When you think of Jeopardy!, you typically think of easy-going, family fun. But for the hardcore fans out there, it’s a more serious matter.
Case in point: Jeopardy! fans are furious about Monday night’s Final Jeopardy question, which they say was “horribly phrased.”
Jeopardy! Fans Fuming
Last night’s episode featured past contestants Rishabh Wuppalapati, a student at the University of Pennsylvania from Vernon Hills, Illinois, Will Wallace, a game design director from Austin, Texas, and Alison Betts, a writer and creative executive originally from San Jose, California.
The three of them were competing in the illustrious Tournament of Champions.
When it came time for Final Jeopardy, host Ken Jennings revealed that the category was “World Capitals.” The clue was, “Home to more than 400,000, it’s the only world capital in the ‘Roaring Forties’ latitudes.”
Both Rishabh and Will answered “What is Reykjavik?” Meanwhile, Alison answered, “What is Washington D.C.?”
All three answers were wrong.
“I don’t know latitude,” Alison admitted. Ken then clarified, “You had to go the southernmost world capital, this is [*].”
Ken proceeded to reveal that the correct answer was Wellington, New Zealand. Check out how this all went down for yourself in the video below.
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Social Media Users Respond
This entire Final Jeopardy round didn’t sit well with Jeopardy! fans. Indeed, they immediately took to social media to unleash their fury.
“That was a horribly phrased Final Jeopardy question,” one fan wrote. “Even among geography nerds ‘roaring 40s’ is not a particularly well known term. Why not just ask the southern most world capital?”
“Me looking at the question: is it north or south? Bcos I was looking at the globe then I see southern there’s only 1 answer,” a second fan added. “When Ken said Reykjavik is the wrong hemisphere, I think Wellington is the only answer then.”
“I still don’t get the ‘roaring’ reference,” a third disgruntled fan commented. A fourth wrote, “I guessed Ottawa because I had never heard of “Roaring 40s” until today. Learn something new everyday I guess!”
Will ended up being the winner of the game. He will now be advancing to the semifinals of the Tournament of Champions.
Last night was the first game of the 2025 Jeopardy! Tournament of Champions. The quarterfinals are set to run through next Monday, followed by the semifinals. The winner will be crowned sometime in mid-February, depending on how long the finals last.
The winner of the Tournament of Champions will walk away with the $250,000 grand prize. The runner-up will get $100,000, while the third place contestant will get $50,000. Semifinalists earn $10,000, while quarterfinalists get $5,000.
Related: ‘Jeopardy!’ Host Ken Jennings Makes Surprising Admission – ‘I Don’t Want To Be Here’
Jennings Sounds Off
Ahead of the Tournament of Champions, host Jennings was asked who would be on his Jeopardy! Mount Rushmore – which is a fascinating question.
“I think, for me, there’s too many great contestants to fit on a mountain,” Jennings said in response. “My Mount Rushmore would be Alex Trebek — the reasons I liked the show as a kid. The announcer, Johnny Gilbert, is a legend. He’s in his 90s. And Merv and Julann Griffin, the husband and wife who created the show.”
Watch Jennings talk more about this in the video below.
This year’s Jeopardy! Tournament of Champions is sure to be one for the ages. Be sure to tune in to see who the big winner will be!
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