KEN Jennings has seemingly shared his own personal man crush on one ousted Jeopardy! Masters contestant.
The Jeopardy! host supported a fan who was saddened by the player’s elimination.
GettyJEOPARDY! Masters has already said goodbye to its two lowest competitors[/caption]
ABCFormer champion Sam Buttery was eliminated in sixth place[/caption]
As Jeopardy! Masters enters the home stretch, the show has paired down its past champions from six to four.
The first person eliminated from the competition, after failing to win a match at all, was Sam Buttrey.
The professor, who boasts a huge personality, was one of the more popular returning players, and fans online lamented his loss.
One person in particular referred to Sam with a more paternal tone.
“‘That’s father’ – me, any time Sam Buttrey is onscreen” a Twitter user named Louis Peitzman stated.
Calling a celebrity your “father” or “mother” is a slang sign of affection.
Ken must be in the know, because he “liked” the tweet, backing Louis up on his positive daddy issues.
SO LONG, SAM
Sam was the first of the six players eliminated from the Masters tournament.
During Sam’s final Q&A of the special he took time to thank the writers- meanwhile Matt took a moment to thank none other than Sam.
Sam beat 38-time champ Matt in the 2022 Tournament of Champions, however, Matt said even given that and even given he’s a “lowly postdoc while Sam is a professor,” there are no hard feelings on the board.
Sam is the “dearest friend I’ve made in all of Jeopardy!” he said, “so thank you so much Sam.”
“Aw give it up!” Buttrey replied and they shared a winning hug between podiums.
“Loved the hug between Sam and Matt,” one fan tweeted.
“Sam thanking the writers is the kindest thing I’ve seen on tv in a long time,” wrote another.
“Ugh, such a wholesome moment. There need to be more hugs on jeopardy.”
“Omfg MATT AND SAMS FRIENDSHIP I was not expecting to cry”
By the end of the match Matt had a runaway with two impressive Daily Double gets- winding up with $31,000.
Matt also called out James Holzhauer with his response and wrote he’s “Unlike James I’m too classy to write a joke response.”
Ken said that it was an “absolute pleasure” having Sam while bidding him farewell and said he was “absolutely a Master” as he was eliminated.
SAM’S CLUB
Sam is an associate professor of operations research at the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, California.
In 2021, Buttrey took home $100,000 after winning the Professor’s Tournament.
The following year, he won an additional $50,000 as the second TOC runner-up, bringing his grand total to $150,000- though there was a hotly contested biblical Final Jeopardy that tournament fans accused “robbed” Sam of a win.
Sam boasts a huge personality, leaning in to jokes he looks like Steve Martin and exclaiming “Bring It!” to the last clue on the board which has become something of a Masters mantra.
He even has a Soundcloud rap career on the side and is certainly a fan-favorite upon his third appearance win or lose.
One Facebook user recently wrote: “Sam may be in last place but certainly nothing to be ashamed of, these six all earned their spot in the tournament. Great TV!”
Jeopardy!Sam and host Ken Jennings have a unique friendship[/caption]
Samuel E. ButtreyFans have gone crazy for throwback photos of the sexy Sam[/caption]
Matt Amodio gave Sam a big hug after his last game
