After 40-day streak, ‘Jeopardy!’ champ hands in her buzzer
One word made all the difference Wednesday on “Jeopardy!”
Champion Amy Schneider’s dazzling streak on the quiz show is over, snapped by a Chicago librarian after 40 consecutive wins and nearly $1.4 million (U.S.) in prize money.
Schneider’s success put her in the ranks of Ken Jennings, who’s serving as guest host, and the show’s other all-time greats. It also made Schneider, a trans woman, a visible symbol of achievement for often-marginalized people.
“It’s still a little hard to believe,” she said of her run. “It’s something that I’m going to be remembered for, and that’s pretty great,”
New champ Rhone Talsma had the correct response to the final “Jeopardy!” clue for a winning total of $29,600. Schneider, who found herself in the unusual position of entering the last round short of a runaway, was second with $19,600.
“I’m still in shock,” Talsma said in a statement. “I did not expect to be facing a 40-day champion, and I was excited to maybe see someone else slay the giant. I just really didn’t think it was going to be me, so I’m thrilled.”
The answer that stumped Schneider was about countries of the world: The only nation whose name in English ends in an “h” and which is also one of the 10 most populous (“What is Bangladesh?”).
An engineering manager and Dayton, Ohio, native who lives in Oakland, Calif., Schneider’s regularseason play made her No. 2 in consecutive games won, placing her between Jennings with 74 games and Matt Amodio, winner of 38 games in 2021.
Schneider’s prize total of $1,382,800 puts her in fourth place on the regular-season winnings list, behind Jennings ($2,520,700), James Holzhauer ($2,462,216) and Amodio ($1,518,601).