Update: Just after ascending to the No. 2 spot in the history of Jeopardy! champions, Amy Schneider's winning streak is over. After winning 40 consecutive games, Schneider on Wednesday's show lost to Rhone Talsma, who correctly questioned an answer about Bangladesh, the AP reports. Schneider said that while she's sad to be out, she's relieved that "I don't have to come up with anymore anecdotes" to share during game breaks. She came in No. 4 on the regular-season winnings list with a total prize of $1,382,800, and will next be seen on the game show's Tournament of Champions. Our original story from Tuesday follows:
When current Jeopardy! champ Amy Schneider hit 21 wins in a row, she became the woman with the most consecutive wins in the game show's history. Earlier this month, she became the fourth player to rack up more than $1 million in regular-season winnings. Now, yet another milestone: Schneider, who was also the first openly transgender contestant to qualify for the annual Tournament of Champions, won her 39th consecutive game in Monday's show, making her second only to Ken Jennings, who won 74 games in a row, Variety reports. Her winnings are up to $1,319,800.
She unseated Matt Amodio, who had taken the No. 2 spot with his 38th consecutive win earlier this season. They'll face off in the next Tournament of Champions. "It’s going to be an honor playing against you, and it’s going to be a tight competition," Schneider said in a statement in which she called her ascendance to the second-place spot "unreal." Also unreal is the fact that Schneider, like all Jeopardy! players, knew about the milestone win long before the rest of the world did and had to keep it a secret. There are usually about two months between when a game is recorded and when it airs, and the Ringer has a fascinating piece on what that's like for contestants. (More Jeopardy stories.)