Fans rooting for Jeopardy! champ Ben Chan were up in arms after his ten-day winning streak was over, all because he misspelled the correct response
Wisconsin philosophy professor Chan first appeared on the TV game show in April but had to step away from his series of victories due to catching COVID.
He resumed being on a roll winning nine games, but it ended there when he incorrectly responded to a clue under the category, “Shakespeare’s Characters.”
The clue read:
“Both of the names of these 2 lovers in a Shakespeare play come from Latin words for ‘blessed.'”
Retired museum educator Lynn Di Vito with whom Chan was neck and neck at the time incorrectly answered, “Who are Romeo and Juli” (Juliet).
The correct answer was “Beatrice and Benedick” from Much Ado About Nothing.
Chan had it in the bag. Sort of.
But instead of jotting down "Benedick," he wrote "Benedict.”
Chan had wagered $12,201 and when the judges refused to budge, his total dropped to $5,199 where it was unfortunately game over for him.
Fans rooting for Chan were furious over the decision to end his reign.
Chan weighed in on a Reddit debate over the legitimacy of his loss and said he stood by the judge's decision.
"Benedict; is incorrect," he wrote.
"The character's name is Benedick. As Ken (presciently) noted on my first episode, there is no partial credit on Jeopardy! (Yes, I was sooo close!)"
He also said the blunder could be blamed on "bad flashcards," and he added:
"The 'Benedict' misspelling is common, and it worked its way onto a couple of my flashcards."
Chan also wrote on Twitter:
"Soooo... if we could go back in time, maybe the judges could have okayed 'Benedict' as a historically acceptable alternative form of the name."
"But they wouldn't have to because I'd just write the indisputably correct response: 'Benedick.'"
This won't be the last time fans will see Chan on the game show.
He is expected to advance to the 2023 Tournament of Champions.
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