Andrew and JAMES Holzhauer He has triumphed in their respective Jeopardy! Masters games, giving them the clear favorites for the event.
Fans bemoaned that it is now “impossible” for fan-favorite Sam Buttrey to proceed to the next round after he failed to secure a much-needed victory.
Jeopardy! The second of three must-see weeks for Masters begins on Monday, May 15.
Andrew He faced Mattea Roach and Sam Buttrey in Tuesday’s program, despite being in bottom position and having not won any games.
Ken Jennings, the show’s host, revealed that Sam “in particular, needs a match point to stay alive tonight.”
Only tomorrow’s show remains until the semi-finals reduce the competition from six to four contestants.
Sam, who has a tremendous personality, leaning into jokes and yelling “Bring It!” to the last clue on the board, which has become something of a Masters motto, didn’t do so.
He received 0 match points, therefore if he receives three tomorrow, he will be tied for fifth at best, with the fifth and sixth places eliminated.
Andrew won despite risking all of his $8000 points on a Daily Double and missing it, plummeting to $0, and then missing the last Daily Double as well.
Andrew had a final Jeopardy score of 13,000, Mattea had a score of 8,400, and Sam had a score of 5600.
Sam painfully crossed out the correct answer in Final Jeopardy but Mattea and Andrew got it correct.
“Absolutely devastated that Sam Buttrey is getting bodied in Jeopardy! Masters- he seems like such a fun guy” one fan tweeted.
“No Sam! I am so sad for him!” wrote another as another posted: “Feel bad for Sam, damn.”
A fourth asked: “It’s impossible for him to get into the semifinals now isn’t it?”
Andrew wound up winning with three more match points, Mattea 1 – Andrew has secured his place in the semi-finals.
Amy Schneider battled Matt Amodio and self-described game show villain James in the second round of the night.
Amy got one and doubled her score, while Matt grabbed the other, keeping James from his prized Daily Doubles in the second round.
James, on the other hand, raced a category and maintained his advantage without them.
He jotted down another joke. “Is there no one else!?” he said as he swept his hands across the stage, hinting there wasn’t much competition.
“Humble as always,” Ken shaded.
It’s looking like Amy may be the second Master to not advance after tomorrow’s last quarterfinals match.
BATTLE ROYALE
The standings are now as follows:
- 1st: James Holzhauer (15 points, 4 wins)
- 2nd: Andrew He (12 points, 2 wins)
- 3rd: Mattea Roach (8 points, 2 wins)
- 4th: Matt Amodio (6 points, 2 wins)
- 5th: Amy Schneider (5 points, 0 wins)
- 6th: Sam Buttrey (2 points, 0 wins)
The schedule is as follows:
- Wednesday, May 17: Last 2 quarter-final matches
- Monday, May 22: 2 Semi-finals matches
- Tuesday, May 23: 2 Semi-finals matches with one more champ eliminated
- Wednesday, May 24: Finals
The titans-only event, hosted by Ken, 48, features six of Jeopardy!’s most skilled competitors competing each night for a $500,000 grand prize.
Permutations of the popular players compete in two sets of three in one-hour programs on ABC and Hulu at 8 p.m. ET.
Jeopardy! The Masters is the idea of new executive producer Michael Davies, and it is the first champion-based producer-picked event since the $1 million GOAT tournament in 2020.
The tournament is designed to select the best player in any given year, a step up from the Tournament of Champions (which only comprises participants from the previous season).
