Arthur Chu, who is dubbed 'mad genius' and 'hero villain,' thinks he has nothing 'to apologize for' although many viewers have complained that he ruined the fun of the game.
- Feb 5, 2014
AceShowbiz - A "Jeopardy!" champion has irked fans with his unconventional strategy. Arthur Chu, who has so far won $102,800 in four games, has become talk of the town for his method, in which he often jumps around the board to find the Daily Doubles instead of completing categories from top to bottom.
While some call him "mad genius" and "hero villain," others are not amused by his strategy, claiming that Chu has ruined the fun of the game. In various interviews, the 30-year-old insurance analyst has defended his strategy.
"All of the things I'm doing are very obvious, logical ways to maximize your chances of winning that are well within the rules," he told The New York Post. "It's hard for me to take seriously the argument that I should give up that kind of money just for the sake of making the viewing audience feel comfortable."
"Everything I have done has been done by past champions," he said in an interview with CNN's "The Lead with Jake Tapper". Explaining the strategy called the "Forrest Bounce" that has been done by previous contestants, he said, "It's looking for Daily Doubles, trying to get those early on because those are very, very important, they can turn the course of the game around. Trying to get as much money as I can without leaving money on the board... If they cut to commercial and there's still clues uncovered, that's money you left on the table."
He also explained his controversial $5 bet. "If I get a Daily Double in sports and I'm pretty sure I'm not gonna know it, why would I take an unnecessary risk?" he said. "I guess people see it as a jerk thing to do, but the benefit in that is that I can take that clue away from someone else who does know about sports."
Responding to people's complaints, he said, "I keep coming back to this: when you're playing the game up there, you're playing for real money, and that means a lot to me. Maybe I would get impatient at times and I don't think that in and of itself is something to apologize for."
He added, "Now that this is going viral for whatever reason, either more people will do it and change the way Jeopardy! is played, or if they really don't want Jeopardy! to be played that way, they can actually make it against the rules, and change the game."
Chu will return to "Jeopardy!" on February 24. If he scores a fifth win, he will secure a spot on the show's special "champions" episode. Chu, who is also a voice-over actor, plans to use the money he wins to visit family in China, save most of it and donate the rest to a charity benefiting fibromyalgia patients.
