Arthur Chu: Jeopardy Champion Hated For His Unorthodox Strategy [Video]
Arthur Chu took Jeopardy by storm last week as the champion employed a strategy that has only been a few times in the games show’s history. The Broadview Heights resident went on a four day winning streak by bucking the trend of moving from top to bottom in the Jeopardy categories. Instead, Arthur Chu chose to use a method he calls “forrest bouncing,” where he jumps categories and starts with the high dollar answers first.
Fans were not so much upset by his winning, but rather his unorthodox style of play. Though he has not amassed anything extra spectacular in terms of winnings, like Ken Jennings, Jeopardy loyalists are offended by his gamesmanship. It has led many to call him “unsportmanlike,” an evil “villain”, and a “mad genius.”
This is the face of a Jeopardy villain. Can anyone stop #arthurchu pic.twitter.com/rzH0XFb50w
— Sam Jacobs (@sammyjacobs) January 31, 2014
Public service announcement: if you’re not watching Jeopardy this week, you are missing the epic win that is Arthur Chu
— Susan Zell (@SusanTheOdd) January 30, 2014
My Clarion Comrade’s husband Arthur Chu is smoking folks on Jeopardy and… pic.twitter.com/JxCtS4cBzT
— Lisa Bolekaja (@LisaBolekaja) January 30, 2014
He is not actually doing anything illegal in the grand scheme of things. He’s kind of like the guy you play board games with who always finds a loophole. You know he doesn’t cheat, but you can’t help be mad that he thought of it first. Chu learned his method by studying the winning ways of former Jeopardy champions Chuck Forrest and Keith Williams. Both used a strategy where they kept opponents guessing by skipping categories and going out of order.
Chu, 30, also annoys fans by being very quick with the buzzer and talking over Alex Trebek. Trebek has so far found the performances quite entertaining, even quipping that he can’t keep up with the champ. From a viewership standpoint, it makes it very difficult to follow along as the audience can’t get used to a category. But Chu says he isn’t being paid to please the audience. He’s getting paid to win. And besides, the largely irrelevant game show is getting publicity again.
ICYMI: Alex Trebek raps an entire category and it is TV gold.
As Jeopardy brings back the popular “Battle of the Decades” for most of the month of January, haters and fans alike will have to wait until February 24 to see the mad genius. Arthur Chu will be ready to come back and show how he believes strategy can trump knowledge.
