JEOPARDY! contestant Daniel Moore has lost sooner than fans were expecting on Tuesday's nail-biter episode.
The two-day champion let the all-too-important Daily Doubles glaringly pass him by, frustrating astute internet users who were rooting for him.
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Daniel, a contract compliance analyst from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, was the one to beat with a serious two-day total of $39,800.
He faced Chelsea Watt, a communications manager from Canada, and David Bederman, an attorney from Los Angeles, California (who moonlights as a DJ).
One worrisome sign was that Daniel - dressed for success in handsome suits (one gifted to him when he worked at a cafe) - missed a roast-worthy eight questions last episode.
Another was his questionable clue selection, as he was not Daily Double hunting when it mattered most.
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Going into Double Jeopardy!, Daniel was trailing with $4600, David in the lead with $8800, and Chelsea with $3800.
Rival David got 21 clues correct and 0 incorrect in the second round in a show of force.
Daniel got 19 clues correct and three incorrect, both clearly knowing their stuff.
But at one point when there were no Daily Doubles found in the second round, the $1600 clue under "Authors First Works" and the $1200 clue under "World of First Names" were just sitting there.
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Daily Doubles are statistically most likely in the bottom three rows of the board.
Daniel had plenty of opportunities to realize that's where the hidden clues would be, which allow contestants to bet anything from their earnings.
But he didn't pick them, and when third-placer Chelsea got control of the board, she found them both instead, not offering a guess for either one.
As a result, David led instead going into Final Jeopardy with $17,800, Daniel had $14,200, and Chelsea $5,800.
Ken Jennings, 49, knowingly remarked: “You and David were able to build up those scores without either of the Daily Doubles in that round."
Final Jeopardy! under “Man-made Objects” read: “Around since 1998, it’s now roughly the length of a football field & travels at about 5 miles per second.”
All three players were correct with “The International Space Station.”
While Daniel rocketed to $28400, having bet it all, David bet $10401, bringing him to $28401 or just $1 above Daniel.
David looked astounded and held his chest, being declared the new winner.
'I WAS ASTOUNDED'
Some fans were bothered that Daniel lost, having not hunted down the wager clues that stars like James Holzhauer seem to find like clockwork.
One person wrote on Twitter: "Not Chelsea wasting both Daily Doubles when Daniel desperately needs them."
Another wrote: "Oh boy…I thought Daniel would last at least seven days."
Another Reddit user wrote: "I was astounded when Daniel skipped the $1600 clue in the literature category (the most likely place for a Daily Double to be on that board, in my opinion), and then it took what felt like forever for the contestants to come back to it."
Another replied: "Especially given that he correctly responded to the $1,200 Bill Burroughs clue then jumped to the $2,000 one, which was a Triple Stumper.
"He still had control, but chose to start with the $2,000 box in FIRST NAMES instead."
A fifth agreed: "I got the sense from his gameplay and wagering that Daniel didn't really study the game of Jeopardy!, he just is really good at answering the questions."
A sixth applauded the twist ending: “One of the best games I've seen in recent days. Very competitive match. Daniel is a very good and knowledgeable player. It might have been buzzer timing that screwed him over."
“N0W that was a GREAT GAME," wrote one more as a sixth lamented: "It was a good run my brother."
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.
It's no secret that many fans and contestants prefer Ken and want him to score the hosting gig alone.
That said, 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.
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Some fans are also fearing for Season 40 of Jeopardy! given the strike.
The beloved game show has not spoken out on how the strike will affect next season, set to kick off in September, with all of its writers currently striking and no clues written past July 28.
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