I got the feeling that perhaps Jackson was holding back in order that the man in the middle would win. We'll never know. I especially liked the demeanor of the young woman.

I enjoyed it.

I'm glad the man who won was the winner. I felt the other guy was to quick with picking some of his questions and cutting off Alex while he was talking. But very smart. I did like the soft spoken young woman too. All in all it was a good tournament.

I did enjoy it. Having grown fond of Matt during his many days of play earlier in the year, I was rooting for him. But Alex Jacob was brilliant, and certainly deserved the win. I liked seeing how gracious Matt was, applauding when Alex pulled off his Daily Doubles (Kerry did not) and smiling and applauding at the end.

Here's a short article about the win from Variety. I didn't know Alex Jacobs had been a professional poker player. I guess he knows about a few other things too. :-)

Tournament Win

It's obvious that all these players are knowledgeable people, but I find it difficult to watch if a personality is 'off-putting'. I have tough time tolerating arrogant belligerence. Last year there was one that grated on me, and this year I was glad to see Alex win. The woman too was pleasant.

I was wondering if the other guy (Matt I think) had a social difficulty, or if his habit of racing through and cutting off Alex Trebek was a tactic. In either case, I found the contrasting styles quite entertaining. And honestly, to me, it was a satisfying conclusion.

What's that old saying about people being happier to see you go than arrive?

thanks, Alisande for the link, because I missed all but the very very end of Alex's win.

Matt was just so....sorry...but creepy at times. I wonder if Alex was faster on the buzzer than he was Friday night? I agree something seemed off with Matt. However, I'm glad Alex won. He did mumble his answers quite a bit tho, sometimes I couldn't make out what his answers were until Alex repeated them.

I felt the same way about Matt. I think he was arrogant. I was happy when he didn't get the daily doubles. I was happy to see Alex win.

Alex Jacob was incredible, and he made the game so exciting with his bet-it-all daily doubles and seeming to pull the answers out of his head at the last minute. Loved it!

I know, Graywings! Just when you thought he would not know, he came up with the answer!!! And then seemed surprised himself. Fun!

Here's a link to a discussion we had at the KT about Matt Jackson last month:

Jeopardy and Matt Jackson

Like me, several people found Matt annoying at first, but grew more sympathetic to him as the days went on. I would guess he has a degree of Asperger's, or some other personality trait that makes him stand out a bit in social situations--especially an intense, highly-charged situation like Jeopardy.

Speaking of Jeopardy (and champions), did anyone notice the current champion's peculiar speech? She has a sing-song thing going on at the end of some of her statements. If she says "two hundred," for example, her voice goes down a few notes at "dred" and back up again at the finish. I'm wondering if it's a regional thing, or something unique to her.

PS: I don't think I explained that very well. :-)

Yes, I was going to remark on her strange speech, too. But I did notice that it was not so pronounced when she was just talking, but very much so when she answered the questions.

I kept hoping she wouldn't win because her voice annoys me so much!! Phyllis I noticed too it wasn't as bad when she was having a conversation, just when answering questions or selecting a new category.

I wonder if the current Jeopardy champ has some sort of laryngeal spasm disorder. It's not pronounced all the time which is interesting.

A quick Google search shows that Laura Ashby's odd speech pattern is actually a severe form of upspeak (with some vocal fry thrown in for good measure).

It helps explain why the strange vocal pattern is pronounced when she answers vs. when she's just talking to Alex.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/the-internet-is-freaking-out-over-this-jeopardy-contestants-voice_565469e1e4b0258edb32d5d1

It drives dh nuts--sure is unusual.

Her voice is so annoying to me too. I've just never heard anything like it.

Ashby lost the game tonight????? What a shame?????

I read some of the comments on the Huff Post and agree with many of them that this seems to be more of a vocal tic or affectation than upspeak.

I'm sorry to agree with others, her pronunciation of "hundred" was very annoying and one time I muted her at that moment. Understand now that it was something she couldn't help.