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Jeopardy! fans slam poorly worded final clue as player who beat controversial champ Yogesh Rau

JEOPARDY! contestant Katie Palumbo's short winning streak has come to an end after taking out controversial three-day champ Yogesh Raut.

Fans were bothered by the follow-up episode's "poorly worded" final clue and that she couldn't go further.

The 1-day champ faced Stephanie Pakula, an aerospace engineer from Cambridge, Massachusetts, and Vince Bacani, a risk manager from Montreal, Quebec, Canada.

Katie is a museum interpreter from Amawalk, New York, who, with $23,100, beat champ Yogesh on Monday.

While the term "Giant Killer" is usually used by Jeopardy! obsessives to describe a player who beats a long-running player, it may be safe to call Katie just that.

Yogesh caused an internet frenzy in his short stay, and some harsh fans were even relieved she beat him given his bout of on-stage "arrogance."

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He previously flexed that he beat James Holzhauer at high school trivia, got recognized by a now-deceased contestant, and even beat host Ken Jennings, 48, at a trivia convention.

However, Katie's good fortune ended on Tuesday.

Going into Final Jeopardy, Vince had $14,000, Katie had $7,400, and Stephanie was behind at $1,000.

Final Jeopardy! under "Geograph Mnemonics" read: "MIMAL, sometimes said to be the silhouette of a chef or elf, stands for Minnesota, Iowa, Missouri, and these 2 states."

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'LET'S SEE...'

Without a map on the screen, the contestants looked confused and spent much of the 30-second window staring up in thought.

None of them could get to: "What are Arkansas and Louisiana?"

Ken told them all: "No, these are the states, let's see, to the west of the Mississippi that kind of look like a chef standing in profile - his pants and shoes are Arkansas and Louisiana."

Vince let out a grunt of frustration but only dropped $1,000 to win with $13,000.

Katie wagered $5,000, which would not have been enough to win even if correct.

Katie ended with $2,400, Stephanie $101, and Vince emerged a 1-day winner with $13,000.

'I'VE NEVER HEARD OF THAT'

Jeopardy! viewers were bothered by the phrasing of the question and that it was the second game in a row all three players missed on the final question.

"Under the pressure of being on the show, if you've never heard of this before, one can be thrown off trying to figure out exactly what's being asked here," one wrote.

"Same. I have to chalk it up to nerves, especially with the Illinois answer," one agreed.

One user said: "I'm from one of the five states and, though I am familiar with the chef meme, have never once heard the five states grouped or referred to this way."

"At least Katie can still say that she beat the man who beat Ken and Brad [Rutter] at a trivia competition," celebrated one more referencing the infamous Yogesh.

'THIS IS HAPPENING MORE OFTEN'

In Yogesh's final faceoff, victor Katie had stormed her way to Final Jeopardy! with $25,600, while Yogesh stood at $23,800, and Jimmy Davoren was behind with $11,400.

Under the category “Business Milestones” the final clue read: “These were first sold in 1908 at a price equivalent to about $27,000 today.

None of the contestants managed to give the correct answer: “What is the Ford Model T?”

However, Katie was in the right direction with "cars."

Though it was not specific enough, her small wager of $2,500 kept her in the lead and made her the winner with a one-day total of $23,100.

Fans were thrilled by the outcome but were extremely irked by the vague nature of that clue as well.

"Anyone else think tonight’s Final Jeopardy question was poorly written?" one wrote on Twitter at the time.

Every day the Final Jeopardy clue is printed in the New York Times and in a rare move the clue actually was edited to say "this" instead of "these."

NYT ran: "THIS WAS FIRST SOLD IN 1908, AT A PRICE EQUIVALENT TO ABOUT $27,000 TODAY," per Jeopardy.com.

MAYIM'S TURN

Meanwhile, co-host Mayim Bialik, 47, is expected to return to the game show in late February.

With her Call Me Kat schedule giving her leeway, Mayim will be commencing her hosting duties with a new teen tournament.

Fans will be getting more of Ken as he will be hosting the new Jeopardy! Masters spinoff, which is scheduled to air during the spring.

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The six-champ special has invited Amy SchneiderMatt AmodioSam ButtreyAndrew HeMattea Roach, and James Holzhauer to participate as contestants.

The 20-game, 10-episode special will see all of the players face each other in a round-robin with no one eliminated.

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Lorie Orum

Update: 2024-05-17