Jeopardy! Ken Jennings was criticized for his "extremely annoying" broadcasting habits during the Invitational tournament

Jeopardy! host Ken Jennings called out for ‘distracting’ on-air habit during Invitational tournament

Jeopardy! fans are tearing into Ken Jennings for the head-scratching nickname he’s pushing for the game show’s latest tournament.

The Jeopardy! Invitational Tournament is a showdown of all-time greats vying for $100,000 and a spot in Masters Season 2.

Ken Jennings is hosting the Jeopardy! Invitational Tournament, which he keeps abbreviating as ‘JIT’Credit: Jeopardy!

Fans on Reddit mocked the host over his campaign to get the nickname ‘JIT’ to landCredit: Jeopardy!

Other fans said, ‘It sounds like a slur’ and is ‘confusing’ casual viewersCredit: Jeopardy!
Ken, 49, is hosting the brand-new mini-tournament, an annual qualifier for Masters, which will air on ABC primetime in May.

However, since this is the Jeopardy! tournament’s inaugural run, not all fans are clued in on its name.

Fans flooded social media, expressing slight bewilderment when Ken started referring to each episode as “JIT.”

Ken has opted to abbreviate the Invitational Tournament as “JIT” (pronounced with a soft J, rhyming with ‘bit’), rather than stating the full tournament name outright.

He has also introduced some of the players by saying, “Next up on our JIT list.”

Fans agreed that abbreviating a new tournament only confuses casual viewers who may not be aware of what is currently airing.

Others argued that “JIT” doesn’t exactly roll off the tongue and perhaps should’ve stayed on the drawing board.

‘STOP TRYING TO MAKE ‘JIT’ HAPPEN’

A fan humorously crafted a Reddit meme from Mean Girls featuring Regina George exclaiming, “Stop trying to make JIT happen” [above].

“I like it. In fact, we should be pronouncing the ToC like ‘tock,'” one fan joked in response.

“The Inside Jeopardy podcast has been saying Jit for months now, and it’s terrible. Jeopardy Invitational sounds classy,” commented another.

“My wife literally said this tonight during the show! Spot on post!” echoed a third.

“What does JIT stand for in Jeopardy?,” asked a fourth to which a fifth had to tell them, “Jeopardy! Invitational Tournament.”

“It sounds like a slur,” wrote a sixth and another, “I will never pronounce it like that lol.”

“STOP I WAS GOING TO MAKE THIS EXACT POST LOLLLL I’m so glad I’m not alone,” wrote one more.

“I actually paused it last night to make sure it wasn’t a rerun because neither Johnny nor Ken said Invitational in the intro,” wrote another.

“The worst is ‘JIT Competition,'” wrote an eighth.

Others defended, “I’m sure it’s part of his script during this tournament. There’s nothing wrong with that. His banter and quick wit since he started are world-class. Ken is goated.”

LE-JIT MISTAKE

Amy Schneider became the first Invitational finalist on Tuesday by exploiting an amateur Daily Double move by opponent David Madden.

In Double Jeopardy, David Madden found and answered both Daily Doubles early on.

However, he opted to wager $5,000 on the remaining Daily Double instead of his entire $6800.

The conservative strategy didn’t pay off as, going into Final Jeopardy, every cent counted, and Amy had $17,600, David had 17,400, and Jennifer Quail $7200.

Amy and David were both correct on Final Jeopardy, and Amy added $17,500 to advance to the finale with $35,100 and a winning smile.

Internet users pointed out that if David had gone all-in on the last Daily Double, he would have had the lead going into Final Jeopardy and won the game.

“Hindsight is 20/20, but David really should have done a TDD, especially against a juggernaut like Amy. That would have been a big upset!” one Reddit user wrote.

“It’s not really a case of hindsight to say David should have gone all-in,” wrote another. “There’s simply no advantage to David for the 5,000 bet vs. all-in.”

“David absolutely should’ve won today’s game, it’s ridiculous that he didn’t go all in on DD3,” wrote a third.

GET CLUED IN ON THE ‘JIT’

The Jeopardy! Invitational Tournament is a brand-new tournament featuring power players hand-selected by producers.

Unlike other tournaments this season, JIT opened the floodgates to all-time game show greats and iconic older champions who fans haven’t seen in decades.

Following the nine quarterfinal games, there will now be three semifinals which aired yesterday, Wednesday, and Thursday.

Each night of the semifinals, one player will advance and the other two will be eliminated.

Now that Amy won her semifinal match, only two finale slots remain.

On Wednesday, Larissa Kelly faces Andrew He and Sam Kavanaugh.

On Thursday, Matt Jackson faces Sam Buttrey and Victoria Groce.

Fans are predicting a “bloodbath” on Thursday since Matt and Chaser Victoria were two of the strongest players in the first round.

Once the JIT gets its three finalists, the finals will air from Friday, April 5 until either April 8, 9 or 10, depending on the results.

The player who notches two final wins first nabs the title, so it could be over in two games or last up to four.

Then, only one legendary player of the pack will emerge to go on to Masters.

Masters 2024 will air in May on ABC in primetime and features the six highest-ranked contestants of the year.

Masters’ first three spots were guaranteed to last year’s finalists – Matt Amodio, reigning champion James Holzhauer, and Mattea Roach.

The other Masters slots go to Yogesh Raut for winning the 2024 Tournament of Champions and a still-unannounced Producer’s Pick who can be anyone.

Amy, Andrew, and Sam were relegated out of Masters 2024 after placing in the bottom three in 2023, and they seem to be taking full advantage of their shot to get back in.