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'Hell of a run brother!': Jeopardy! fans dejected to see Ryan Long finally lose

Defeated in the last round, Ryan Long, who is a driver from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, has made a total of $299K in earnings from the show

Fans of the American television game show Jeopardy! were shocked to see Ryan Long lose on Monday, June 6. While some said they would miss him, others mused about whether he did not want to win any longer. The 46-year-old 'The Big Bang Theory' actress Mayim Bialik has been hosting the quiz show for the fifth week in a row.

Long, who is a rideshare driver, lost after 16 wins and the ninth-longest streak on Jeopardy! ever. Defeated in the last round, the driver from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, has made a total of $299K in earnings from the show. During the Daily Double, Long drew a blank and did not have a reply to the helpful clue.

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Going into Final Jeopardy, Long was in last place and he drew a blank once again. Eric Ahasiac, a Minneapolis meteorologist, gave the right answer by responding with "Castor and Pollux" to the Greek Mythology clue. Long entered Final Jeopardy with $6800 and wagered $6799 out of it. Because of his incorrect guess, he ended up with $1. On the other hand, Ahasiac, with $18K, emerged as the winner.

Fans of the show were quick to appreciate the beloved player despite his loss. One user wrote, "Well all good things must come to an end, but Ryan Long made Philly proud. He's going home with close to $300K in 16 games; what an impressive run. We will see him again in the Tournament of Champions. #Jeopardy." Another said, "Ryan is a champion that represented a lot of us: Smart but working hard for the man every damn day and not usually getting your props for it. Enjoying his run."

A third tweeted, "What made Ryan's #Jeopardy run exciting to watch? Simple, he was an everyman. He wasn't a great student in high school, doesn't have a college degree, and doesn't have an occupation like 'Rocket Scientist'. He showed anyone can play and win. Congrats, Big Man!!!" A fourth added, "Man. I think I'm taking Ryan's loss worse than the Celtics' loss last night. Hell of a run brother! You captured the hearts of all Jeopardy fans! See you at the TOC @blirish_charm #Jeopardy."

Meanwhile, some fans questioned whether Long did not want to win any longer. One user felt, "I think Ryan just wants to go home #Jeopardy." Another replied, "Yes, I was thinking during the game he was phoning it in. Even I knew that Final Jeopardy answer." A third added, "I wonder if Ryan was tired of being on the show... idk, it just seems like he didn’t put forth effort today. #Jeopardy."

A fourth wrote, "#Jeopardy tonight makes me sad to see Ryan go..... also pretty sure he threw that game." A fifth noted, "#jeopardy Ryan is totally out of it tonight. Not even buzzing. Think he is ready to go back to Philly. Hope I am wrong. Final Jeopardy is coming up." A sixth felt, "Well Ryan definitely threw that game. It's not easy being away from home for so long and doing show after show for so long. #jeopardy."

Long posted a message for all the love and support he received on his Twitter account. "So many feelings... I'm going to try and keep this short, but I'll probably fail. I want to thank everybody who watched and supported me. I want to thank all my fellow contestants who were, to a person, exemplary human beings. I want to thank my momma and everybody who put me in the position to do this. I owe them everything. Sometimes it seems like society put you in a box, and you are classified as a certain thing with a certain destiny, even though you may feel differently inside," he tweeted.

"For the longest time, I didn't believe that a person could really break out of that box. But I feel like this thing that just happened is proof that you can. Trust yourself, hold on to your dreams, you know who you really are. Take your shot, and don’t let anybody tell you you can’t do this or that, or you should be doing things a certain way. As my grandmom would've said, never let ANYBODY steal your shine. Much love to everybody. See you in the fall," Long concluded.