Jeopardy! contestant Doug Molitor did not do so hot during the Jeopardy! Invitational Tournament and fans felt sympathetic to his loss.

This Jeopardy! contestant did not make it to Final Jeopary (
Image: Jeopardy!)

Jeopardy! contestant Doug Molitor had a hard time on the show and fans felt for him.

On Monday’s episode of the ABC trivia game show, specifically the Jeopardy! Invitational Tournament, Doug faced off against Hannah Wilson, a yarn store owner from Chicago, I.L. and Matt Amodio, a quantitative researcher from New York City. The novelist originally from Altadena, C.A. only earned up to the hundreds at his highest throughout the game. He had gone in the red both rounds of Jeopardy!.

During the first commercial break, Doug had -$200 while Matt had $3,200 and Hannah topped with $8,600. Then, before entering Double Jeopardy, Doug managed to get himself out of the negatives and up to $800 with Matt at $6,800 and Hannah with $9,600.

By Double Jeopardy, he was so in the red that Doug was not able to save himself with the remaining clues on the board. He had -$3,200 and per Jeopardy rules, he was not able to move on to the Final Jeopardy! round.

Doug’s score before Final Jeopardy ( 
Image:
Jeopardy!)
Hannah and Matt battled it out and while both contestants answered the Literature & Sickness category correct, Matt wagered more on top of his hefty amount. Matt won with $45,400 to Hannah’s $30,402 and advanced to the semi finals. But the two played a tight race with the other as Hannah was on top multiple times in the game.

Fans took to social media to discuss the game specifically noting Doug losing and stating how they felt ‘bad” for the former champion. Some also began speculating what could have been the factor in his loss. One fan on a Jeopardy! subreddit for Monday’s (Feb. 17) episode wrote: “Hannah made Matt work for that win. Poor Doug. :(”

A second person responded to the first, agreeing with them. They said Hanna “proved herself” as the game was “touch and go.” They continued saying she was “quick on the buzzer and wide range of knowledge.”

The second fan continued: “It does seem as though buzzer skill has changed over time, as an aspect of game play contestants actively prepare for, but also, the younger tend to defeat their elders in this. Also, I wonder if contestants have less time to respond now than in the original format. The early games look like slow motion compared to today’s.”

Doug was was a champion in champion in 1979 and 1987 ( 
Image:
Jeopardy!)
Another fan also brought up their own reasoning: “Gotta feel bad for Doug here, but like was discussed yesterday, older contestants are typically disadvantaged on Jeopardy. Not even just buzzer speed, but their overall knowledge base, not saying it isn’t possible, but I wouldn’t except someone older to know much about Lil Wayne or Justin Timberlake.”

Doug is a veteran contestant on Jeopardy!. He first appeared on the show in 1979 when the late Art Fleming hosted. He was a five time winning champion during that Jeopardy run and went on to be a four-day champion when he went on Jeopardy in 1987 with the late Alex Trebek hosting. Doug’s game today was the first time he had had been on the game show since 1993 when he was a semi-finalist in the 10th Anniversary Tournament.