Amy Schneider's reign ends after 40 wins on Jeopardy!

The champion racked up $1,382,800 over the last 8 weeks

By Gabrielle Sanchez  |  January 27, 2022 | 2:13pm
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Amy Schneider's reign ends after 40 wins on Jeopardy!
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Oakland engineer manager Amy Scheider’s history-making Jeopardy winning streak has come to an end. The champion won 40 games in a row before losing on Wednesday to Chicago librarian Rhone Talsma on Wednesday. She still ends on a high note, with the second highest number of wins behind current host Ken Jennings, and is the most successful transgender contestant in the show’s history.

“It’s really been an honor,” Schneider says. “To know that I’m 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.”

Wednesday’s game turned out to be a nail-biter, as Schneider entered Final Jeoprady with $27,600, while Talsma had $17,600. Schneider’s usually builds up a size-able lead against the other two contestants going into the final round, but with Talsma snagging the second Daily Double question at the last minute, a mere $10,000 separated the two.

“I had thought that Rhone was going to be tough going into it,” Schneider says of her opponent. “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.”

The final category was in “Countries of the World,” with the question: “The only nation in the world whose name ends with an H, it’s also one of the 10 most populous.”

Talsma answered the question correctly with, “What is Bangladesh?” while Schneider provided no answer at all. Talsma finished in first place with a score of $29,600 while Schneider finished second with $19,600.

“I’m still in shock,” Talsma says. “This is my favorite show… I was so excited to be here and I just wanted to do my best. 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.”

In the last year, Jeopardy! has seen two record breaking champions, racking up a mountain of earnings and wins. Prior to Schneider’s streak, Matt Amodio racked up $1,518,601 over the course of 38 games, becoming the third highest earner in the game show’s history. Schneider surpassed Amodio’s number of wins earlier this week, and with her winnings holds the slot for fourth highest earner behind Amodio, James Holzhauer, and Jennings with $1,382,800.

Talsma will compete against two new competitors tomorrow. Schneider will once again appear on Jeopardy! in the Tournament of Champions where she will compete against Amodio.

 
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