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Jeopardy! host Ken Jennings impersonates champs accent before she makes 'heartbreaking' move in T

JEOPARDY! host Ken Jennings was so enthralled by champ Margaret Shelton's thick accent on Wednesday's episode that he impersonated her.

The Tournament of Champions nail-biter had a "heartbreaking" finish for the contestant.

The bespectacled homemaker faced Tyler Rhode - a director at a start-up from New York City - and Brian Chang, an attorney from Chicago.

Ken, 48, is looming over the "stacked" Tournament of Champions which started Monday and is airing instead of regular episodes for the next three weeks.

He asked her during the Q&A: "I was reminded a moment ago when you said 'What is left behind'" - adding a Southern drawl that had the crowd going wild.

"That you are not originally from Pittsburg," he added, going back to his normal voice.

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She sweetly responded: "I am not, I am from Drew, Mississippi and one of the funniest outcomes after my [original] shows, was some people on the internet thought I was faking or exaggerating my accent."

"Which is hell-arious" she added - matching his impression and then some with unmistakable Southern energy: "My 'ya'll' is authentic!"

Ken was loving it and added: "Well here's what I say about those doubters, bless their hearts," as the whole crowd laughed.

Since her rivals were 5-time and 7-time former winners, Margaret was technically an underdog as a 4-time champion (a player has to win at least that many in the past year to qualify).

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After trading off accents, she started picking up steam, sweeping the category called "Novel Nurses," resulting in a round of applause saying "please" when asking for each one.

"You tied the game up the game at a key moment!" Ken remarked in awe.

"Margaret’s been on a tear," he also gushed before the last round when it all went south, so to speak.

Margaret was tied with Tyler going into Final Jeopardy - their scores both at $17,400 and Brian at $4,200.

'WHY OH WHY?'

If both she and Tyler were correct and both bet it all, they'd go into a rare tie-breaker.

Final Jeopardy read: "Andrew Johnson vetoed a bill that gave reparations to formerly enslaved people, hence this phrase for an unfulfilled promise."

Both Margaret and Tyler did get it correct with "40 Acres and A Mule."

Her competitor revealed he did bet it all, doubling his score to an impressive $34.8K.

Then came Margaret, she only wagered $7K and looked distraught.

Ken had to knock that Tyler won by "the barest of margins" and viewers were sad it all came down to a wagering mistake.

"Devastated for Margaret!" one Redditor penned.

"Because of her bet she missed the opportunity for a tiebreaker," another lamented.

A third wrote: "I've tried making sense of Margaret's wager but the amount is so random" as a fourth agreed: "In FJ, particularly when tied, why not go all in??? Excellent, Tyler!!!"

A fifth person posted: "My heart breaks for Margaret! Her performance was outstanding and I would have loved to see her advance."

Others had to note it was a "thrilling" game overall and all three were in it to win it.

Tyler, Andrew He, and Monday's victor Maureen O'Neill will now advance to the semi-finals of the fierce $250K faceoff.

BATTLE OF THE BRAINS

This year's Tournament of Champions started airing on October 31.

It features more super-champions (or contestants who have won more than 10 games) than any year prior.

Returning champs like Mattea Roach (23 wins and $560K), Amy Schneider (40 wins and $1.3M), Matt Amodio (38 wins and $1.5M) have five of the longest winning streaks in history and will play next week.

While last night, Andrew He won in a great upset finish by $2, the night before, the beloved Ryan Long lost.

"Been an ok TOC so far. I was surprised that some didn’t do better especially first game," one fan surmised on Instagram - though there's plenty more to go.

Regular episodes and reigning ace Cris Pannullo will return mid-November when it all concludes.

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Ken Jennings will step aside from the iconic game show in January so that co-host Mayim Bialik - now handling Celebrity Jeopardy! - can take the reins.

Over the summer, he and actress Mayim were officially announced as the permanent replacements for the late, great Alex Trebek.

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Larita Shotwell

Update: 2024-07-18