MATT Amodio and his fellow Jeopardy! Masters contestant Sam Buttrey shared a hug as Matt said Sam was the "dearest friend" he's ever made on the game show.
The professor who boasts a huge personality was the first of the six stalwarts unfortunately eliminated from the Masters tournament.
Jeopardy! Masters - which has invited back six-fan favorite contestants- finished out its second of three can't-miss weeks on Wednesday.
Hosted by Ken Jennings, 48, the titans-only tournament sees the elite players duking it out for an eventual $500,000 grand prize.
Each night, permutations of the popular players face off in two sets of three in 1-hour long episodes on ABC and Hulu at 8 p.m. ET.
In tonight's matches, the Semifinals were decided based on the checkmark system and the two lowest-ranking players were eliminated.
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With that in mind, Matt Amodio faced Mattea Roach and joke-cracking professor Sam Buttrey, who was in last place.
Ken Jennings, 48, opened the match by admitting that Sam had no chance of advancing even with a win tonight as he was too far behind.
'I WASN'T EXPECTING TO CRY'
During Sam's final Q&A of the special he took time to thank the writers- meanwhile Matt took a moment to thank none other than Sam.
Sam beat 38-time champ Matt in the 2022 Tournament of Champions, however, Matt said even given that and even given he's a "lowly post-doc while Sam is a professor," there are no hard feelings on the board.
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Sam is the "dearest friend I've made in all of Jeopardy!" he said, "so thank you so much Sam."
"Aw give it up!" Buttrey replied and they shared a winning hug between podiums.
"Loved the hug between Sam and Matt," one fan tweeted.
"Sam thanking the writers is the kindest thing I’ve seen on tv in a long time," wrote another.
"Ugh, such a wholesome moment. There need to be more hugs on jeopardy."
"Omfg MATT AND SAMS FRIENDSHIP I was not expecting to cry"
By the end of the match Matt had a runaway with two impressive Daily Double gets- winding up with $31,000.
Matt also called out James Holzhauer with his response and wrote he's "Unlike James I'm too classy to write a joke response."
Ken said that it was an "absolute pleasure" having Sam while bidding him farewell and said he was "absolutely a Master" as he was eliminated.
SAM'S CLUB
Sam is an associate professor of operations research at the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, California.
In 2021, Buttrey took home $100,000 after winning the Professor's Tournament.
The following year, he won an additional $50,000 as the second TOC runner-up, bringing his grand total to $150,000- though there was a hotly contested biblical Final Jeopardy that tournament fans accused "robbed" Sam of a win.
Sam boasts a huge personality, leaning in to jokes he looks like Steve Martin and exclaiming "Bring It!" to the last clue on the board which has become something of a Masters mantra.
He even has a Soundcloud rap career on the side and is certainly a fan-favorite upon his third appearance win or lose.
One Facebook user recently wrote: "Sam may be in last place but certainly nothing to be ashamed of, these six all earned their spot in the tournament. Great TV!"
BATTLE ROYALE
The standings are now as follows:
- 1st: James Holzhauer (18 points, 4 wins)
- 2nd: Andrew He (13 points, 2 wins)
- 3rd: Matt Amodio (9 points, 3 wins)
- 4th: Mattea Roach (9 points, 2 wins)
- Eliminated: Amy Schneider (5 points, 0 wins)
- Eliminated: Sam Buttrey (3 points, 0 wins)
The remaining schedule is as follows:
- Monday, May 22: 2 Semi-finals matches
- Tuesday, May 23: 2 Semi-finals matches with one more champ eliminated
- Wednesday, May 24: Finals
Jeopardy! Masters is the brainchild of new executive producer, Michael Davies and is the first champion-based producer-picked tournament since 2020's $1M GOAT tournament.
The throwdown is intended to determine the best player in any given year, a belt notch higher than the Tournament of Champions (which only features contestants from the prior season).
The top four players will advance to compete in more pairings during week three.
In the semi-finals, the remaining four players will face off in different groups of three while one contestant sits out per match.
Then the top three will go head-to-head in the Finals on Wednesday, May 24.
Masters will air while Ken's co-successor to Alex Trebek, Mayim Bialik, finishes out the regular season starting on May 1 and until the summer.
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After Masters, Ken won't be seen until the 2023 Tournament of Champions which will kick off Season 40 in September.
That is, barring the last week of Season 39 which he is subbing back in to host as Mayim is supporting the WGA writers' strike.
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