An ‘illegible’ answer during ‘Final Jeopardy!’ sparked debate among fans

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What is “messy?”

During Wednesday night’s “Jeopardy!” episode, game show fans called out host Ken Jennings for a questionable ruling.

While a contestant named Rishabh was determined to continue his winning streak, other “Jeopardy!” players put up a good fight during the intense game show.

As the episode concluded with the “Final Jeopardy!” round, players were faced with the category “College Towns.”

“Jeopardy!” viewers were upset with host Ken Jennings after an answer during the Final Jeopardy! round appeared “illegible.” (Getty Images; Jeopardy!/ABC)

Jennings read the prompt, “Two schools in the Southeastern Conference are located in cities with this same name but in different states.”

Rishabh, an Illinois native who is currently a sophomore at the University of Pennsylvania, played against environmental attorney Jay Eversman and associate professor Rachel Cassidy.

Two contestants, Rishabh and Rachel, both answered correctly with “What is Columbia?” As Rishabh wagered $9,801, he took home $20,201 for his two-day win.

As Rishabh wagered $9,801, he took home $20,201 for his two-day win.  (Jeopardy!/ABC)

However, game show fans were quick to call out Jennings’ ruling and argued that the winner’s answer was “totally illegible.”

Rishabh’s written answer of “Columbia,” appeared to some to be simply a jumble of letters. The original answer he jotted down was also scribbled out.

Meanwhile, Rachel’s answer to “Columbia” was easier to read on screen.

“Jeopardy!” contestant Rachel’s answer of “Columbia” was easier to read on screen. (Jeopardy!/ABC)

“I can read maybe 2 of these letters Ken Jennings. That poor lady got ROBBED!” a viewer wrote on X, formerly Twitter.

“Man I just do not know if that said ‘Columbia.’ I guess if it’s good enough for Ken though,” one comment read on Reddit.

Another fan wrote, “My ruling was that his response was illegible. Apparently my rulings have very little influence.”

“It spells ‘Cdumlaq,’” a viewer chimed in.

“I think him saying ‘I wrote Columbia’ before the answer was revealed affected Ken’s decision honestly. Because once he said that you could kind of see what he was writing, but had Ken had to make it out on his own? I don’t know if it would have counted,” one comment read.

“Yeah, kind of a crazy call… just my opinion!” a viewer agreed.

Ken Jennings took over “Jeopardy!” hosting duties after Alex Trebek’s death. (Disney/Eric McCandless)

Passionate “Jeopardy!” fans additionally suggested that the game show should have keyboards instead of having players write out answers.

“It’s beyond time for contestants to have a keyboard for FJ.”

Meanwhile, “Jeopardy!” answers have previously sparked heated debates with viewers.

Recently, a ruling had viewers riled up over the mispronunciation of an answer.

Mark Fitzpatrick, a five-day “Jeopardy!” champion, chose the $800 clue from the category, “Just Doin’ My Job.”

The prompt read, “Knows the proper use of propofol; can count to 16 (letters in the job); can tell people to count backward from 100.”

Jennings is now hosting “Jeopardy!” as well as the tournaments and “Celebrity Jeopardy!” (Eric McCandless/ABC via Getty Images)

While Jennings was looking for the correct answer, “anesthesiologist,” contestant Eamonn Campbell appeared to flub the pronunciation of the word.

“Anateesiologist?” Campbell answered.

Although Jennings gave the contestant another chance, he continued to stumble on the correct pronunciation of the word.

“Anathesiologist?” he mispronounced again.

Jennings has been routinely criticized for some of the rulings on the game show. (Eric McCandless/ABC via Getty Images)

Another “Jeopardy!” contestant, Dot White, buzzed in with the correct pronunciation of the word and answered, “”What is an anesthesiologist?”. Jennings then accepted the correct answer.

Fans were quick to react to the questionable ruling of the challenging prompt. 

“Jeopardy and ken Jennings blows it again… screwing Eamonn out of his answer ‘anesthesiologist’…. unbelievable!!” one comment read.