Every once in a while, a Jeopardy! contestant comes along who seems like they can't be beat. In recent years, Ken Jennings, Brad Rutter, and James Holzhauer have been among the unstoppable few, and this season, Matt Amodio joined their ranks. Amodio won 38 games of Jeopardy! in a row, but like all good things, his reign came to an end on the Oct. 11 episode when he flubbed the "Final Jeopardy!" clue. Read on to find out what bit of trivia stumped Amodio, and how much he's walking away with.
Read the original article on Best Life.
Matt Amodio came in third on Jeopardy! after a 38-game winning streak.
Jeopardy! via YouTubeAmodio, a 30-year-old Yale University PhD student, saw his 38-game winning streak come to an end during the Oct. 11 episode. He came in third on the latest Jeopardy! installment, netting $5,600, which brought his total earnings to more than $1.5 million.
Amodio's run on Jeopardy! ended with him in the No. 2 spot of all-time consecutive wins, behind Jennings, who took home 74 wins in a row. And Amodio's cash winnings put him in the No. 3 spot behind Holzhauer ($2.46 million) and Jennings ($2.52 million). “The goal is Ken Jennings plus $1 and one day,” Amodio told Cleveland 19 News on Oct. 4 of his streak, which was at 33 wins at the time. “I treasure Ken. He is the greatest of all time, but records are meant to be broken.”
While he may not have broken Jennings' records, Amodio still holds a place in Jeopardy! history. "It has been an honor and a pleasure to have you here," interim host Mayim Bialik said after the loss.
RELATED: Mayim Bialik Just Broke Her Silence on the Jeopardy! Hosting Scandal.
The "Final Jeopardy!" clue that stumped Amodio was about World War II.
Jeopardy! via YouTubeAmodio got stumped over a "Final Jeopardy!" clue about World War II that read: "Nazi Germany annexed this nation and divided it into regions of the Alps and the Danube; the Allies later divided it into four sectors." His competitors answered correctly with "What is Austria?" But Amodio thought it was Poland.
In an interview after the show posted on Jeopardy's YouTube page, Amodio said he was sad about the loss and that he's been replaying the question over and over in his head since. "The 'Final Jeopardy!' that I got wrong was not a good taste to end on," he admitted.
But it was a triumphant finish for actor Jonathan Fisher, who came in first on Monday's episode, winning a total of $29,200. He not only beat out Amodio, but also statistical research specialist Jessica Stephens, who had the lead at numerous points in the competition. She ended up in second place with $28,799 with Amodio trailing them both with his meager $5,600.
"Everybody's so smart and so competent that this could happen any game," Amodio said in his post-show interview. "And this time it did."
Many Jeopardy! fans were irked by this one habit of Amodio's.
Jeopardy! via YouTubeAmodio's time on Jeopardy! began in mid-July and after weeks of win after win, he came under fire for his unique clue-answering strategy: He'd begin every response with the word “what,” even if it was a person where “who” would be more correct. Amodio revealed he did that in order to focus on finding the correct response instead of vacillating between pronouns and, despite viewer outrage, Jeopardy! backed him up.
In an explanation posted on the Jeopardy! site on July 30, the executives behind the game show said: "The rules state, '…all contestant responses to an answer must be phrased in the form of a question.' It's that simple. Jeopardy! doesn't require that the response is grammatically correct. Further, the three-letter name of a British Invasion rock band can be a correct response all by itself ('The Who?'), and even 'Is it…?' has been accepted. So, Matt Amodio's no-frills approach is unique but well with guidelines."
Amodio will soon have a chance to redeem himself.
Jeopardy! via YouTubeAmodio clearly left his run on Jeopardy! with his head held high. "I always wanted to be a Jeopardy! champion, and I accomplished that," Amodio said in his post-show interview. "l know going into every bar trivia game that I play that I'm going to come in with a little intimidation factor. But also, I just like the badge that it represents. As somebody who prioritizes knowledge and knowing things, this is really a good one to have following me everywhere."
People reports that Amodio will next appear on the upcoming Tournament of Champions season that pits Jeopardy!'s top players from the previous season against each other. But that likely won't happen until 2022.
RELATED: These Are the 3 People Alex Trebek Suggested to Replace Him on Jeopardy!
