ARTHUR Chu, whom Jeopardy! fans may recall being coined the game show’s first villain, foiled his plans for a comeback in the new Invitational Tournament.

The 2014 11-day champ lost on a massive Daily Double gamble as many fans were simply shocked to see him return.

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The enigmatic Arthur Chu returned for the first time in 10 yearsCredit: Jeopardy!

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He lost the game on a $10,000 Daily Double gamble that didn’t pay offCredit: Jeopardy!
The JIT sees 27 power players coming out of the woodwork fighting for $100,000 and an invitation to the 2024 Jeopardy Masters tournament.

Arthur faced David Madden, who won 19 games back in 2005, and MacKenzie Jones, who won eight games in 2020.

Notably, Arthur and David were early adopters of the non-top-down, Daily Double-hunting strategy.

But that style came back to bite the former, who hasn’t competed since his initial run.

‘THAT’S TOUGH’

After the Jeopardy! round, Arthur led with $6,400 after a late surge, David had $4,200, and MacKenzie had $2,200.

In Double Jeopardy!, David found the second Daily Double, adding $5000 to snatch the lead – then Arthur found the remaining one.

Trailing by just $800 to David he stunned Ken by wagering $10,000, as the host remarked, “That’s a big wager.”

The video clue showed a stringless violin and read, “It describes someone weakened by nerves, and also the instrument here.”

Arthur let out a deep sigh, and the timer ran out as he had no response.

“You had to notice the violin was Unstrung,” Ken said, repeating the correct response, “Unstrung,” and adding, “That’s tough.”

David couldn’t be caught heading into Final Jeopardy! with $18,400 while Arthur had $5,600 and MacKenzie $600.

The clue under ELEMENTS read. “In his ‘Natural History’ Pliny described it as ‘argentum vivum'” and both he and David correctly wrote “Mercury.”

David (also writing a shoutout to his parrots) added $1 to advance to the JIT semifinals with $18,401 and a winning grin.

‘HE’S BACK?’

Fans flocked to social media with various reactions to the enigmatic player’s return and the Daily Double move that did him in.

“Noooooooo Arthur, I’ve waited 10 years to see Arthur’s vindication arc, only to be completely ‘unstrung’ by that daily double (me, not Arthur),” one Reddit user wrote.

“No way they really let Arthur Chu back on Jeopardy lmfao,” an X user wrote.

“wtf Arthur Chu is back on Jeopardy,” wrote a third.

“Dave and Arthur seem pretty evenly matched, and it certainly played out that way. It’s a shame Arthur couldn’t convert that last DD. Would have loved to see him advance!” wrote another.

A fifth wrote, “I don’t like the bet on DD3. Either go all-in if you’re trying to secure the runaway, or just bet small to keep it close even if you miss and let the board play out.”

A sixth remarked, “Had Arthur gotten it right he’d undoubtedly be the one advancing had all else remained the same.”

EMBRACING THE CONTROVERSY

Arthur won 11 games and placed second in the 2014 Tournament of Champions, bringing his cash earnings to $398,200.

Arthur went viral during his initial run for playing Daily Double hunting and jumping around the board in a style later “mastered” by James Holzhauer.

But at the time, his aggressive style of play was criticized as it wasn’t the norm, earning him the nickname of “Jeopardy! villain,” which he fully embraced.

Arthur live-tweeted his games and leaned into the negative attention.

One tweet read, “Dude, you are a fraud. You are making the show uninteresting. Stop while you are ahead. Leave Jeopardy alone,” which he shamelessly reposted.

The Ohio resident also shocked fans with his trickery while competing, including deliberately wagering for a tie in Final Jeopardy- which worked.

He also clashed with Alex Trebek over rulings and, in his second game, wagered $5 on a Daily Double only to respond “I don’t know” immediately.

Both Alex and Ken later defended Arthur as a “good player” who made the game more exciting.

Alex defended Chu’s use of the Forrest Bounce – 1985 contestant Chuck Forrest is also competing in the JIT – stating, “As the impartial host, I accept disorder.”

That said, Chu later drew backlash for tweets against the COVID-19 vaccine and other problematic posts.

MORE ON DAVID MADDEN

Meanwhile, Madden’s streak in 2005 ran 19 games and $432,400, making him the second super-champ on the game show after Ken.

He held the second-longest streak to Ken’s still longest-ever 74-game run for nearly a decade.

Notably, his was ended by a very young Victoria Groce, who is also a heavy favorite in JIT.

Madden went 45 for 2 on Daily Doubles during his run, an astounding stat especially considering he competed before the diluge of super-champions.

“I would go hunting for Daily Doubles but back in the day this show discouraged it,” Madden said on the Buzzer Blog podcast.

“I had a good sense of where they were, not to make a ton of money but keep them away from the other contestants.

“When I lost to all-time trivia great Victoria Groce, that’s what she did, and more power to her.”

WHAT IS: THE JIT?

The JIT is a brand-new tournament airing from March 20 until early April.

Unlike other tournaments this season, JIT opens the floodgates to iconic older champions who fans haven’t seen in decades.

The three-week JIT sees past greats – some recent ones, and even contestants-turned-Chasers – back at the buzzer.

The winner gets $100,000 and a slot in Masters Season 2, which airs in May on ABC Primetime.

There will be nine quarterfinal games, three semifinals, and a best-of-four final.

This means the legendary player who notches two final games wins the title.

The now-annual throwdown will decide one of the six spots in Masters, with the first three going to last season’s finalists – Matt Amodio, winner James, and Mattea Roach.

The other Master’s slots go to Yogesh Raut for winning the 2024 Tournament of Champions and a still-unannounced Producer’s Pick.

After JIT, regular episodes resume for the first time this season either between April 8 and April 10.

JIT LINEUP

A murderer’s row of 27 trivia titans are returning- minus a few no-shows

Sam Buttrey – finalist in the 2022 Tournament of Champions and sixth place in Masters Season 1
Amy Schneider- winner of the 2022 Tournament of Champions and fifth place in Masters Season 1
Andrew He – runnerup in the 2022 Tournament of Champions and fourth place in Masters Season 1
Brandon Blackwell – Chaser on The Chase and Teen Tournament semifinalist
Colby Burnett – winner of the 2013 Tournament of Champions and third-place in the team-based 2019 All-Star Games
Lily Chin – winner of the 2017 College Championship and 2017 ToC semifinalist
Leonard Cooper- winner of the 2013 Teen Tournament and All-Stars Games player
Celeste DiNucci – 2007 Tournament of Champions winner
Chuck Forrest – Season 2 five-day champ from 1985 and 1986 Tournament of Champions winner
Dhruv Gaur – 2019 Tournament of Champions semifinalist
Ben Ingram – eight-day champion and winner of the 2014 Tournament of Champions
Alex Jacob – 2015 Tournament of Champions winner
Mackenzie Jones – eight-day champion and 2015 ToC quarterfinalist
Sam Kavanaugh – winner of the 2021 Tournament of Champions
Larissa Kelly – six-day champion and 2019 All-Star Games winner
Alan Lin – six-day champion and 2009 ToC runner-up
David Madden – 19-day champion in 2005, the second-longest streak holder next to Ken for decades, and All-Star Games winner
Pam Mueller – 2001 ToC semifinalist and third place in 2019 All-Star Games
Austin Rogers – 13-game champion and 2017 ToC runner-up
Monica Theiu – 2012 College Championship winner
Jason Zuffranieri – 19-day champion
Arthur Chu – 11-day winner and 2014 Tournament of Champions runner-up
Victoria Groce – Chaser on The Chase
Matt Jackson – 13-day champion and 2015 ToC runner-up
Terry O’Shea – 2014 College Championship winner and 2014 Tournament of Champions semifinalist
Dan Pawson – nine-day champion and 2009 Tournament of Champions winner
Jennifer Quail – eight-day champion and 2021 Tournament of Champions runner-up

WHO IS: WINNING SO FAR?

Here are the contestants who have won their first matches and are now semifinalists:

Andrew He won the premiere after getting knocked out of Masters Season 1.

Larissa Kelly, who won last Friday’s match and previously won the 2019 All-Star Games and was the 2009 ToC runner-up.

Matt Jackson, who returned for a big win after winning 13 games in 2015.

Amy Schneider had a big runaway win on Monday night after also getting knocked from Masters with fans predicting she could win the whole tournament and get back in.

Jeopardy! airs at 7 p.m. ET on ABC, where fans can catch all the JIT action.