Recently Jeopardy! fans showed their displeasure at a contestant, Karen, who has gone viral for holding the record for the most significant mistakes ever made on the show. Karen was leading the game by a large margin on Wednesday’s episode, with $21,800 in earnings, while her competitors trailed behind with $7,100 and $6,400 respectively, as they approached the end of the second round.
With only a few clues remaining on the Double Jeopardy board, the contestant stumbled upon a Daily Double in the “Hans, Solo” category. However, she made a crucial mistake by wagering $10,000 instead of a more conservative amount. Had she bet a smaller sum, she would have been guaranteed to win the game after the Final Jeopardy round, given her insurmountable lead over the other players.
‘Jeopardy!’ contestant, Karen makes a huge mistake
When the Karen landed on the Daily Double, host Ken Jennings presented her with the clue which read, “This artist the Younger was working on yet another portrait of Henry VIII when he died in 1543.” However, It quickly became clear that she did not know the answer, as she remained silent and began shaking her head as the timer ran out. In the end, she failed to provide a response, prompting Jennings to reveal the correct answer, “Hans Holbein the Younger, that painter,” to which Karen simply responded, “OK.”
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However, host Ken Jennings made a specific mention of the contestant’s unfortunate situation which led to her downfall. “She had a significant advantage going into the last Daily Double, but now she needs to get ‘Heller’ here.” Karen eventually lost the round and finished in third place with total earnings of $5,399.
‘Jeopardy!’ Fans blast contestant Karen for her mistake
Karen’s strategy on the long-running game show was not well-received by fans as they took to social media to criticize her. “Good GOD!” a fan wrote on Twitter. “Don’t believe I’ve ever seen a contestant go so high and fall so fast as Karen did today.”
“Welcome to 3rd place and Jeopardy infamy,” another person tweeted. A Twitter user created their own Jeopardy! clue based on the situation. “This person made worst daily double bet of all time – costing her sure win and putting her in third place,” he wrote. “Who is Karen.”
“Karen may be smart but she has zero common sense,” another fan said while a viewer went offensive stating, “Karen is such a buffoon. Rare to see someone lose like that.”
Karen shares her experience on the show
The contestant seems to be unruffled by her loss as she is happily interacting with her fans via a Twitter account she created before participating in the show. Karen explained her reasons for deciding to wager high on the daily double category. “Making an appropriate wager requires considering the likelihood of knowing the correct response, which requires assessing your competency in the category,” she told her fans, “which requires awareness of what the category is, which, at that moment, I DID NOT HAVE.”
She also spoke about her experience on the game show stating that even though she didn’t win, she had fun. “Ultimately, I did what I did, and I had THE MOST FUN, and at the end of the day (I’m sorry Mom, I know you hate that phrase) it’s a game, and it’s a show, and it’s a game show.”