Plus, which players fans said stole the show during what may have been Jeopardy!’s messiest calendar year

JEOPARDY!’s most recent season is in the rearview, and fans have buzzed in on social media with their picks for its most jaw-dropping moments.

The game show’s 40th season aired from September until July 26, with no shortage of drama that viewers still aren’t over.

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Ken Jennings hosted Jeopardy!’s 40th Season as Mayim Bialik stepped out and then was firedCredit: Jeopardy!

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Fans still aren’t over actor Ike Barenholz beating two regular contestants in the Tournament of ChampionsCredit: Jeopardy!

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Or how Juveria Zaheer kept fans going during tournament purgatoryCredit: Jeopardy!
Jeopardy! is now on summer break until Season 41 premieres in the fall.

Between the WGA strike and the dismissal of co-host Mayim Bialik, Season 40 made for an eventful calendar year.

The strike upended the show schedule, and there were only four months of regular play.

There were endless fill-in tournaments and some questionable on-air incidents.

There were also plenty of big winners and winning moments, from comeback queen Juveria Zaheer to another queen in Victoria Groce to a vicious 2024 ToC.

Viewers on Reddit made an internet thread where they ruled these show moments as the highlights of a challenging, yet undoubtedly eventful, season.

IKE DROP

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Actor Ike Barinholtz beat two regular Jeopardy! winners in the Tournament of Champions and nearly made the finalsCredit: Jeopardy!
The 2024 Tournament of Champions was perhaps the most shocking in show history, as the players with the longest winning streaks all lost.

Its biggest shocker, however, was what ensued when actor Ike Barinholtz, invited after winning Celebrity Jeopardy!, joined in.

Ike played against regular Jeopardy! winners Ray LaLonde (a 13-day champ) and Melissa Klapper in the tournament, and won the game.

It all hinged on Final Jeopardy, which read, “Far from Rome, this first-century poet wrote, ‘The leader’s anger done, grant me the right to die in my native country.'”

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The correct response was “Ovid,” which Ray got, so it all came down to Ike’s response from second place.

Ken Jennings said outright that he didn’t think Ike, of Mad TV and Mindy Project fame, would have any clue.

“Did he think of Ovid, as we know celebrities often do? Oh!” Ken yelled in surprise as Ike knew it was “Ovid.”

While Ike narrowly lost in the semifinals, fans are still utterly stunned the actor defeated two actual show champions.

“They re-aired my favorite moment last night – Ike Barinholtz winning a TOC game,” one Redditor wrote in the thread.

“Absolutely electric. I love being surprised by an unexpected outcome,” wrote another.

“It’s honestly the hypest I can ever remember being watching Jeopardy. Gonna be tough to top that,” wrote a third.

“Ike Barinholtz being a $0 wager away from the TOC finals was also a fun story for that tournament,” wrote a fourth as a fifth agreed it was a game-changing moment for the show.

“Ike’s TOC run. Showed he wasn’t ‘just’ a celebrity/actor.”

‘SO BIZARRE’

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Fan-favorite champ Isaac Hirsch stood by as Ken Jennings issued four score corrections at onceCredit: Jeopardy

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Ken Jennings stopping a game to issue a ‘bizarre’ number of correctionsCredit: Jeopardy!
Regular play only took up four months of the season in a big schedule shakeup, with new contestants competing from April until the season’s end.

However, regular play had some very irregular moments – like the show stoppage for a slew of score corrections during Isaac Hirsch’s winning streak.

During one of the fan-favorite’s nine wins, Ken stopped the gameplay by announcing that the judges had reversed not one but four rulings.

Viewers were astonished on social media as they’d never witnessed such a gigantic score change, even if they all made sense.

“Isaac’s triple score correction moved his score up $6,400. I’d never seen anything like it, and it involved one of the most interesting players of the year,” another Redditor wrote in the thread.

“Also, despite being so bizarre, it was definitely the right thing to do in the interest of accurate rulings.”

Others just said they loved watching Isaac in general, “all of Isaac’s chats,” wrote another.

“I think the weightlifting one was my favorite, but they were all gold,” wrote a third.

“He’s an absolute show stealer. I was one of his opponents on Game 7 for him. You can’t not like him. He just oozes charisma and good humor,” wrote a fourth.

TWO QUEENS TAKE THE THRONE

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Juveria Zaheer won the season’s first two tournaments in a true Cinderella storyCredit: Youtube/Jeopardy

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Victoria Groce, who won a mere single game in 2005, returned 20 years later and won MastersCredit: Getty
Jeopardy!’s 40th season began with an infamous onslaught of past-player contests, but Juveria Zaheer emerged as a comeback queen.

Juveria, who initially lost to Hannah Wilson, made the most of her second chance.

Despite losing in regular play, she won not just one but two redemption tournaments and made it into the ToC.

Fans on Reddit said Juveria’s inspiring run kept them watching through one of the game show’s most challenging periods ever.

“Juveria’s Cinderella run through multiple tournaments. Literally the only thing that kept me excited during all that. Can’t wait to see her compete again someday!” another Redditor wrote.

“Yes, I’ve never cheered so hard for someone!” wrote a second.

“This,” wrote a third.

There was, of course, another queen during tournament play – Victoria Groce, a mere one-day champ from 2005 who was better known for being The Queen on The Chase.

Victoria steamrolled through the show’s Invitational Tournament in April and Jeopardy! Masters in May back-to-back.

“I loved watching Victoria’s dominance in JIT and Masters. She was so impressive while also being humble and kind throughout,” another Redditor said.

“I was deep in the tank for Victoria Groce, so seeing her win the Invitational and Masters was really exciting,” one more wrote.

KEN TAKES THE REIGNS

Plus, champ-turned-host Ken was there for it all, and fans watched him come into his own as sole host.

Season 40 marked Ken’s first season as permanent host as Mayim walked out during the WGA strike and was later let go.

Ken ran with the opportunity, settling into the job, and shined.

One more fan wrote in the thread, “And of course, Ken being named the permanent host going forward was a highlight as well!”