Jeopardy! winningest woman Amy Schneider recently pulled ahead of Matt Amodio to snatch up the second-place trophy for most consecutive wins. However, it looks like current co-host Ken Jennings’ first place (with 74 games) spot stays safe because Schneider’s stunning streak has come to an end with 40 games won and over a million in winnings. Actually, her total in regular play games (and she’ll likely be back for the Tournament of Champions) officially totals $1,382,800 in winnings. Not too shabby!
The former engineering manager (who recently opened up about how exhausting it’s been to keep her victories a secret for months) concluded her streak on Wednesday with Rhone Talsma (a Chicago librarian) taking the game with $29,600 and Amy in second place with $19,600. In the end, the Final Jeopardy! round ended with Talsma (who trailed Amy at that point with $17,600) answering a “Countries of the World” question correctly while Schneider (who went in with $27,600) didn’t respond, and thus, the game ended. In a press release, Schneider reflected upon her successor’s prowess:
“I had thought that Rhone was going to be tough going into it,” said Schneider. “I loved hanging out with him, we had great conversation before the taping, but I could tell that he was here to play and that he was going to be good. I still came very close to winning, but I did feel like maybe I was slipping a little bit. And once it was clear that he was fast on the buzzer, I knew it was going to be a battle all the way.”
Schneider added that it’s “been an honor” to compete and become “one of the most successful people at a game I’ve loved since I was a kid and to know that I’m a part of its history now, I just don’t know how to process it.” As for Talsma, He admitted to being “in shock” at how he managed to “slay the giant.” He continued, “I just really didn’t think it was going to be me, so I’m thrilled.” Good luck to Talsma for continued success.
As for Amy’s future, maybe we can cross our fingers for a new co-host, alongside Jennings and Mayim Bialik? Never say never.
