JEOPARDY! fans have ruled new contestant Daniel Moore one to watch after a monstrous debut on Friday’s episode.
Daniel got all three Daily Doubles correct and couldn’t be caught by Final Jeopardy, leaving the internet buzzing.
ABCJeopardy! contestant Daniel Moore tore through Friday’s episode[/caption]
ABCHe had a runaway by Final Jeopardy, as fans predicted: ‘He’ll be around for a while’[/caption]
Not known, clear with picture deskEven former champion Ken Jennings was impressed: ‘That’s pretty good for a half hour’s work’[/caption]
He faced 2-day champion Ittai Sopher, a digital journalist and news producer from New Orleans, Louisiana, and Allison Madson, a health policy professional from Reston, Virginia.
Though Daniel missed the very first clue, the contract compliance analyst from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, put on an absolute clinic there on out.
He got the first Daily Double correct and by the first commercial break, host Ken Jennings, 49, was all in.
He remarked: “You’ve cleared the $5000 very early.”
One with the buzzer, Daniel got a tremendous 17 correct responses out of 30 in the Jeopardy! round.
The only concern on the board came when he got a clue correct as “Jet lag” and joked, “I have that.”
“You’re doing okay,” Ken replied, which is probably true since he’ll have the weekend to rest up.
“An impressive lead!” Ken then added when the first round ended.
By that point, he had $9,200, while Allison had $3,000, and Ittai $1,200- rarely able to buzz in before him.
Daniel sealed off the first round by picking the last clue exclaiming, “Bring It!” referencing Sam Buttrey and proving he was also one with Jeopardy! lore.
‘HE DIDN’T PAUSE FOR A SECOND’
Daniel got in another 13 in Double Jeopardy and both Daily Doubles- one for $5000, to which Ken said, “He didn’t pause a second,” and $6000 on the last, once again correct.
When Daniel nabbed the remaining clue of the episode, Ittai could be heard exclaiming: “Wow.”
By Final Jeopardy, Daniel had an uncatchable $29,000, Allison $8,200, and Ittai $6,000.
Final Jeopardy read: “In 1930 this author wrote ‘Murder at Full Moon’, a horror-mystery novel set in a fictional town in central California.”
Despite being the only one not to get “John Steinbeck” and guessing “[Jack] London,” he only dropped $4000 to end with a 1-day total of $25,000.
The game show contestant looked thrilled, and Ken applauded: “That’s pretty good for a half hour’s work.”
‘HECK OF A PLAYER’
Jeopardy! fans across the internet were blindsided by the show of force.
One person wrote on Reddit: “Damn, Ittai looked good in his first two games, but he got smoked here.”
Another fan wrote: “I don’t mean to overreact after watching one game, but I think Daniel might be around for a while.”
And a third: “With his wide knowledge base (correct responses on 12/12 categories), impressive $21,000 Coryat, and lightning-quick buzzer timing, Daniel looks like a contender for the [2023] Tournament of Champions.
I expect a long run for him next week after he sleeps off that jet lag.”
A fourth simply wrote on Facebook: “Heck of a player.”
A contestant from yesterday’s episode buzzed into the Reddit internet thread and wrote: “Daniel is a stone-cold shark. Even during the practice rehearsals, he was scary good.
They continued: “I’m low-key glad I lost so I didn’t have to get steamrolled by him. But he’s also the nicest guy, and we talked a lot backstage and during lunch. I’m excited to see how far he goes!”
A fifth wrote: “It seemed unlikely that we’d have another Tournament of Champions entrant this season.
“Daniel made his case in one game that he could make it in, so long as he keeps up the pace and shakes off the jet lag.”
One more wrote, referring to the fancy term for one’s score not counting Daily Doubles or Final: “I can’t remember the last time a player got a 20K coryat score. Recent games have had pretty low scores. Nicely played game by Daniel!”
JEOPARDY! SCHEDULE
Mayim Bialik, 47, and winningest contestant Ken were chosen as the co-successors to the late Alex Trebek in 2022 after his tragic passing at age 80.
Ken is hosting episodes airing until July 28 -at which point Jeopardy! will take its annual summer hiatus.
Mayim exited her most recent hosting slate early to support the WGA writers’ strike.
Ken has been criticized on social media as a so-called scab by fans and even celebrities for returning to the set.
Both hosts were nominated for Outstanding Game Show Host in the 2023 Emmy Awards, it was announced on Wednesday.
Mayim sweetly captioned a moving Instagram post with two photos of the dynamic duo: “Congratulations Ken Jennings on your first Emmy nomination !! I’m so happy for you! I’m thinking we go in matching tuxedos? Let’s discuss.”
Ken has not buzzed in on the news yet despite being active on Twitter.
While some fans are fearing for the Jeopardy! schedule given the strike [no questions have been written beyond July 28], the 4-day-and-above winner’s tournament is set to kick off Season 40 in September with 74-time winner Ken.
If Daniel keeps it up, he’ll be up against the likes of Cris Pannullo (21 wins and $748K), Ben Chan (9 wins and $252K), and Hannah Wilson (8 wins and $229K).
ABCA contestant from Daniel’s tape day wrote on Reddit: ‘Daniel is a stone-cold shark. Even during the practice rehearsals, he was scary good’[/caption]
JeopardyFans already think he’ll be a last-minute addition to September’s $250K Tournament of Champions[/caption]
