'Jeopardy' player reveals even Ken Jennings was stumped by a tricky question: 'He didn't know it...'

Since Ken Jennings has the longest winning streak on “Jeopardy!” from his days as a contestant, one would expect him to know the answers to most questions. But even he can get stumped by a question or two, and it did happen on a previous episode of the show. The three contestants, Joey DeSena, Mehal Shah, and Eamonn Campbell, got an impossible clue during Final Jeopardy, and it read, "Order Arecales, this tree gets its name from Roman times, a leaf from one was placed in a victor’s hands after a contest was won."

All three contestants answered, "Laurel,” but the correct answer was Palm. DeSena ended up winning the game with $24,000 compared to Shah’s $19,600 and Campbell’s $0. DeSena then took to Reddit to share his experience on the show. That’s when he revealed that Jennings had no idea about the answer either, but he didn't say it on camera, according to a report by the Mirror US.

“First thing Ken said as the credits started to roll was that FJ was tough, and he didn't know it either. I can't tell you how much better that made me feel!” the contestant wrote in r/Jeopardy. “Going into Final, I felt very good about not needing to bet much to get a wildcard spot, even if Mehal surpassed me to win the game. But the wager depended on the category. When I saw "Trees", I couldn't bet $0 fast enough,” he had also written.

Several users mentioned their thoughts about the Final Jeopardy clue, but the consensus was that it was an enjoyable episode. "That Final was rough, think pretty much all of us watching had 'laurel' as well... I would have done the same as Eamonn in his spot, just got a tough one on the day." Another wrote: "As an ecologist, I'm really annoyed by FJ. Palm trees are not in fact trees, making an already-difficult question almost impossible," one user added.

“This game was a ton of fun to watch from the green room, super high level, and well played by all three of you. That Final was rough, think pretty much all of us watching had 'laurel' as well... I would have done the same as Eamonn in his spot, just got a tough one on the day,” a fan narrated.

DeSena loved his time on the show and spoke of the other two contestants. He said that Shah and Campbell were tremendous competitors and great people whom he enjoyed getting to know ahead of and during the game. “Eamonn's ability to hang in and keep picking up high-value clues was making me nervous near the end of the game. I don't blame him at all for the all-in FJ wager, and hate that it didn't work out for him,” he added.

It was not just any win for DeSena, since this was for the final place in the Champions Wildcard to win the last spot for the Tournament of Champions, as per a report in MSN.