‘Jeopardy!’ Fans React to Contestant’s Game Gone Horribly Wrong

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Jeopardy! contestant Tim Herd pulled at fans’ heartstrings as he struggled through the Tuesday, July 23 episode.

The Ph.D. student from Detroit, Michigan got off to a rough start, but fans liked his “sweet” personality and good attitude, and quickly began cheering him on. “Come on, Tim! You can do it!,” one person posted on X (formerly known as Twitter). Another encouraging fan shared, “Rough start for Tim, but it is very early in the game. #Jeopardy.”

One X user sympathized with Herd, posting, “Tim is exactly how I would be on #Jeopardy. Somewhere in the negative 🤣.” Herd gained more praise for his personality after telling host Ken Jennings about how he likes to dance to improve his mood when he’s stressed from working on his Ph.D. “It’s an act of showing my joy and encouraging other people to do the same,” Herd said.

Jeopardy!Viewers speculated that nerves could have been responsible for Herd’s disastrous showing, with one tweeting, “I’m hoping Tim is nervous because what in the incorrect responses is going on here?” Another shared some advice for Herd, writing, “Tim buddy make sure you know the #Jeopardy answer before buzzing in. Settle down.”

Unfortunately for the chipper contestant, he only managed to bank one correct answer throughout the entire game. He ended with a score of -$2,400, which made him ineligible for Final Jeopardy.

“Dang man I was rooting for Tim, but it was futile after he only gave 1 correct response the entire show. Disappointing,” one X user wrote. Jeopardy! fans may have been embarrassed by Herd’s score, but he didn’t make history with his low score from round one or his final tally.

Redditors pointed out that the record for the lowest first-round score is from 1985, when a contestant ended round one with -$3,800. Patrick Pearce holds the spot for lowest Final Jeopardy score, ending with -$7,400 in a 2021 episode.

On the other hand, Herd’s competitors Lindsay Denninger and returning champ Neilesh Vinjamuri fared much better, ending the game with scores of $5,000 and $11,999, respectively.