JEOPARDY! scored a new champion on Tuesday in Kat Jepson, who pulled into second gear and won with an impressive $20.3K.
But it came at the cost of a triple stumper Final Jeopardy with some cringe-inducing incorrect guesses.
Returning champ Robbi Ramirez, a writer from Orlando, Florida who had a 1-day total of $23,800 was the one to beat.
He faced Kat, an artist from Virginia Beach, Virginia, and Mark Sutch, a theatre professor from Concord, North Carolina.
Kat had a dominating performance in Double Jeopardy and got both Daily Double clues correct.
Going into Final Jeopardy, things were looking good for the newcomer with $23,800, Mark had $13,600, and Robbi had $7,400.
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Final Jeopardy under: "Nobel Peace Prize Winners" read: "At times they each lived on Vilakazi St. in Soweto, so it claims to be the world’s only street home to 2 Nobel Peace Prize winners."
Each contestant needed to think of the two Nobel Peace Prize winners from South Africa, in other words.
'COUDN'T QUITE GET THERE'
Host Ken Jennings, 48, turned to Robbi first as he was the reigning champion.
He wrote "Who are: "[Henry] Kissinger and [Angela] Merrkel" - dropping $7300.
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Mark wrote "Who are Mandela and Gandhi?" wagering all of his $13,600 and losing it all.
Ken comforted: "I like the guess but Gandhi never won a Nobel Peace Prize he was assassinated too soon."
Ken lamented as his score was wiped: "Aw, all of it - dropping you to $0 but you had to do it."
Finally, Kat who sported some cool hair and "loves tracking the bees and wasps" in her home garden revealed her response and wager.
She was also incorrect with: "Who are Mandela + Obam."
"Couldn't quite get there," she said with a huge shrug.
But since she only wagered a safe $3401 she came out on top with $20,399.
Ken explained: "You were correct on Mandela the other anti-apartheid activist who lived in the neighborhood was Desmond Tutu."
'HENRY KISSINGER? OBAMA? WTF?'
Game show fans are excited to see how Kat will go but had to admit some of the responses offered just stung.
Especially since quite a few of them did not have to do with Soweto in South Africa.
One fan tweeted: "I'm sorry but that Final Jeopardy clue was too easy for all of them to not get it. Kissinger and Merkel?"
"She thought Mandela and Obama lived on the same street?!?! Ever in life? On what continent?" wrote another about Kat's guess.
One viewer wrote on Reddit: "I was a bit surprised that FJ was a triple stumper. I hope Kat has a nice run."
A second replied: "More than a bit surprised here. And some of those guesses - still better to write something, but oof!"
A third harshly blasted: "lmao those FJ guesses."
And a fourth wrote: "Henry Kissinger? WTF?"
A sixth said: "Who are the only South Africans to win the Nobel Peace Prize? Jumpin' Jeepers, that was a triple stumper?"
One contestant whose episode is airing this week defended in the forum: "There were about six or so of us in the contestant waiting area who didn't get it either!"
FLUCTUATING FINAL JEOPARDY CLUES
Some fans have grumbled that Final Jeopardy clues lately have oscillated between extremely difficult - there have been at five "triple stumpers" in the past 10 days per Jeopardy.com - and shockingly easy.
Yesterday's Final Jeopardy read: "In 1966, the year of his death, he shared plans for an experimental prototype community in Florida."
Everyone was correct with Walt Disney and fans did not feel this was a fairytale ending for a quiz show episode.
"I’m a bit perplexed by Final Jeopardy today, not because there was a problem with it, but that clue felt like it should have been on the $200 space in the Jeopardy round, not an FJ answer," one person wrote on Reddit.
"Literally the easiest Final Jeopardy ever," commented another fan.
That said, 3-day champ Brian Henegar took to Reddit to divulge some behind-the-scenes moments from his time on the show last week.
The Jeopardy! champion responded to fans questions in an AMA or "Ask Me Anything."
Brian brought up his third Final Jeopardy under "Fashion History" which read: "These decorative items get their name from their origin in the port city of Strasbourg, on the border of France & Germany."
No one was correct with "rhinestones," at the time which host Ken had admitted was a tough get.
He told the players: "Strasbourg is a port on the rhine river, which is how rhinestones get their name. Kind of a tricky one."
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Brian told internet users "On the third game (with the rhinestone FJ!), Ken mentioned that he stared at that clue for five minutes before it hit him."
Another game show fan responded: "Very interesting. That should be a pretty good indication to the writers that maybe the clue is a bit too difficult."
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