Ken Jennings Suffered a Surprising Defeat Against ‘And Just Like That’ Star Mario Cantone on ‘The $100,000 Pyramid’

Ken Jennings, who made his name by winning 74 games and millions of dollars on Jeopardy, surprised game show fans everywhere when he suffered a major loss on The $100,000 Pyramid.

Jennings made his highly anticipated return to the ABC game show on Sunday (July 16) where he faced off against Sex and the City veteran, comedian Mario Cantone. But the evening did not turn out how some fans had expected.

The Jeopardy champion and host lost both rounds of the word association game to Cantone. In one round, Jennings and his partner only guessed seven words correctly.

“It was a shocking result too. He actually lost twice to Mario Cantone,” someone posted on Reddit. “I can’t believe it.”

Someone in the comments said they attended a Jeopardy taping back in October where Jennings hinted that he didn’t “do so well” in his latest stint on The $100,000 Pyramid: “An audience member asked Ken about his appearance on Pyramid and congratulated him for how well he did. He told us he had since taped another episode and did not do as well the second time, then swore us to secrecy,” they commented. “I’ve kept the secret until now.”

Another Jeopardy fan said it was a “pretty even matchup,” considering Cantone is “great” at this game.

Someone else noted that Jennings and his partners got categories that were “slightly trickier” in both categories, turning the game into the “luck of the draw.” Others agreed that Jennings had “harder categories.”

“As stated, a lot on Pyramid has to do with the luck of the categories, as well as how good your partners are with those lists. A lot more uncontrollable variables than on J!” a Jeopardy fan pointed out.

$100,000 Pyramid isn’t exactly the kind of game show you could study for. The ABC series, hosted by Michael Strahan, pairs celebrities up with contestants in rounds of word-association. The teams then face off against each other to make it to the winners circle, where they have the chance to win $100,000.

This just goes to show that Jennings is not the unflappable game show champion fans may think he is.

Jeopardy! airs weeknights at 7/6c. Check the website for local listings. $100,000 Pyramid airs on Sundays at 10/9c, and can be streamed on Hulu.