Jeopardy! Masters fans call for ABC to ‘pull plug’ on ‘weirdly boring’ series as Final Knockout sees surprising loss

The hit game show, hosted by Ken Jennings, aired last night for the Final Knockout rounds – but not everyone was impressed.

Ken Jennings is at the helm of Jeopardy!Credit: ABC

Jeopardy! Masters fans called for ABC to pull the plug on the show last nightCredit: ABC

Fans were upset over who went homeCredit: ABC

The fifth knockout game featured Victoria Groce, Matt Amodio and Adriana HarmeyerCredit: ABC

Matt, Adriana, Neilesh and Brad all lost out, leaving fans devastatedCredit: ABC
The fifth knockout game featured Victoria Groce, Matt Amodio and Adriana Harmeyer.

Meanwhile, the sixth game saw Neilesh Vinjamuri, Juveria Zaheer and Brad Rutter go up against one another.

Victoria won the first round and made it through to the next round, as did Juveria.

Matt, Adriana, Neilesh and Brad all lost out, leaving fans devastated.

But it wasn’t the results that sparked major outrage among fans – instead it was the overall series being “boring”.

“Am I the only one who finds this season of Jeopardy Masters! weirdly boring?” asked one fan on Reddit in a post shared to a Jeopardy! forum.

They added: I’ve been really disengaged with Jeopardy Masters! lately.

PULL THE PLUG ON MASTERS?

“Honestly, I hope ABC pulls the plug on it and we go back to super tournaments once in a blue moon — and I wouldn’t be surprised if the ratings are super low.”

They then went on to say how it feels like they’re “trying way too hard to recapture the magic of the GOAT Tournament. And honestly, nothing’s going to top that.

“Plus, without James Holzhauer in the mix, it just doesn’t have the same spark.

Jeopardy! Masters viewers have a major complaint over the winner of ‘intense game’
“There’s also another reason… (*cough* contestant *cough*)…who really turns me off from watching, but I’ll leave it at that.

“Even the recap thread has so few comments. I would have to imagine that others aren’t very engaged either,” they concluded.

Other viewers also agreed, with one person writing: “It’s definitely my least favorite season of Jeopardy Masters so far by a long shot, and I think I know what contestant you’re referring to.

“But, we’ll see what happens. You have to keep in mind it is still very early on, and in both of the previous Masters’ tournaments, the semifinal and final games were generally a lot closer than the quarterfinals.

Jeopardy! Set Secrets

Jeopardy! fans don’t see everything behind the scenes from watching on TV. These hidden set features make the show run smoothly:

Each podium has a hidden riser so that all contestants appear to be the same height.
After each clue is read, signal lights go off around the game board, indicating players can buzz in and respond.
Buzz in too early, and you’re locked out for .25 seconds.
The podiums have a small white light in the lower left corner, which tells Ken Jennings who goes next.
Contrary to popular belief, the player with control doesn’t have a buzzer advantage on the next clue.
To the game board’s left is a scoreboard so the players can see their opponents’ scores.
All contestants must bring three outfits to the studio, but only the host and returning champion change for the next episode.
There are wardrobe rules, including restrictions on busy patterns, solid white, purple (like the background), and logos.
Five episodes are taped in a single day, and sometimes more.
The categories, players (aside from the returning champion), and Final Jeopardy! for a tape day are all drawn randomly to ensure fairness.
Female contestants are asked not to wear makeup, which is applied backstage, and don’t wear mascara because of sweat.
Contestants fill out a questionnaire, and producers select five Q&A topics for the host.
Host Ken isn’t allowed to interact with the contestants until after the game.
Players can request to sit in a chair while competing without question.

“So it’s possible the best and most intense matchups are still yet to come!”

A second then said: “This has definitely been my least favorite season of Masters as well. But this might have something to do with the fact that ABC puts it on once a week rather than three or four times. I don’t think it works well as a weekly show.”

While a third wrote: “Even if abc pulled the plug (not happening you don’t get how cheap this stuff is to produce) they would likely take 3ish weeks out of syndicated jeopardy to do masters. so I would be super careful what you wish for here.”

But a fourth disagreed and said: “I’m enjoying it so far. Overall the contestant roster is less annoying.

“And I’m actually getting a few responses correct.”

FAN FURY OVER LOSSES

Fans were also annoyed over who went home.

“Gonna miss seeing Adriana for the rest of the tournament,” said one person on social media.

“Oh man we lost Brad. Really hoping he would survive the knockout round,” said another.

A third then added: “So so sad to see Adriana go.”

While a fourth wrote: “I expected Brad and Adriana to go home. Neilesh I am sad about but I have a feeling he will be back.”

The hit show will continue airing on ABC every Tuesday and Wednesday until June when the grand finale airs and the Masters Jeopardy! champion is unveiled.