Jeopardy! player Barb Fecteau admits she got teased 'every day' for losing to famed champion before

A JEOPARDY! contestant has won over fans, and Wednesday's episode, after revealing that her first appearance has become a sore subject.

School librarian Barb Fectuau initially lost to 38-time champ Matt Amodio, her Jeopardy!-obsessed student's favorite player.

Former champ Ken Jennings is hosting a three-week-long Second Chance Tournament, which kicked off Season 40 two weeks ago.

Past contestants who initially lost are battling it out for an unexpected second chance at greatness.

So far, Deanna Bolio and Hari Parameswaran have won their respective weeks, earning $35K and slots in a subsequent tournament, which will air directly afterward.

The Jeopardy! special is now in its third and final week, so it's time to see who the last player from 2020 or 2021 is that will join them in this week's finals.

'HOW DID IT FEEL TO LOSE TO MATT?'

During the interview segment, she revealed: “So there’s this one student, Pete, whose classroom is right across from the library.

"And he loves Jeopardy! and he loves ($1.6M winner) Matt Amodio," the Yale post-doc who went on his massive streak in 2021.

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“He would greet me every morning with 'Mrs. Fecteau, how did it feel to lose to Jeopardy! champion Matt Amodio?'

She continued: “At first, I was like, 'well, it’s not about whether you win or lose. It's about how you play the game.'"

But the student kept hounding her, as she relented: “Eventually I was like, 'Pete, I have some regrets!'"

“But he kept saying, 'They're gonna call you back, they're gonna call you back,' and he was right.

So thank you for believing in me, Pete!”

Ken was cracking up and replied: “Well, Matt is not here as a special guest, so I dont know if Pete will be happy, but you seemed relieved."

BARB SCHOOLS HER OPPONENTS

Going into Double Jeopardy!, Barb was at a round $0, Mark at $3,400, and Allison at $1,600.

She especially struggled with a category fittingly called “tricky questions.”

However, it wasn't a closed book for the librarian relentlessly pestered by her student Pete.

Just two clues into Double Jeopardy!, Barb recovered and found a Daily Double.

She did an "all in" motion a la James Holzhuaer and jumped to the lead being correct on a $4000 Daily Double. “Let’s keep it going!” she declared.

Mark vied for the lead midway through the last Daily Double but missed it and could not recover.

Scores going into Final Jeopardy saw Barb in charge at $9,600, Mark at $2,800, and Allison at $6,400.

Final Jeopardy! under "MYTHOLOGY" read: "Chrysomallus was the name of the creature that was the source of this sought-after item, vellus aureum in Latin."

Everyone was correct with “Golden Fleece” and Barb added $3,201 to win with $12,801 as she pumped her fists in sheer joy.

'GO BARB!'

One fan wrote on Reddit: “I liked Barb’s all-ins and how she got blessed with that book category with a Daily Double in it.

And her story about Pete and Matt Amodio was cute!"

Another ribbed: “I found it hilarious that Barb got the first clue in the tricky clues category and then proceeded to answer two other clues in the category with essentially the same response.”

A third wrote: "Love that 'All in' gesture. She does it very well."

A fourth wrote: "Barb should have eventually replied to that smart aleck Amodio fan kid with: 'what’s… report to the principal’s office.'"

Amodio most recently appeared on the first annual Jeopardy! Masters, where he placed third and won $150K, making him the fourth-winningest contestant ever.

ALL ABOUT THE SECOND CHANCE TOURNAMENT

Each tournament week starts with three qualifying matches of Season 37 contestants instead of new players.

The week's three winners face off in a Thursday/Friday final- this week will be Barb, Michalle Gould, and Jilanna Carter.

That winner advances to the next tournament, Champions Wildcard.

Champions Wildcard will air directly afterward and pit the winners from this series against brief Season 37 and 38 champions.

That subsequent two-and-a-half-month tournament holds four tickets to the currently postponed Tournament of Champions, where champs like Cris Pannullo and Ben Chan await.

Ken, 49, will host the subsequent special, which has invited back a massive 108 brief past winners.

The brand new tournament kicks off this Monday, October 2, and takes fans way until December 18- running for quite some time even as Hollywood's strikes end.

WHEN WILL NORMAL EPISODES BE BACK?

Jeopardy! completely revamped their schedule for the monumental Season 40 due to Hollywood's strikes.

The last time Jeopardy! aired a regular episode was the Season 39 finale on July 28, 2023.

In that episode, Lucas Partridge won his third consecutive game, but he’s now off the board, as are any new players.

The 2023 Tournament of Champions was supposed to kick off Season 40 this year, but it will seemingly now take place starting December 18.

It will include the four players who win the Wildcard special.

The $250,000 winner's tournament was postponed after several Season 39 champs, including Ray LaLonde, Cris, Hannah Wilson, and Ben, boycotted until the strikes were concluded.

Regular episodes with new players, including Partridge, will resume after the 2023 TOC, which could be as late as March.

BIALIK BACK WHEN?

The other big change to Season 40 - aside from the game show using recycled questions since the writing staff was striking- is the host arrangement.

Ken, 49, is hosting the season solo, and Mayim Bialik, 47, is not involved as it stands.

A source earlier told The Messenger that Mayim might not return to the nightly show until the new year, if not longer.

The insider claimed: “She wasn’t fired.

"She’s choosing to stand with her union, and because of that, she was told it is unlikely she will return for the rest of the year, even if the strike is resolved before then.”

Mayim is a member of SAG-AFTRA, which is why she walked out.

Her exit is big shakeup since she and Ken were tapped to split hosting after Alex Trebek's death in 2020.

Mayim will return in mid-winter - or as late as March - when new contestants finally do.

She will most likely not host any tournaments, so that's the earliest she would return.