Jeopardy! fans divided over 'confusing' final question as champ Alec Chao stumbles and admits he was

JEOPARDY! fans have been divided after a head-scratcher of a final question stumped champ Alec Chao and cost him a win.

Viewers were invested in the returning competitor, who is a management and program analyst from Fort Lauderdale, Florida.

During Friday's episode of Jeopardy! players Michael Murphy, Tamara Ghattas, and Alec faced a difficult Final Jeopardy round.

Going into the last phase of the episode, Tamara was in the lead with $11,800.

Not far behind was Michael with $7,200 and then Alec with an even $7,000.

Host Ken Jennings introduced the Final Jeopardy topic: symbols.

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He then revealed the question: "In math, it's a rotated V; In society, it's a feeling of some marginalized or underrepresented people."

Each contestant had 30 seconds to submit their best guess with Ken, TK, looking to Michael for an answer first.

He guessed: "What is subdivision?" and lost $6,601 for being incorrect.

Alec, who moved into second place with $7,800, guessed: "What is inequality?"

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He wagered and lost $4,801, bringing his winning for the day down to $2,999.

Tamara guessed: "What is less than?" which was, apparently, the right answer.

She added $1,801 to her total earnings, walking away with $15,601.

As she celebrated her victory, fans flocked to an online forum to discuss the question.

Many seemed to think the Final Jeopardy question was a bit "rough," noting that there was an argument to be made that Alec's answer was correct.

FANS REACT

One commenter wrote: "Wow, I'm a bit surprised Tamara was the only one who got [Final Jeopardy]. And even though 'inequality' could be argued to be correct, it wouldn't have changed anything since he would have still lost and gotten [second]."

Another Jeopardy super-fan replied: "Personally, I don't see how it could be argued to be incorrect."

A third fan commented: "Yup, Alec's bet was too small. Wasn't big enough bet. But at the same time, I get why 'inequality' isn't accepted. As the math symbol of inequality didn't fit the brief due to the specificity required in the clue (I mean it doesn't resemble a rotated 'v' for one)."

Jeopardy contestant Michael even popped onto the Reddit thread to explain his own incorrect answer, saying: "Michael here. I read more into the FJ clue than was there and it was my undoing.

"I immediately knew that < was 'less than' but I was trying to think of some single word that doesn't come up often. Once my brain got stuck looking for a single word instead of 'less than' I was screwed and couldn't get out of that hole."

Alec also made an appearance on the thread, explaining his misstep by saying: "Math has never been my strong suit, especially under pressure. I'm sure some of my former teachers will be screaming at the TV tonight!"

CROWNING SOMEONE NEW

Alec's reign as Jeopardy champ was short.

He took his first win during Thursday's episode of the show, dethroning returning three-day champ, Melissa Klapper.

While fans were happy for Alec, many were somewhat disappointed as Melissa was just one win away from being the first and technically only female contestant to qualify for the 2023 Tournament of Champions.

During the show, the returning Jeopardy competitor faced off with Daisy Donohue, an actor and artist from St. Paul, Minnesota, and Alec.

Melissa works as a professor and is also a four-time book author and former ballerina from Merion Station, Pennsylvania.

She raked in $59,100 during her tenure on Jeopardy.

Many considered her a frontrunner and it looked like she would win going into Double Jeopardy! but she missed both Daily Doubles, betting $4,000 each.

Ken called it an "unfortunate" site, commiserating briefly with the contestant.

After her second miss, Melissa slumped her head and the down-turned mood in the audience was palpable.

With her floundering, Alec had a runway to victory as he headed into Final Jeopardy with $15,200 compared to Melissa's meager $6,800 and Daisy's $4,600.

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The Final Jeopardy question under "Movie Theme Songs" read: "Monty Norman, the composer of this character’s theme, said the staccato riff conveyed sexiness, mystery & ruthlessness."

Only Alec guessed correctly with "James Bond", adding a safe $305 and becoming the new winner with $15,505.

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