A ‘Jeopardy!’ Contestant Just Set a New Record for Lowest Score Ever

Last night, it was finally the night LeVar Burton fans had been waiting so long for: Burton took the Jeopardy! stage as a Season 37 guest host, stepping into a role many passionate fans feel he was born to inhabit. Burton’s debut episode set a Jeopardy! record, but it wasn’t “highest ratings of all time” or “quickest promotion to permanent host,” as fans might have hoped—it was something much more ignoble. One contestant set a new record for lowest score ever, shocking and amusing viewers everywhere.

Patrick Pearce, a product specialist from Fountain View, California, breaks a record previously held by Stephanie Hull since March 2015. Pearce scored -$7,400, overtaking Hull’s -$6,800. It was a rough game for Pearce, who was up against three-day champion Matt Amodio, a PhD student from New Haven, Connecticut whose winnings totaled $101,400. Pearce climbed out of the hole for awhile, but a disastrous Daily Double wager sent him back into the red, while a question about United States government buildings overseas shot him into record-breaking territory.

Online fans had their fun with Pearce’s new record, but also expressed sympathy. One Reddit user wrote, “Patrick just manifested my worst nightmare. Finally get on the show, board isn’t to your strengths, get behind early, panic buzz, snowball, big RED. I feel for him.” Fans’ enthusiasm for Burton’s turn at the podium, combined with their astonishment at Pearce’s performance, made for a spicy night on Twitter. We’ve rounded up some of the best reactions below.

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