Ken Jennings agrees with fans that ‘Jeopardy! Masters’ player is ‘father’

This “Jeopardy! Masters” contestant might have lost the competition, but he won the hearts of the viewers — and Ken Jennings.

The Masters competition is moving on to semi-finals, narrowing down the game from six former champions to four, with the first person to be eliminated being Sam Buttrey.

Buttrey, who came in third place in the Tournament of Champions and won the 2021 Professors Tournament, failed to win a single match on “Jeopardy! Masters,” though he was one of the more popular returning champs.

His endearing personality made him a fan-favorite, and fans of the beloved game show mourned his loss online — and one fan, in particular, got a nod of approval from the host.

“‘That’s father.’ – me, any time Sam Buttrey is onscreen,” writer Louis Peitzman tweeted.

Jennings, 48, seemed to agree that Buttrey is indeed “father,” throwing a like at the tweet.

Calling a celebrity or notable figure “mother” or “father” is a recent slang term that signifies god-like icon status.

During Buttrey’s final question-and-answer portion of the competition, he took the time to thank the writers and producers of “Jeopardy!” — but fellow contestant Matt Amodio used his time to thank Buttrey.

Amodio called the professor the “dearest friend I’ve made in all of Jeopardy!” before the two shared a sweet hug.

Jennings shared that it was an “absolute pleasure” to have Buttrey on the Masters tournament, and said that he is “absolutely a Master” regardless of the loss.

But Jennings’ acknowledgment that Buttrey is “father” isn’t his first flirtatious moment with a Masters contestant.

Jennings and returning champion James Holzhauer have previously competed against each other on “Jeopardy!” and Holzhauer came in second to Jennings in the highest winnings during regular-season play.

But despite Holzhauer’s competitive nature, the two had a rather flirty exchange in a previous episode of the Masters tournament.

Amodio chose a question under the “Authors” category, with the clue reading: “The Detroit Free Press said ‘The Mummy’ was ‘vintage’ this novelist; ‘elegantly erotic & full of enchanting terror.’”

Amodio buzzed in with the answer “What’s Stoker.”

“I also refer to James as ‘elegantly erotic but full of enchanting terror,’” Jennings quipped.

Holzhauer returned the joke, saying: “Keep it in your pants, Ken.”

“We actually had to pause taping so Ken could take a cold shower,” Holzhauer tweeted later that same day, letting the bit live on.

“Jeopardy! Masters” sees players — including Buttrey, Amodio, Holzhauer, Amy Schneider, Mattea Roach and Andrew He — competing in various pairings throughout a three-week competition with 10 one-hour episodes featuring two games per episode. Schneider, the first openly transgender “Jeopardy!” super champion, was also eliminated going into the semi-finals.

“Jeopardy! Masters” airs weekdays on ABC at 8 p.m. ET.