A JEOPARDY! player has admitted to having a brain fart on the most recent episode because he was fatigued.

Alex Wang lost to current Jeopardy! champion Isaac Hirsch in a tough performance that included incorrectly answering a Daily Double.

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Jeopardy! contestant Alex Wang answered his Daily Double incorrectly on Friday’s show, even though he knew the answerCredit: Jeopardy!

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Ken Jennings hosting Jeopardy! on FridayCredit: Jeopardy!
Alex picked the category “Geo-Pourri” for $600.

The question turned out to be a Daily Double and he made it a true Daily Double, wagering $600.

“The Brahmaputra River runs through 3 countries from its source to its confluence with this other great river,” the question read.

Alex hesitated and answered, “What is the Tigris River?”

“Sorry, no. It’s in India. The Ganges,” host Ken Jennings let him know.

This led Alex to drop down to $0, with Isaac in the lead with $4,800, and Sarah Crocker in second with $1,400.

Alex struggled a lot through the first round and ended with $400 before Double Jeopardy!.

‘I’M REALLY ANNOYED’

After the episode aired, the contestant took it to the game show’s forum on Reddit to share his thoughts.

He explained why he messed up the Daily Double.

“I’m really annoyed that I missed the DD1. Geography is probably my strongest category, and I knew it was the longest river in India,” he explained.

Jeopardy! player ‘screws herself’ out of prize money with baffling final bid as Isaac Hirsch nabs ‘elite’ 3rd win
“I just had a complete brain fart and forgot that it was the Ganges.”

“Being the last episode to tape during the day is really really tiring (both physically and mentally)! Sarah and I were both saying how fatigued we were,” Alex went on.

He explained that contestants have to get there at 7:30am and be there the whole day without checking their phones.

The last episode is taped around 4pm and the room empties as the contestants go home, so there aren’t many people there by the end.

Jeopardy! Host Timeline

Jeopardy! has had a tumultuous history regarding hosts after the death of the iconic Alex Trebek in 2020. Here are all of the hosts since the game show’s inception in 1964.

Art Fleming – 1964 to 1975, he was the original host of the daytime version of Jeopardy! on NBC.

Alex Trebek – 1984 to 2020, the late, great Alex hosted Jeopardy!’s modern iteration for 36 years until his death from pancreatic cancer.

Guest hosts – 2020 to 2021, Jeopardy! tested out a series of guest hosts for week or two-week stints, including Anderson Cooper, LaVar Burton, and Aaron Rodgers.

Mike Richards – 2021, he was named host for one week before resigning amid controversy. He was the show’s executive producer at the time.

Mayim Bialik – 2021 to 2023, when Mike was announced as the show’s new host, Mayim was chosen to host tournaments and primetime specials.

Mayim and Ken Jennings – 2022 to 2023, 74-time champion Ken (the longest-winning contestant ever) joined Mayim as a guest host and they split hosting duties.

Ken Jennings – 2023 to present. Last December, Mayim announced on Instagram that she would “no longer” host Jeopardy! after a lengthy hiatus, having stood with the writer’s strike, and Ken was named sole host.

Ken now helms all editions of Jeopardy! including Celebrity Jeopardy!, the nightly show, and other primetime specials like Masters.

ABOUT THE GAME

Alex, a Duke University student from Harrington Park, New Jersey, ended the game with $1,600.

He answered the Final Jeopardy! correctly, making his final total $2,010.

Sarah had $5,000 at the end and got the question wrong, ending with $500.

She is a writer & editor from Aurora, Colorado.

Isaac won his fourth game with a total of $22,200.

He is a customer support team lead from Burbank, California.

Isaac will play his fifth game on Monday, July 8.

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Alex Wang on Jeopardy! answering the Daily DoubleCredit: Jeopardy!

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Issac Hirsh, Alex Wang, and made Sarah Crocker on Jeopardy!Credit: Jeopardy!

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Alex Wang during Final Jeopardy!Credit: Jeopardy!