JEOPARDY! contestant Sam Buttrey has admitted that he understood a major issue fans had with the first annual Masters special.
The beloved professor reflected on May's tournament on the podcast Inside Jeopardy! on Monday.
Sam, 62, is an associate professor of operations research at the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, California, and was one of the six elite players picked for Masters.
Hosted by Ken Jennings, 49, gambler pro James Holzhauer won the glitzy $500,000 special in the spring.
He looked back at the event with longtime producer Sarah Whitcomb Foss and former champion Buzzy Cohen.
Sam was asked what it was like hearing the “doubters” of the lineup, since five of its six players were from the 2022 Tournament of Champions - including him.
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Since Jeopardy! has decades upon decades of players to choose from, many fans were surprised that stars like Brad- the highest money winner of all time across any TV game show [$4,688,436] - weren't a part of it.
'WHERE'S BUZZY COHEN, WHERE'S BRAD?'
Sam joked: "There's a funny thing about haters, which is that they will continue to hate."
He continued: "I will say that I understood the criticisms- the fact that the five of us had been in the ToC seemingly weeks before, and then they picked up James Holzhauer.
Who is, obviously, one of the great players ever."
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“But if I may say, where’s Buzzy [Cohen], where’s Brad [Rutter], where’s Sam Kavanaugh [2021 ToC winner]?"
Buttrey continued about Kavanaugh, who called his snub a "gut punch" in a Twitter rant: "He had a nice piece on Twitter where he didn’t say anything bad, but he felt he was sad.
"Not because he was overlooked but because he was excited about playing Jeopardy!.
"So I felt that I understood where that was coming from."
Sam concluded: "But I hope after the fact everyone will look at Masters and say it was immensely entertaining.”
Buzzy and Sarah then hinted it’s “likely” players like Brad, Sam, and Matt Jackson [13-time winner] will be in the Jeopardy! Invitational Tournament, one of the new specials coming next year.
If they win that, which will be a precursor to Masters - they could then nab an invite.
Ken announced that all three finalists - James, Mattea Roach, and Matt Amodio, will be guaranteed slots in 2024's Masters - leaving three slots left.
Meanwhile, Sam may not have won out, but he won over viewers with his hilarious quips and endearing stage presence.
Catchphrases such as “Bring it!” while selecting clues made him a TV sensation when he competed.
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Steve Martin lookalike Sam also went viral after the tournament aired for an eerie story he told on stage about turning down an invite to a Titanic wreckage tour.
The U.S. Sun reported he was very likely referring to one of the two previous successful missions on the since-fatal submersible Titan.
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