ken jennings salary on jeopardy

Ken Jennings and Ben Chan on 'Jeopardy!'

Source: Jeopardy!

'Jeopardy!' Returned This Week, but Without Ben Chan — Here's Why

Ben Chan was the defending champion on 'Jeopardy!' and many want to know what happened to him. Why wasn't he on the show on April 17, 2023?

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Apr. 18 2023, Published ix:58 a.m. ET

Viewers who picket Jeopardy! regularly are likely aware that the bear witness follows a pretty strict formula. Each episode typically introduces two new contestants who are given the chore of taking on a defending champion, who has won the evidence at least once before.

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Ken Jennings, one of the show's current hosts, was once one of those defending champions, and won an unprecedented number of nights in a row. When Jeopardy! returned on Apr 17, 2023, Ben Chan was missing. What happened to the defending champion?

What happened to Ben Chan on 'Jeopardy!'?

Those who tuned in to the quiz show on April 17, may accept noticed that this new installment was without a returning champion. Ben Chan, who had won the show'south most recent episode, wasn't there and many viewers wondered what happened to him. Thankfully, Ken apace addressed Ben's absence at the top of the show before he dove into the game.

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Ben's first name on his 'Jeopardy!' card under his podium.

"Astute Jeopardy! viewers will have already noticed that Johnny Gilbert, when he introduced our players, did not mention a returning champion and their winnings. Astute and loyal Jeopardy! viewers will remember that last week, Friday's evidence ended with Ben Chan clinching his 3rd runaway win," Ken said at the tiptop of the Apr 17 episode.

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"How do we solve this riddle? Well, every bit has happened only a few times in Jeopardy! history, the returning champ found themselves unable to travel this calendar week. What that means is, never fear, we'll have Ben back on at a afterward date," Ken explained. "Just it means that Toni, Daniel, and Madeleine are taking the stage all for the first time today. It's a fresh start. No intimidating returning gnaw to deal with."

When will Ben Chan return to the show?

Although the lack of a defending gnaw allowed for a rare wide-open competition on the April 17 broadcast, many were eager to know when Ben might render to the competition.

According to Fox 11 News, Ben volition return to the show on May 15, virtually a month after his initial advent. Ben couldn't attend on April 17 due to an illness, which threw a major curveball into how Jeopardy! usually operates.

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Fortunately, considering the bear witness has been on the air and then long, there are few situations that are totally unprecedented. In Season 37, a similar situation occurred. Two defending champions faced off against one another in a single episode, with one new player thrown into the mix every bit well. When Ben returns, he might face stiffer competition.

Ben is currently sitting on three-mean solar day winnings totaling $69,001, and he'll nevertheless take that total when he returns to the testify. As for who he might be facing, only time will tell on that front. Thankfully, Ben will exist able to recover from his affliction and return to the show. Jeopardy! may be a pretty intense contest at times, but the show is also kind enough to give its players every run a risk they can to defend their championship titles, even if anybody'due south run on the show ends somewhen.

Source: https://www.distractify.com/p/what-happened-to-ben-chan-on-jeopardy