The last few years have been great for break-out Jeopardy! stars. Three years ago, James Holzhauer plowed through a whopping 32 consecutive wins — nowhere close to Ken Jennings’ 74-show streak over five months in 2004, but still enough for what was then a silver. Earlier this year, there was Matt Amodio, who ruled the roost for 38 games, usurping Holzhauer’s place in history. And now Amy Schneider, the current champ, has just unseated Amodio.
That’s right: On the show airing Monday, Schneider — the first trans contestant to qualify for the show’s Tournament of Champions — extended her winning streak to 39 games, sailing past Amodio’s also unbelievably impressive run. On top of bringing her total winnings to a bewildering $1,319,800 (having crossed the million mark two weeks back), it also means she’s second only to Jennings in terms of consecutive Jeopardy! wins.
In a nice twist of fate, Schneider’s record-busting run happened under the watch of Jennings himself, who has served as host since she started winning back on November 17 of last year. Perhaps she’ll find herself on the other side of the game one day as well. As for Amodio, who she’ll face in the next edition of the Tournament of Champions, she had nothing but kind words: In a press statement, she told him, “It’s going to be an honor playing against you, and it’s going to be a tight competition.”
Since her run began, Schneider has captured the public’s imagination. When she was robber earlier this year, fans rallied to her defense.
In the meantime, horray for Amy Schneider!
