Danger! Champion Troy Meyer’s winning streak ends in brutal defeat as fans share their theory on why the player couldn’t pull off another win

DANGER! Champ Troy Meyer’s six-day winning streak ended in brutal fashion.

After the loss, viewers of the game show shared their theories as to why the contestant couldn’t pull off another win.

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As previously mentioned, the now former Jeopardy! Champion Troy entered the competition with total winnings of $214,802 after winning the previous six games.

He was joined by challengers Dee Williams, a research associate, and Jake DeArruda, a delivery person.

Earlier in the episode, host Ken Jennings, 48, summarized how the music executive from Tampa, Fla., “came through another tight game” the day before.

He explained how the champion “went into the final Jeopardy by a slim margin” and how “Troy was a very strong player in that third round of play.”

Unfortunately, that wouldn’t be the case for Troy this time.

Heading into Final Jeopardy, show newcomer Jake led with $27,800, followed by Troy with $15,600 and last-place contender Dee with $6,600.

After all three contestants misrepresented the American title for the 2007 French biopic La Môme, the game ended with Jake winning, raising a total of $22,797.

Troy, who bet his entire winnings on the Final Jeopardy question to win and continue his streak, finished the game with $0.

Troy’s run ended with him finishing “21st all-time for regular wins” and 9th for highest 5-day totals.

On a popular Reddit board dedicated to Jeopardy, fans weighed in on Troy’s loss and the possible reasons for it.

“He must have been exhausted by the end of the day of recording considering he hasn’t earned a breakaway since Tuesday,” one suggested, before adding, “Nevertheless, he’ll be a counting force in the Tournament of Champions.”

Another asked: “I wonder how much of that was fatigue – was curious if he sat down for yesterday’s game and he missed a lot more obvious things today and had to face a very strong opponent.”

“I could almost tell Troy was getting tired which was probably why he needed a chair in yesterday’s game. A long streaker at Jeopardy! being really tests your mental stamina,” said one user.

“That’s why I still think Ken Jennings is the best Jeopardy! contestant ever… his stamina is just insane,” they added.

“…Troy was extraordinarily strong in his first couple of games as far as buzzer attempts go, but it seemed like there was a gradual decline to just stellar takes as the band day progressed,” noted one viewer.

One person wrote, “I think we all know there was a lot more to Troy but sometimes the daily doubles just don’t get in your way.”

GREAT WEAKNESS

The day before, fans spotted a weakness in Troy’s gameplay after noticing that the contestant wasn’t looking for the all-important “daily doubles” and was therefore constantly being dragged on the ropes.

The returning champion was joined by John Guszkowski, a planning consultant from Pomfret, Connecticut, and Emma Moore, a librarian from Princeton, New Jersey.

Troy had a large lead until rival John found one of the three randomly placed Daily Doubles.

There are three hidden special clues in each game, and if you land on one, a contestant can wager as much as they want from their bankroll and act on it alone.

John bet $8,000 and got it, which put him well into the game.

In Final Jeopardy, Troy – who had just found a daily double early on – was up $24,400.

John was right behind with $22,200 – and Emma was right behind with $2,800.

Final Jeopardy under “History” read: “When Columbus returned home in 1493, he stopped in the Azores at an island by that name, also something he had lost off the coast of Haiti.”

John was right, and when he revealed he had wagered $11,000, he had a big head start, at least for now.

“I thought he didn’t have it!”

A nervous Ken admitted when it was Troy’s turn to show his hand: “Troy Meyer gave us his best poker face.”

“Did he know it was ‘Santa Maria’ – he wrote late… he did!”

Troy got it and flashed a huge winning smile.

He knew it was time to bet big too, and luckily added a massive $20,001 when Ken exclaimed, “Wow!”

Troy won the Nailbiter for $44,401 and a whopping total over six days.

According to Jeopardy.com, Troy has only found eight daily doubles in his six games — despite going 8/0, he’s averaging just over one per game.

While that makes for climactic finals, it was a stressful stat when everyone was out for blood.

Ken admitted Troy “survived a scare” by getting Final Jeopardy right too, otherwise he would have lost.

“Troy is an excellent player but his daily double luck hasn’t always been the best,” wrote one fan at the time.

Nonetheless, Troy is now the fifth candidate to qualify for next year’s Tournament of Champions.

The others are fan favorite Ray Lalonde with 13 wins, former poker ace Cris Pannullo with 21 wins, five-day champion Luigi de Guzman, and four-day champion and priest David Sibley.

Troy’s fifth win on Thursday netted him $1 more than legendary winner Amy Schneider’s grand total at the same time in 2022, so that’s nothing if not a good sign.

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