville, Texas started off strong in the football category earning $2,400, but the night quickly took a turn, with the contestant ending the game with a whopping -$6,400.
Ken Jennings, the current host of the show and Jeopardy! Greatest of All-Time champion, let King down easy, saying, "Matt, I'm afraid you took your swings. That's a strategy. It didn't always pay off."
He continued, "You were close so many times, but we're gonna have to say goodbye to you here. You'll finish in third place with $1,000."
We guess you could say King royally failed. Sorry, buddy, we had to. Although, we probably wouldn't have done much better!
The evening wasn't all negative, as King's Jeopardy! appearance turned him into a viral sensation. Specifically, fans of the show took to Twitter to offer King their support and applaud his bold gameplay.
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One viewer wrote, "Matt went down swinging. I have to respect that. #Jeopardy."
In which Matt replied, "Thanks, Baldwyn! It was a rough night. Amy didn't leave any easy ones on the board, but I had to go for it! I would have hated myself for not taking a shot."
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Matt went down swinging. I have to respect that. ✊🏾 <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Jeopardy?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Jeopardy</a> <a href="https://t.co/2ceUOiYoc4">pic.twitter.com/2ceUOiYoc4</a></p>— Baldwyn English (@benglishjr) <a href="https://twitter.com/benglishjr/status/1463310592111001605?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 24, 2021</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Matt on Jeopardy tonight.. <a href="https://t.co/inF800Vrn7">pic.twitter.com/inF800Vrn7</a></p>— BethGee (@bethg1017) <a href="https://twitter.com/bethg1017/status/1463308094495244293?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 24, 2021</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Matt was out there playing like me at home lol. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Jeopardy?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Jeopardy</a></p>— Desi (@desipoo26) <a href="https://twitter.com/desipoo26/status/1463309736917573633?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 24, 2021</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Matt on <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Jeopardy?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Jeopardy</a>. I don't think I've seen a deficit that big. <a href="https://t.co/U8f3ip4QOI">pic.twitter.com/U8f3ip4QOI</a></p>— Bob Taylor (@omacolt) <a href="https://twitter.com/omacolt/status/1463302944846225413?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 24, 2021</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Poor Matt. He went full Marge Simpson <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Jeopardy?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Jeopardy</a> <a href="https://t.co/xrU4njFqt4">pic.twitter.com/xrU4njFqt4</a></p>— Jackson Vandemark (@hmcc06) <a href="https://twitter.com/hmcc06/status/1463302863996792844?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 24, 2021</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Just like he was in third place on the episode, he is in third place for the worst score ever, tied with 2012 contestant Christy Gibson.
The actual worst score title is held by 2021 contestant Patrick Pearce, with -$7,400, followed by Stephanie Hull with -$6,800.
But hey, it's not about winning, it's just about having fun, right?
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