Ken scolds Jeopardy! contestant over ‘brutal' misstep before champ’s big 1st win (2024)

JEOPARDY! fans have scored a new champ in Adriana Harmeyer on Wednesday night, who raked in a hefty $26,200 and instant buzz.

She bested Abby Mann and Brian O'Shea - who suffered a painful Daily Double miss that Ken Jennings didn't exactly sugarcoat.

Abby came in with a one-day total of $5200, having defeated four-day champ Amar Kakirde.

While she was the one to beat, after tonight's Jeopardy! round, it was clear that her challengers came to play.

While Abby led with $4,800, Adriana boasted $3,800 (and the first Daily Double), and a bowtie-brandishing Brian had $4,600.

In Double Jeopardy!, Indiana art archivist Adriana (in a winning patterned top) pulled ahead.

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She found the second Daily Double, gaining $4,000and a wider lead - and then things hit a snag for Brian.

'IN 1812...'

Brian found the last Daily Double under "WHITE HOUSE WEDDINGS" for $1600 and opted to wager $6000, or nearly his entire third-place score, to get in the game.

The clue read, "The 1st ceremony was in 1812 when Lucy Payne Washington, this first lady's sister, married Supreme Court justice Thomas Todd."

Instantly grabbing onto the "Washington" part of the clue, he quickly and confidently replied, "Martha Washington!"

"No, I'm sorry," Ken, 49, bluntly told him as Brian banged the podium with a distraught expression, left with $100.

The host pointed out his answer didn't track date-wise, and how he brushed over the date, implying he didn't read the whole clue.

Ken explained, "In 1812, it would have been Dolley Madison."

Brian was a good sport and selected the next clue, though he did not have time to recover.

By Final Jeopardy, he was in the red, so he was removed from the stage while Adriana led with $16,200, and Abby had $12,400.

The two-person "HISTORIC GEOGRAPHY" clue read, "This city attracted thousands of visitors even before a new shrine to a murder victim was dedicated there on July 7, 1220."

Both players were correct with "Canterbury," and Adriana added a surefire $10,000 to become the new champ looking overjoyed.

'THAT HURT'

Fans took to social media, also overjoyed for Adriana, but many felt for Brian, who fell into the trap of the Daily Double, as Ken made sure to note.

"Strong showing by Adriana," one Redditor wrote.

"I felt bad for Brian - including the name of the bride (Lucy Payne Washington) in the clue was somebrutalnegbait.

"Unless you already knew that piece of trivia, you had to ignore it and re-focus on the year, 1812."

Another wrote, "Yes, the year was a giveaway it couldn't be Martha. Madison was the president at the start of the War of 1812.

"Brian stated it so quickly & confidently, if he had just taken a moment to consider the date he might've changed his mind."

A third wrote, "The Washington part may have been a small red herring, but Payne was a useful bit of the clue pointing to Dolley's maiden name."

A fourth agreed, "Oh, man, that DD3 misshurt. I was certain he was going to get it, and the miss just seemed to take all the wind out of his sails. It's too bad; I think Brian played better than his negative score would indicate."

One more speculated, "I wonder if Brian misheard the date in the clue?"

Others weren't offended by Ken's reaction to the tough miss, "Is it wrong I actually like Ken over Alex now? The humor and side remarks Ken brings feel more fun and seem to be more disarming. I enjoy when he gets a Very Wrong Answer."

Adrianna will go on to face two new challengers tomorrow night to see if she can turn her big first win into a streak.

'FUN INTERNET QUIZ'

Adriana is a clinical assistant professor and archivist University History in Purdue University's Archives and Special Collections.

She said in a recent interview that she took the show's online test for fun and was blindsided to be contacted a few weeks later.

"I had taken the online test a couple of times before, but this time I'd went online one evening and took the test for fun."

"I didn't expect anything to come out of it - I just thought of it as another fun internet quiz."

KEN GETS SNIPPY

Meanwhile, Ken got particularly short with a contestant during Grant DeYoung's streak earlier this month.

Going intoFinal Jeopardyduring what would be his third win, Grant led with $19,800, while challenger Nick had $10,400.

The decisive clue under "Book and Movie Title References" read, "The title of this 2001 book, also a 2003 film, formed a partial border between Boston, Chelsea, Medford, & Everett."

Nick revealed that he had written, “What is: The Turnpike?”

A quick Google search would show that there is seemingly no well-known book by that title.

Former 74-time champ Ken seemed aware of as much when ruling.

The host bluntly told him, “That’s not correct, Nick.”

Nick lowered his head and didn't look at the host as his score plummeted to $999.

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Grant was correct with "Mystic River," winning his third of four matches and eventually earning $81,203.

Jeopardy! airs at 7 pm ET on ABC - check your local listings.