JEOPARDY! fans have been left heartbroken after a beloved contestant’s winning streak came to an end.
Puzzle designer David Erb had been aiming to win his fourth successive game.
Last night’s Jeopardy! saw a beloved contestant bow out[/caption]
Puzzle designer David Erb, from Seattle, had been aiming to win his fourth game[/caption]
David earned viewers’ respect with his bold Daily Double wagers[/caption]
It was ultimately not to be, as he fell short to new champion Maddie Carwile.
Fans were certainly upset to see David go – and hoped for his return – as they took to the show’s Reddit forum.
One wrote: “David had an impressive run. We hope to see him again later this season in the TOC.”
A second person agreed, commenting: “David was a great player, ran into a couple of other great players and a little bad luck.
“Hope we see him again. Three games? Maybe.”
A third remarked: “I’m hoping he gets an exception to join, bcos he’s pretty good. Racked up $30k 3 games after DJ! but it’s a shame his 4th didn’t go his way.”
While a fourth said: “He is scary smart, but he’s 74 years old. It catches up to you.”
A fifth chimed in: “Farewell David. I had a lot of respect for your bold, Daily Double wagers.”
A fellow viewer said they were “devastated” about David’s loss, but acknowledged Maddie and fellow player Alex Michev had been strong competition.
During his time on Jeopardy!, fans learned that the Seattle native has a famous spouse.
He is married to author Bonnie Garmus, who wrote the bestselling book Lessons in Chemistry.
Last year, the novel was adapted into an Apple TV+ miniseries starring Brie Larson as Elizabeth Zott.
Meanwhile, some fans noticed David’s resemblance to an iconic film star.
Jeopardy! Contestant Rules
Passing Jeopardy!’s online Anytime Test is hard enough, but there are also many rules players must follow once they make it to the stage:
- The returning champion is always at the leftmost podium and keeps playing until they lose.
- Contestants don’t have to say “who is” or “what is” in the first round but must do so in Double Jeopardy! and Final Jeopardy.
- Contestants can change their responses as long as Ken Jennings or the judges haven’t made a ruling.
- The minimum wager for a Daily Double is $5. The minimum wager for Final Jeopardy! is $0.
- Written responses in Final Jeopardy! do not have to be spelled correctly, but they must be phonetically correct (the judges decide this).
- If there’s a tie after Final Jeopardy, the tied players enter a bonus clue shootout, and whoever buzzes in first correctly wins.
- If all three contestants wager everything in Final Jeopardy! and are incorrect, leaving them with $0, there will be no returning champion (it’s happened before—six times).
Referencing his gray beard and hair, as well as his chiseled facial features, they said he “looks exactly like” a younger version of Clint Eastwood.
One wrote on X: “Is it just me or does David on #Jeopardy remind anyone else of a young Clint Eastwood?”
Someone else penned: “If Christopher Guest & Clint Eastwood had a son, he’d look like this guy, David, on #Jeopardy right now.”
A third joked: “No one told me Clint Eastwood was going to be on Jeopardy! tonight.”
Viewers learned David is married to writer Bonnie Garmus[/caption]
While some fans pointed out his resemblance to film star Clint Eastwood[/caption]
