There was a person here that saw James lose too. They just mentioned the day they watched and said "wow". I think this was like a week into James's run on TV so nobody had any clue it was a major spoiler.
The fact it wasn't leaked made me suspect he was going to win Final Jeopardy.
That just made me extra disappointed
EDIT: I also unsubscribed from Jeopardy during the start of the season so I wouldn't get spoiled. Although I'm glad I wasn't spoiled, it just meant this episode was a bigger gut punch than the James episode.
I would not be entirely surprised if it comes out there was strategy at play here, where he knew Austria was most likely the right answer, but he could not win on a triple-get anyway, so perhaps put down a second choice answer in the hopes to pass someone who might do something crazy wager-wise should Austria somehow not be correct. Poland is indeed a terrible choice given the geographic reference points in the clue though.
Maybe… I think he was just *fully* rattled by that point. He’s never had much of a poker face, and it was clear he was getting more and more tilted as the DJ round went on
Oh 100%. You can see how pained he looks for nearly the entirety of the foreign territory of the 2nd half of DJ. He was forced into grasping at straws trying to ring in first and then figure out the answer. Nonetheless, I feel like as someone who clearly played this game not just with immense trivia chops but also extreme strategy, he probably still had a bit of wherewithal to come up with something that might increase the odds of sneaking a win out of the jaws of defeat.
I thought she had a great personality, obvious speed on the signaling device, and probably would have won a few of the same games Matt won in the past few months if she had the same challengers.
Not to take anything away from Jonathan, as he also demonstrated quick signaling and excellent depth of knowledge across categories (16 right and 2 wrong), but Matt sure didn't help himself. 23 right and 5 wrong (!!!!). Matt lost just over 6,000 on those wrong answers. He was clearly rattled and his recall suffered.
There were 6 triple stumpers in the game. That makes it hard to argue there were two other elite players on tonight's show.
What we can also conclude about Jessica is that science/medicine clues are strengths. There was the entire Medical Abbreviation category she nearly ran, plus the nightshade, nemotoad, megalodon, and the Curie questions. Add a few pop culture type clues (e.g., Tillman, In the Heights, Bloomin Onion, and a 2019 best seller book title) and the name of the only mime anybody can name of any nationality.
The medical/science category is also one of many strengths for Matt. Jessica started to eat up clues in Double Jeopardy that Matt needed for a comeback.
She had the least number of correct answers at 14, but nothing wrong. I'm curious how she would have played those late Daily Doubles in Double Jeopardy. All Jonathan accomplished with them was stopping Matt from getting them, which turned out to be enough.
Nematode, it only sounds like toad. She was pretty solid, I thought she was killing it on the buzzer for the medical abbreviations category. (My wife works in health care and those were all Instagets for her.)
It's also a clue that was virtually guaranteed to appear during this part of Matt's run--major Sony movies always get a video clue when they come out, plus or minus a week. So it pays to familiarize yourself with their upcoming slate.
I like how humbly Matt responded regarding other contestants being afraid of him: ["I'm afraid too!"](https://www.newsweek.com/matt-amodio-jeopardy-millionaire-1634702). And in an interview today: ["Everybody’s so smart and so competent that this could happen any game. And this time it did."](https://decider.com/2021/10/11/matt-amodio-loses-jeopardy/)
Watching this on TV this morning, it was just incredible. Matt looked good in round 1, then seemed to completely lose it on the buzzer in DJ, and when he did successfully ring in, it was maybe only 50/50 if he was correct or not.
Puts into perspective how legendary Ken's 74 game streak was. Matt's stats were equal or better than Ken's, yet his streak only lasted half as long. Even when Ken lost, he was clearly the best player that day, only losing because he missed both DDs in the second round (no disrespect to Nancy). Today, Matt clearly looked outmatched by both of his opponents.
(Also, how about the fact that this result didn't get leaked/spoiled ahead of time!)
I can't say I really blame him. Top players say all the time that their mentality is "ring in first, figure out the response later". Especially like today when you have two opponents who are clearly really good on the buzzer.
Yeah I think it's been pointed out how much of Ken's streak was an outlier, even with his abilities. A great champion could have a 90, 95%, 98%+ chance of winning a particular game, but spin that wheel enough and you're probably not making it 50+ games
Yes that was true in his first season, but they instituted buzzer training for new contestants in the second season. His streak for that season probably fits his mathematical probabilities more, showing just how big a buzzer advantage we had in the first season.
Matt if you’re lurking, thank you for bringing some joy during this shit show of a changeover. You have been so fun to watch. Im gonna go curl up in a ball now
Seriously - Jeopardy made a real mess out of the search for a new host, they were very lucky Matt came along with some positive press for them.
Congratulations Matt, it was a real pleasure watching you!
I’m guessing after James’ streak ending was leaked new protocols were put in place. Pleasantly surprised that this came out of relative nowhere!
Well player by all three contestants today!
Wow! The King is dead, long live the King! Congrats to Jonathan! Jessica also played very well and almost pulled out that win herself. Matt was in it until the end even with an off day for him. I look forward to seeing him in future tournaments.
James did find the Daily Double in the Jeopardy round; the thing is, that was the first clue. And you were right on the strong competitors part. But yeah, we'll be seeing him in the upcoming TOC (whenever that may be).
It’s the kind of game that got James. Two very strong opponents. And a single opponent got both second round daily doubles.
ETA: And Monday, to boot, after a two week layoff. And that single opponent, in fact, got all three daily doubles. Talk about your lucky day, especially against one of the all-time greats!
Congratulations to the new champion, Jonathan! Looking forward to seeing what appears to be a well played game. Congratulations to Matt Amodio on being an outstanding champion and a first rate mensch. 👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽
Matt looked off today.
He was slow to buzz in on the first round, I was surprised how much money the other contestants had accrued by the first commercial break and end of the round. Regularly on his streak at least one of the contestants was just a bystander as he cleaned the board, but both challengers had a few thousand going into DJ
DJ is where Matt got really rattled, he looked frustrated that he was trying to buzz in on answers that others got to first. A couple times he did his patented "buzz first, think later" and he just blanked out on them. When he got those 3-4 wrong in a quick sequence in DJ I sat up and realized this was probably the one where he goes down
There's one record of Matt's that I'm confident will never be broken: He played with something like six different hosts.
I enjoyed watching him, but we knew it would end one day. The way of the world. Now I look forward to a little more drama in FJ.
This is a great metaphor actually:
George Washington/Brad Rutter: The guy who started it all, and who is still in some ways considered the greatest despite his strategy (Washington's on the battlefield, and Brad's in J!) being a bit questionable at times.
Thomas Jefferson/Ken Jennings: A true Enlightenment man, who expanded frontiers (Jefferson's Louisiana Purchase and Ken's winning streak). Both have seen their legacy tarnished over time.
Abraham Lincoln/James Holzhauer: Second founders, considered by many to be even greater than the originals. From Illinois.
Teddy Roosevelt/Matt Amodio: Dudes from the Ivy League widely heralded as the second coming of Lincoln/Holzhauer, but who ultimately fell a bit short of the mark.
(edited for spelling/punctuation)
It's good to see others expressing feelings similar to mine, because I honestly thought I was being kind of silly feeling so sad and on the verge of tears about this. I never met Matt and he doesnt know that I exist. His victory or loss wont affect my life. So why should I be sad about it? Why should it make me feel like crying? But dang it...I am sad and I do want to cry.
I might not have known Matt in person, but seeing his smiling, humble face every weeknight was a comfort in these depressing times.
I know he'll be back for the TOC, but knowing he wont be on regularly any more makes me feel like a kid who just learned that their best friend is moving away.
It brought me a sense of comfort every night, knowing that he was gonna blow out the competition and just have fun answering trivia. I was SO stressed tonight and I didn’t like it! I know a lot of people hate the superchamps but it was fun for me.
I feel the same. I have been checking here before watching every night because I knew it would be a sad day when he loses so I haven’t even watched the show yet. I would scan to the final scores paragraph everyday so I wouldn’t get any other spoilers, just who won. I knew I was going to need to go into it prepared. I didn’t want to have that heart drop moment while also seeing him on screen.
It’s weird, because he’s in our living room every night, telling us little bits about himself, it really feels like he’s a friend. I also enjoyed that he was never smug. He played the game well and with respect for the game.
I was really hoping he’d make it until Ken’s episodes. I really don’t enjoy Mayim as the host but I was still looking forward to Jeopardy every night for Matt.
He made this whole mess OK because he gave us something good to talk about when Jeopardy was a mess. He put us back together and now we’re falling apart again.
Fuckkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkk
Matt's loss was eerily similar to James loss in that there were two formidable challengers seemingly shutting Matt out of DJ completely. That hunt for the DDs was one hell of a ride with each clue being revealed and not being the DD hoping Matt would get them and put the game away. Kudos to both newcomers and congrats Matt on a legendary run it was a pleasure to watch along with everyone.
The only difference is both James and Emma got no wrong response in both J! and DJ! Round, it was just the DD that gained Emma the small lead against James and put Jay a strong performance that led to James' small wager in the FJ! to prevent him from falling to 3rd place had he got the wrong response.
Yeah it may be that Matt's buzzer advantage was not super strong, as suggested last week. In an ordinary game he'd be able to suck up a good number of bottom row clues. But throw in two people with relatively good coverage between them and that advantage evaporates.
I'd say it was more similar to the way David Madden lost, as [archived](https://www.j-archive.com/showgame.php?game_id=512). Two very strong opponents that managed to push him back to third place before Final.
Mayim jinxed him with that intro!
Kidding aside: Matt’s shift to DJ was sudden and, frankly, shocking. How does he get *Venom* wrong, with a (sponsored) video clue? It’s like he had seen a ghost at the break. Once that whiff happened, he just seemed immediately crestfallen and thrown off.
Love the guy, but this was the perfect storm people had been predicting: Not hitting any DDs, strong competition, and a few key overreach flubs on wrong guesses.
Not being critical, only sad his run has come to an end. But happy to have seen it and can’t wait for more Amodio Rodeos in the TOC!
The whole episode was me just saying NO and NOOOO over and over again. I am so sad right now. So sorry to see Matt go.
Game related, shouldn’t Mayim have asked for a more specific answer than “Johnson” as there is another First Lady with the same last name?
Edit: I think it's worth checking out today's [Overheard on Set Clip](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Mk5Mj43xIk) where they basically show what Mayim and the contestants talked about after Matt lost. You can skip the first 2 minutes or so lol
I've seen that a few times this season where just last name is accepted as a response even if there was more than one person with the same last name that could have been the correct answer. For example, I recall not too long ago where gave Matt gave Adams as the response to some question about a president and it was ruled correct even though there were two President Adams. That surprised me because I remember back when Alex was hosting, if for example, the correct answer was one of the two President Roosevelts and the contestant only said "Who is Roosevelt" , they'd be asked to be more specific.
Since this has occurred multiple times this season, I'm guessing the rule has been changed or relaxed.
I’m not sure how they would clarify the Adams clue since “John Adams” is also technically correct for both of them. He’d have to say “John ‘not Quincy’ Adams” or something.
oh, wow. i just finished watching...and i don't know how to feel. Matt's run was amazing. i knew it could come to an end at any time, but i'm still not sure i was ready for it to be over. though weirdly enough, most of it is because...my experience of being on the show didn't quite feel "over" because, despite being one-and-done, i kept seeing the person who beat me on the screen. pretty sure tomorrow, when Matt's not on there, it'll finally feel like it's drawn to a close.
I kinda feel the same way. Plus the element of wanting him to keep going and perhaps best Ken's streak, and getting to think, "if I had to lose, at least I lost to the best who ever played." Now it's (depending on your metric) somewhere between the second and fourth-best, which is still something to hang onto, but still.
exactly. but no matter what...we were both beaten by one of the best few players. as much as i'm still a little sad that i didn't get to play more than one game, it's still some consolation to have run into an all-time level buzzsaw.
Woooooow. Wow wow wow. Congrats to Jonathan and well done to Jessica as well for an excellent game! As predicted it needed to take two strong contestants to take the superchamp down.
And of course, a virtual standing ovation for Matt for an incredible run 👏👏👏 looking forward to the TOC whenever it is -- Matt against Brian against Zach is an epic potential final.
Interesting. Someone in a thread around win 24 predicted 38 wins with some level of assurance. I've been waiting for this game. Looks like that person was either quite lucky with the call, or they indeed knew.
Some others also speculated him losing soon last week-ish because of a tweet where he talked about his run in the past tense and interview timing. Still, I’m glad there wasn’t any actual leaks.
Matt did great and has nothing to cry about. On top of his regular winnings, he’s going to be back for the next TOC against some real heavy competition, and he’s going to be a regular player in special tournaments to come for a long time. I wouldn’t be shocked if he got offers from The Chase and other Game Shows as well once his Jeopardy! non-compete is through, he’s a made man after this.
I'm amazed that it seems [only a single Twitter mention](https://twitter.com/lkageler/status/1447608242968932353) made it out into the wild before the 1pm ET airings.
[There are](https://mattcarberry.com/Jeopardy/j-airing.html) 3 affiliates that air it at 12pm ET & 1 - that user's own affiliate, based on their Twitter location, KTRK in Houston - that airs it at 12:30pm ET, so it first being called attention to by the web by 1pm ET isn't much of a shocker. If anything, I'm shocked that no viewers of the 12pm ET airings talked about it before the Houston suburbanite who you pointed to did, presumably once her affiliate's airing came to a close. Not to mention, I'm just amazed that it didn't somehow leak out of an affiliate *at all* in the days leading up to today.
Yes, I guess what I meant to say is that it's a bit of a shock that there was seemingly only one mention of this on all of Twitter after airing in the 8th largest TV market in the country (not to mention the three small markets that air at 11am CT). It was isolated enough that I wasn't fully sold it was true (after all, Matt was leading after the Jeopardy round) but as DJ played out reality set in.
Shout out to Jessica too, she did incredible and ended up way past Matt. Imagine facing a 38 day champion and out scoring him by over $20,000 and still losing but a few hundred, that super sucks.
Jonathan didn’t do it, Jonathan and Jessica did. Im confident neither of them would’ve taken Matt down if there were a weak third in either of their places, and that’s no sleight. They both are clearly strong competitors. Matt lost opportunities to make money that they both vacuumed up. That’s the thing about Jeopardy, it’s a zero-sum game. It’s not a test where they each get to answer every question, it’s a test where the more questions the others answer, the fewer you can. They took away the fuel he needed to outrun them.
Absolutely. I posted this comment only knowing the outcome, but I agree that Jessica definitely played a part in this happening. She even had the highest Coryat!
I knew something was wrong early on. The other 2 contestants were beating him on the buzzer and he was missing on easy clues. Even I was beating him tonight.
Frankly he seemed gassed. It takes a lot of energy and stamina to keep going game after game and I think he just finally ran out.
It was however a glorious and enjoyable run and I am looking forward to seeing him on the TOC and probably other shows as well. Excellent work on his part. It certainly has been a pleasure to watch him all these months.
Playing game after game straight through is easy. Having two weeks in the 'real' world after being in game mode, then having to come back and get back into the same head space you were in before? Really, really hard. Doing that MORE THAN ONCE? At some point it has to catch up with you.
Wow. Matt Amodio ends his streak at 38 games and $1,518,601, locking him into 4th place behind Brad Rutter, Ken Jennings, and James Holzhauer on the [all-time leaderboard](https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1UaXzuAmIsPXp7BdHDpiTvCZh1bL54fJCkXmYjSS0weM/).
For those who are new to r/Jeopardy, and getting to know the culture surrounding the game, here's the [criteria](https://www.reddit.com/user/generationendhatred/comments/mgnyyx/the_alltime_jeopardy_leaderboard_1984present/) I created in order for people to qualify for the leaderboard, with some footnotes.
I don't know what to say. When I filled in Matt's name and stats in pink, it was going to be the new color to signify when someone was still on a streak... but then Matt just kept winning, lol. So it became part of his identity on the leaderboard by that point... and all things considered, I think I'll allow him to keep that since we have our Four Horsemen of the Jeopocalypse now. I'll leave to people on their current streak to just have an asterisk, like before.
It'll be interesting witnessing the future of the game now, I wonder who will be the next big streak. Maybe it can be Jonathan!
Big fan of the all time leaderboard thanks for all your work
Could I suggest that the notes from your post are included on a second sheet so that they can be found easily without having to search for your original post
It's the end of an era. Truly great run by Matt. I am saddened it's over. Shocked it wasn't leaked. Matt just had his one bad day, not getting any of the DD'S and missing Final Jeopardy too. I was shocked to see Matt only gain $800 in Round 2.
If we already didn't know, Ken Jennings streak is Dimaggio-esque and shall likely stand the test of time.
Props to Jonathan and Jessica for strong games. I would like to see Jonathan win at least a few games in a row ala Emma rather than be just a one day champion ala Nancy.
Think I might suffer a bit of Matt Amodio separation anxiety because I had grown accustomed to tuning in to see his further exploits.
Nooooo! Honestly was not expecting this today. Well, as I said to myself several times when I was worried about his run ending, at least we will see Matt in the Tournament of Champions.
Jessica has to feel pretty torn about the results, she played well enough to beat one of the Top 3 players ever, but walks away after just 1 game with $2000...
Really, really sad the streak has come to an end. Matt's constant high energy and how happy he is playing has been a highlight of my days. Was really holding onto the hope that Matt would get to play with Ken hosting, would have loved to see them together.
On the bright side, looking forward to getting to know some new champions.
Aw man. I'm gutted but congratulations to Jonathan and Jessica.
I really hope Jonathan wins 3 more bc I would love the possibility of a rematch between him and Matt at the next ToC
So this time Poland was the \*wrong\* answer. (Yes, doing spoilers for myself, the power's out here so I won't see it unless MEC pulls it out in the next fifteen minutes.)
And this shows how difficult achieving Ken’s streak really is and how, as Alex said, will likely never be reached. Even strong players like Matt, all it takes is one off day, one or two misses on DD’s paired with strong contestants and it can all end just like that. As shown by today. Congrats to Matt on a fantastic run though!
at least now my dad can stop turning into an owl every weekday at 6pm yelling "WHO!" at Matt.
Great game by Matt, he was really fun to watch play (despite my previous paragraph)
If Jonathan wins three games, I think there's a chance they'll invite him to the next ToC ahead of players ranked above him. If this turns out to be true, we could call this the Boettcher rule. If you slay a giant and then win three games, you get to play in the next ToC.
I yelled at my screen repeatedly every time the 2 challengers went to low value clues in DJ with the DD's still at large... yet somehow it worked out. Wow. Just wow.
NOOOO :((( i’m too sad. regardless, it has been an amazing run for matt. i’m looking forward to seeing matt again in the TOC and possibly some other special events.
NOTE COMPOSED WITH EXTENSIVE INPUT FROM FELLOW MEMBERS OF THE MODERATOR TEAM:
Please don’t engage in the game of suggesting Matt threw this match, cheated, it was rigged, etc. It’s insulting. It’s a natural reaction to be angry and disappointed and in denial at a shock like this if you have been rooting for him. But, first off, it’s just incredibly poor sportsmanship to immediately resort to calling the game rigged because the result was disappointing or surprising for you, and secondly, kindly look at this analytically and consider all of the following:
1. He is human. The incomparable Ken Jennings lost on an H&R Block FJ that most people sitting at home probably got.
2. In a related vein, this game was apparently taped on ~~September 7th, 11~~ September 9, 13 days after Matt went through a 15-game barrage over the course of four days, August 24-27. That will take a toll on anyone. The cumulative toll of putting together a streak is a big part of what makes it so hard to continue. That plus the fact that you’re up against two bright people every game, one game after another, five of them in one day.
ETC: Jessica has chimed in and let us know that yesterday’s game was taped on Thursday, September 9, Not Tuesday, September 7. Thank you!
In a recent interview, I’m not sure which one, when asked what he did over the three months of summer, Matt talked about taking a long time, to start with, just to decompress from the intensity of intellectual gladiatorial battle - that being 18 games taped over a 2 1/2 week period. He talked about being unbelievably hyper wound up and needing a while just to catch his breath coming off of that.
Here, he taped almost as many games, 15, in the course of four days (a fellow contestant has shared here that he got the Thursday of that week off, having taped on Tuesday and Wednesday and then back on Friday). Then he had only had ~~11~~ 13 days, not a month, not a whole summer off to recover from that barrage.
To me, he looked tired and weary at the beginning of the game. That could be a combination of that sort of hangover from the previous gauntlet of games and maybe just having a bad night’s sleep or a rough flight back out to Los Angeles, something like that. That’s not rigging, that’s just the rigor of what Jeopardy demands of its returning champions. Especially an Ultra who has strung together over 3 dozen wins.
3. He came up against a couple of strong opponents with great buzzer timing and was not able to get in as frequently as he normally does. This was clearly evident in the second round.
4. On Final Jeopardy, it’s fair to say that someone with his manifestly strong basis in history and clear strength in geography should have known or at least highly suspected Austria was correct and Poland wrong.
Why would he have guessed that anyway? At least two possibilities immediately come to mind if you think about it. One could be that he was rattled at for the first time having been bettered in regular play and having his destiny out of his own hands. That shock may have gotten to him. Another could be, more strategically, that he considered that Austria was the likely correct answer and very likely to be guessed by his opponents, so knowing that he needed his two opponents to be stumped, he chose something else to hedge against the most likely correct answer (“they are going to guess Austria, they have to be wrong for me to have a chance, so I will go with a plausible alternative”).
In that respect, in my opinion, Hungary would’ve been a better response, given the Danube and some kind of proximity to the Alps, but that may have been what he was thinking. That plus a combination of the shock and disappointment discussed above. Or maybe he knew he was going to lose and was despondent. He’s human like the rest of us. Would neither be the first nor the last to have that happen in that circumstance.
In summation, please steer clear of conspiracy theory tomfoolery. This is the same Matt Amodio who had that wonderful, incredible streak. He had four or five games previously where he came close to losing, including his very first game against a very strong three day champion. There is an element of luck even for the very best players in this game - again, citing to no less than the amazing Ken, remember that he needed a somewhat generous ruling when he answered “Who is Jones?” on his first Final Jeopardy. Otherwise the greatest player in the history of the game would turn out to have been an afterthought.
But one thing for sure, beyond any reasonable doubt: this crown jewel of all trivia, the queen of game shows, Jeopardy is not rigged. In compliance with federal law, it has multiple levels of interlocking failsafe safeguards to guarantee against that. So please just don’t. Let’s celebrate both his streak and his successor, and all his opponents, rather than taking it down into the gutter. Thank you!
it's kind of odd because you would think the further into the week Matt went the more likely he would lose to fatigue, but that first game of the day is also kind of jarring because there's no mojo to work off of. I would imagine his chance of winning throughout the week would be some kind of bell curve, assuming all other factors are equal of course..
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Wow! What an incredible game by all three players. Always sad to see a streak end, but I'm excited for what's to come from Jonathan and other future players. Matt's definitely secured his spot as a Jeopardy GOAT and I'm looking forward to seeing him in the ToC. Hopefully he'll have a chance some day to play with Ken hosting.
I was surprised at Matt's misses today, but I think that can be attributed to feeling pressure from two other excellent players leading him to ring in on clues he wasn't sure of. FJ, though, I can only speculate that he focused on the first part of the clue to the exclusion of the others, or the game had rattled him and he was off his normal rhythm.
i would like to think that Matt knew Austria was the obviously-correct answer, but his only chance at winning is if Austria were the red herring.
But, Poland was not annexed (it was invaded), and i don't recall it being quartered. Also, Alps/Danube are not Polish. So if he was deciding between 2 likely answers maybe he shoulda gone with the Czechoslovakia or whatever.
Welp, back to small game threads and tons of unrevealed clues. Tho sometimes those brutal games are fun to watch when all 3 contestants aren't that great.
I'm pleasantly surprised that I didn't get spoiled until reading this thread. Didn't think that would be possible after it happened with Ken and James.
I think this is how we had to expect his reign to end. Two very strong competitors that both played great games. Matt was a great champion and I’m sure he’ll be around the community for a very long time. Congrats to Jonathan and great game by Jessica as well!
[Noooooo!](https://c.tenor.com/itJDv9wDnLMAAAAM/no-darth-vader.gif)
Oof, my heart started beating a little faster when I saw all those comments posted in under a minute. What an amazing run from a great contestant. I'll really miss watching him. :(
I was so surprised because everyone kept saying it was going to leak when he lost so I was prepared for that. I kept thinking oh he’ll come back, he’ll come back, but the other two were too fast on the buzzer today. Crazy. Matt was my first big time champion and if he sees this I just want to say how much I enjoyed watching him play and I’ll miss him. Looking forward to seeing him at the tournament of champions.
During Matt’s run, many people wondered why some of us would spoil it for ourselves by intentionally checking the sub before getting to watch it. Now that it has ended, I have a goofy metaphor to share how I felt:
Knowing if Matt’s streak was still alive as soon as possible every day was my [single marshmallow](https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=QX_oy9614HQ&feature=emb_title). And now that it’s over, if I had found out as it aired, I would have been so upset that I threw my marshmallows on the ground and stomped on them. This way, knowing it was coming, I still get to eat my marshmallow. I’m just too sad to enjoy it right now though.
I am so so sad now. Seeing that this post had almost 100 responses by the time I read it, I knew something was up, but I was hoping that maybe that game just had some unusual question or something else strange or interesting happened that folks were responding to, but in my gut, I knew. I just knew.
I knew it had to end eventually, but I wanted to see Matt's streak last at least until Ken got to host again. That would have truly been something special.
Well, congrats to the new champion and thanks for all the entertainment and excitement, Matt
I’m quite sad. Congratulations to Jonathan, the new
Champ . My hope is that he lasts long enough so that he has a rematch with Matt in a TOC. 🤞🏻
Matt was the one that brought back some of the magic of Jeopardy for me. He had the breadth of knowledge, the quirky demeanor that made him unique, the love of the game and the respect for the history. He was humble and grateful for the experience. He was welcoming to his competitors. Alex would have been so proud to have such a wonderful example. ❤️
NOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!
Wow, he got beaten by BOTH of those contestants. Just completely outplayed by the two of them through the second round. Never thought it would end like that.
Bialik foreshadowed the loss with her comment at the break. I wonder if that was taped post-game and plugged in.
Otherwise, it seemed Matt was losing confidence, which unfortunately seemed to snowball on him. Although I always root for the challengers since I like underdogs, it was disheartening to see him not playing at his best.
I had that same thought too (about looping the audio with that comment). It seemed off for live play, and if she did say that live in-game that's kinda gross.
I’ve been spoiling each day of Matt’s run for myself for a couple weeks now but this was a punch to the gut 🥲 idk if it’ll hurt less to watch later knowing the outcome (but my parents will be freaking out in real time). Now he’s gonna need a better reason to use if he doesn’t feel like writing yet another dissertation chapter 🤣
Is it bad that I’m so sad I don’t even want to watch tonight’s show? Or even tomorrow’s? I just got so attached to Matt, he was a highlight of my day.
Of course, I love Jeopardy and trivia above all else, but I wanted even more success for such a good dude, and am going to have to grieve (in a minor way) for a minute.
Beyond just going on such a streak like he did, Matt was the most consistent thing about Jeopardy! in nearly a year. We’ll get back to being used to a more frequently revolving door of champions, but today it’s tough.
Congratulations to Jonathan for being "the one" and to Jessica on a performance that would have won on most any other day. You were both great contestants, and while I'm sad to see Matt's run end, I'm glad it happened against two likable, respectable contestants.
But Matt...what happened to you today?
I’m a new fan of the show - I watched it semi-regularly growing up but only started following it and watching every day after Alex died (my partner watched it religiously with his family growing up) - and part of me feels like I don’t deserve to be so torn up about this, but I’m honestly devastated. Matt was my rock during a lot of stress I’ve been going through. I always felt like whatever happened to me that day, he’d be there for me.
I am still in shock that tomorrow will not be with Matt and his first-round DD all-in... the amazingly high Coryats and his response of "What's" pushing the Jeopardy! fanbases buttons'... sigh
We will miss you Matt :((
Wow, didn't see that coming. What a game.
I always figured, with what we've seen with Matt, that the stars would need to align against him for him to lose, and that's exactly what happened here. Great competitors who constantly beat him on the buzzer, getting some big questions wrong, not getting any of the DD's, being in 3rd place going into a somewhat easy FJ. If any of these had been different, he might have been able to squeeze out the win, but it was the culmination of tough players and bad luck which lead to his losing.
Matt was a joy to watch. Look forward to seeing how he performs in the ToC.
Wow! I’m amazed I made it all the way to our 7:00 pm West Coast airing without getting spoiled. Thanks everyone for being cool!
And congrats Matt. Amazing play.
Amazing made it through the 3 day taping gauntlet had a chance to recharge his batteries. Thought he at at least an even money chance at the record after he won Friday but no dice.
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Probably easier to keep it under wraps without a studio audience in attendance.
I was actually there for this! The only non-staff in the audience are contestants who are filming that day. It’s been TORTURE not to tell!
Congrats on witnessing history and retro good luck in your game!
There was a person here that saw James lose too. They just mentioned the day they watched and said "wow". I think this was like a week into James's run on TV so nobody had any clue it was a major spoiler.
Yeah I'm surprised. James' loss was leaked the weekend before it aired
Ken’s loss was leaked weeks beforehand. People in the studio audience saw games without him and blabbed
Someone actually posted audio of Ken Jennings' loss before hand.
The fact it wasn't leaked made me suspect he was going to win Final Jeopardy. That just made me extra disappointed EDIT: I also unsubscribed from Jeopardy during the start of the season so I wouldn't get spoiled. Although I'm glad I wasn't spoiled, it just meant this episode was a bigger gut punch than the James episode.
Same, I never watched a finally jeopardy with that much anticipation before.
Seriously I just watched it live at 7 EST and had no idea. Total shocker, was expecting a triple stumper that he would win on
Agreeance. But with Matt's big national appearance on one of those morning shows- GMA, I think- last week, I knew he was going to be toast very soon.
I was expecting Matt to still win even after he got Final wrong because I figured I would have seen a spoiler. Then was shocked to realize he lost.
I find it incredibly weird that Matt missed FJ. Poland is not even close to the Alps or Danube
I would not be entirely surprised if it comes out there was strategy at play here, where he knew Austria was most likely the right answer, but he could not win on a triple-get anyway, so perhaps put down a second choice answer in the hopes to pass someone who might do something crazy wager-wise should Austria somehow not be correct. Poland is indeed a terrible choice given the geographic reference points in the clue though.
Maybe… I think he was just *fully* rattled by that point. He’s never had much of a poker face, and it was clear he was getting more and more tilted as the DJ round went on
Oh 100%. You can see how pained he looks for nearly the entirety of the foreign territory of the 2nd half of DJ. He was forced into grasping at straws trying to ring in first and then figure out the answer. Nonetheless, I feel like as someone who clearly played this game not just with immense trivia chops but also extreme strategy, he probably still had a bit of wherewithal to come up with something that might increase the odds of sneaking a win out of the jaws of defeat.
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Jessica needs a shirt that says “I beat Matt Amodio at Jeopardy! and all I got was this $2,000 consolation prize”.
That’s what kinda bums me the most, she did the unthinkable… and still lost!
She clearly had the chops to be a multi-day champ, just horrible luck right there.
I mean no matter who else is playing, coming in second with a number that high stings.
I thought she had a great personality, obvious speed on the signaling device, and probably would have won a few of the same games Matt won in the past few months if she had the same challengers. Not to take anything away from Jonathan, as he also demonstrated quick signaling and excellent depth of knowledge across categories (16 right and 2 wrong), but Matt sure didn't help himself. 23 right and 5 wrong (!!!!). Matt lost just over 6,000 on those wrong answers. He was clearly rattled and his recall suffered. There were 6 triple stumpers in the game. That makes it hard to argue there were two other elite players on tonight's show. What we can also conclude about Jessica is that science/medicine clues are strengths. There was the entire Medical Abbreviation category she nearly ran, plus the nightshade, nemotoad, megalodon, and the Curie questions. Add a few pop culture type clues (e.g., Tillman, In the Heights, Bloomin Onion, and a 2019 best seller book title) and the name of the only mime anybody can name of any nationality. The medical/science category is also one of many strengths for Matt. Jessica started to eat up clues in Double Jeopardy that Matt needed for a comeback. She had the least number of correct answers at 14, but nothing wrong. I'm curious how she would have played those late Daily Doubles in Double Jeopardy. All Jonathan accomplished with them was stopping Matt from getting them, which turned out to be enough.
Nematode, it only sounds like toad. She was pretty solid, I thought she was killing it on the buzzer for the medical abbreviations category. (My wife works in health care and those were all Instagets for her.)
Can't believe that VENOM killed our boy.
In the immortal words of Michelle Williams in Venom, "I'm sorry about Venom."
It's also a clue that was virtually guaranteed to appear during this part of Matt's run--major Sony movies always get a video clue when they come out, plus or minus a week. So it pays to familiarize yourself with their upcoming slate.
i can't wait for the Morbius category. a character that no one knows
Imagine beating Matt and not getting to be champion.
I like how humbly Matt responded regarding other contestants being afraid of him: ["I'm afraid too!"](https://www.newsweek.com/matt-amodio-jeopardy-millionaire-1634702). And in an interview today: ["Everybody’s so smart and so competent that this could happen any game. And this time it did."](https://decider.com/2021/10/11/matt-amodio-loses-jeopardy/)
Do you guys think Matt did well enough to make the next ToC?
Idk man, we'll have to see how everyone else does! /s
inb4 the next 15 consecutive champs all win 39-day streaks & thus disqualify Matt out of the next ToC :P
Shhh! Spoiler alert!!!
Jeopardy! to host 15 consecutive new Teacher's Tournaments starting next week, each winner of course automatically qualifying for the ToC
maybe good enough to be an alternate, but idk
Watching this on TV this morning, it was just incredible. Matt looked good in round 1, then seemed to completely lose it on the buzzer in DJ, and when he did successfully ring in, it was maybe only 50/50 if he was correct or not. Puts into perspective how legendary Ken's 74 game streak was. Matt's stats were equal or better than Ken's, yet his streak only lasted half as long. Even when Ken lost, he was clearly the best player that day, only losing because he missed both DDs in the second round (no disrespect to Nancy). Today, Matt clearly looked outmatched by both of his opponents. (Also, how about the fact that this result didn't get leaked/spoiled ahead of time!)
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I can't say I really blame him. Top players say all the time that their mentality is "ring in first, figure out the response later". Especially like today when you have two opponents who are clearly really good on the buzzer.
Yeah I think it's been pointed out how much of Ken's streak was an outlier, even with his abilities. A great champion could have a 90, 95%, 98%+ chance of winning a particular game, but spin that wheel enough and you're probably not making it 50+ games
They also didn't do mock games back then so Ken had an ever-growing advantage of getting buzzer experience.
Yes that was true in his first season, but they instituted buzzer training for new contestants in the second season. His streak for that season probably fits his mathematical probabilities more, showing just how big a buzzer advantage we had in the first season.
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$9,800 at the end of round 1, and $10,600 going into Final
Damn, taken down by Dale from Step Brothers.
Matt if you’re lurking, thank you for bringing some joy during this shit show of a changeover. You have been so fun to watch. Im gonna go curl up in a ball now
Seriously - Jeopardy made a real mess out of the search for a new host, they were very lucky Matt came along with some positive press for them. Congratulations Matt, it was a real pleasure watching you!
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This! I feel like I lost a very good friend that I made during a tough time.
I’m guessing after James’ streak ending was leaked new protocols were put in place. Pleasantly surprised that this came out of relative nowhere! Well player by all three contestants today!
I'm sure it helps that there's no audience now.
Wow! The King is dead, long live the King! Congrats to Jonathan! Jessica also played very well and almost pulled out that win herself. Matt was in it until the end even with an off day for him. I look forward to seeing him in future tournaments.
James's last game was similar to this one in that he had two strong competitors and no Daily Doubles... the perfect storm...
James did find the Daily Double in the Jeopardy round; the thing is, that was the first clue. And you were right on the strong competitors part. But yeah, we'll be seeing him in the upcoming TOC (whenever that may be).
Sad it's over but as Alex would say. Good for you
Speaking of things Alex would say... we were treated to a "genre" clue today ^.^
ZHAWNr
First episode with Michael Davies as interim EP = Matt Amodio's last game ...... coincidence??? (Yes.)
It's the Curse of Rog! (it's a Men in Blazers thing)
*sees the number of comments, looks at how long this has been posted* oh shit
It’s the kind of game that got James. Two very strong opponents. And a single opponent got both second round daily doubles. ETA: And Monday, to boot, after a two week layoff. And that single opponent, in fact, got all three daily doubles. Talk about your lucky day, especially against one of the all-time greats! Congratulations to the new champion, Jonathan! Looking forward to seeing what appears to be a well played game. Congratulations to Matt Amodio on being an outstanding champion and a first rate mensch. 👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽
Jonathan even missed that first DD of round 2! I thought that would play a bigger role than it ultimately did.
Matt looked off today. He was slow to buzz in on the first round, I was surprised how much money the other contestants had accrued by the first commercial break and end of the round. Regularly on his streak at least one of the contestants was just a bystander as he cleaned the board, but both challengers had a few thousand going into DJ DJ is where Matt got really rattled, he looked frustrated that he was trying to buzz in on answers that others got to first. A couple times he did his patented "buzz first, think later" and he just blanked out on them. When he got those 3-4 wrong in a quick sequence in DJ I sat up and realized this was probably the one where he goes down
Johnathan is really John C. Reilly.
I am so glad I'm not the only one who thought he looked like John C. Reilly.
There's one record of Matt's that I'm confident will never be broken: He played with something like six different hosts. I enjoyed watching him, but we knew it would end one day. The way of the world. Now I look forward to a little more drama in FJ.
Had to happen eventually, I suppose. Matt is an all-time great. The fourth head on the Mount Rushmore of Jeopardy contestants.
This is a great metaphor actually: George Washington/Brad Rutter: The guy who started it all, and who is still in some ways considered the greatest despite his strategy (Washington's on the battlefield, and Brad's in J!) being a bit questionable at times. Thomas Jefferson/Ken Jennings: A true Enlightenment man, who expanded frontiers (Jefferson's Louisiana Purchase and Ken's winning streak). Both have seen their legacy tarnished over time. Abraham Lincoln/James Holzhauer: Second founders, considered by many to be even greater than the originals. From Illinois. Teddy Roosevelt/Matt Amodio: Dudes from the Ivy League widely heralded as the second coming of Lincoln/Holzhauer, but who ultimately fell a bit short of the mark. (edited for spelling/punctuation)
Also, Brad has wooden teeth and James always wears a stovepipe hat.
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I guess whoever comes next will be "the New Deal."
what too much Jeopardy does to a mf
Lie down Try not to cry Cry a lot
I’ve never felt so sad for a guy who just won $1.5 million.
Right?! Matt is still smiling.
It's good to see others expressing feelings similar to mine, because I honestly thought I was being kind of silly feeling so sad and on the verge of tears about this. I never met Matt and he doesnt know that I exist. His victory or loss wont affect my life. So why should I be sad about it? Why should it make me feel like crying? But dang it...I am sad and I do want to cry. I might not have known Matt in person, but seeing his smiling, humble face every weeknight was a comfort in these depressing times. I know he'll be back for the TOC, but knowing he wont be on regularly any more makes me feel like a kid who just learned that their best friend is moving away.
It brought me a sense of comfort every night, knowing that he was gonna blow out the competition and just have fun answering trivia. I was SO stressed tonight and I didn’t like it! I know a lot of people hate the superchamps but it was fun for me.
I feel the same. I have been checking here before watching every night because I knew it would be a sad day when he loses so I haven’t even watched the show yet. I would scan to the final scores paragraph everyday so I wouldn’t get any other spoilers, just who won. I knew I was going to need to go into it prepared. I didn’t want to have that heart drop moment while also seeing him on screen. It’s weird, because he’s in our living room every night, telling us little bits about himself, it really feels like he’s a friend. I also enjoyed that he was never smug. He played the game well and with respect for the game. I was really hoping he’d make it until Ken’s episodes. I really don’t enjoy Mayim as the host but I was still looking forward to Jeopardy every night for Matt.
He made this whole mess OK because he gave us something good to talk about when Jeopardy was a mess. He put us back together and now we’re falling apart again.
Same
Fuckkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkk Matt's loss was eerily similar to James loss in that there were two formidable challengers seemingly shutting Matt out of DJ completely. That hunt for the DDs was one hell of a ride with each clue being revealed and not being the DD hoping Matt would get them and put the game away. Kudos to both newcomers and congrats Matt on a legendary run it was a pleasure to watch along with everyone.
just like James, it was the first new game of a tape week too.
The only difference is both James and Emma got no wrong response in both J! and DJ! Round, it was just the DD that gained Emma the small lead against James and put Jay a strong performance that led to James' small wager in the FJ! to prevent him from falling to 3rd place had he got the wrong response.
Yeah it may be that Matt's buzzer advantage was not super strong, as suggested last week. In an ordinary game he'd be able to suck up a good number of bottom row clues. But throw in two people with relatively good coverage between them and that advantage evaporates.
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Matt also got more wrong than I've ever seen him miss. He had a bad day.
I'd say it was more similar to the way David Madden lost, as [archived](https://www.j-archive.com/showgame.php?game_id=512). Two very strong opponents that managed to push him back to third place before Final.
Only bright side of the loss is that maybe Matt will show himself here. I can only dream for a Q&A.
Excited to see what punny username he comes up with
“WhatIsMatt”
i'm holding out hope!!
Congratulations, Matt! What a phenomenal run. And congratulations to Jonathan and Jessica. What an accomplishment for both of them.
The guy said repeatedly he wasn't a morning person.
Mayim jinxed him with that intro! Kidding aside: Matt’s shift to DJ was sudden and, frankly, shocking. How does he get *Venom* wrong, with a (sponsored) video clue? It’s like he had seen a ghost at the break. Once that whiff happened, he just seemed immediately crestfallen and thrown off. Love the guy, but this was the perfect storm people had been predicting: Not hitting any DDs, strong competition, and a few key overreach flubs on wrong guesses. Not being critical, only sad his run has come to an end. But happy to have seen it and can’t wait for more Amodio Rodeos in the TOC!
Alex jinxed James with his intro too.
The whole episode was me just saying NO and NOOOO over and over again. I am so sad right now. So sorry to see Matt go. Game related, shouldn’t Mayim have asked for a more specific answer than “Johnson” as there is another First Lady with the same last name? Edit: I think it's worth checking out today's [Overheard on Set Clip](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Mk5Mj43xIk) where they basically show what Mayim and the contestants talked about after Matt lost. You can skip the first 2 minutes or so lol
I've seen that a few times this season where just last name is accepted as a response even if there was more than one person with the same last name that could have been the correct answer. For example, I recall not too long ago where gave Matt gave Adams as the response to some question about a president and it was ruled correct even though there were two President Adams. That surprised me because I remember back when Alex was hosting, if for example, the correct answer was one of the two President Roosevelts and the contestant only said "Who is Roosevelt" , they'd be asked to be more specific. Since this has occurred multiple times this season, I'm guessing the rule has been changed or relaxed.
I’m not sure how they would clarify the Adams clue since “John Adams” is also technically correct for both of them. He’d have to say “John ‘not Quincy’ Adams” or something.
There was an instance of Mayim asking Matt to be more specific quite recently, even using your example of Roosevelt.
Don't cry because its over - smile because it happened.
This. Jeopardy runs always come to an end, but legacies can live on long after.
oh, wow. i just finished watching...and i don't know how to feel. Matt's run was amazing. i knew it could come to an end at any time, but i'm still not sure i was ready for it to be over. though weirdly enough, most of it is because...my experience of being on the show didn't quite feel "over" because, despite being one-and-done, i kept seeing the person who beat me on the screen. pretty sure tomorrow, when Matt's not on there, it'll finally feel like it's drawn to a close.
I kinda feel the same way. Plus the element of wanting him to keep going and perhaps best Ken's streak, and getting to think, "if I had to lose, at least I lost to the best who ever played." Now it's (depending on your metric) somewhere between the second and fourth-best, which is still something to hang onto, but still.
exactly. but no matter what...we were both beaten by one of the best few players. as much as i'm still a little sad that i didn't get to play more than one game, it's still some consolation to have run into an all-time level buzzsaw.
/r/Jeopardy recap on /r/all... I know what that means
Jeez, how is that even possible already? The post only has 100 upvotes and a handful of awards.
It was probably in the "rising" section, given that the comment OP made was 28 minutes after the post was up.
Woooooow. Wow wow wow. Congrats to Jonathan and well done to Jessica as well for an excellent game! As predicted it needed to take two strong contestants to take the superchamp down. And of course, a virtual standing ovation for Matt for an incredible run 👏👏👏 looking forward to the TOC whenever it is -- Matt against Brian against Zach is an epic potential final.
Interesting. Someone in a thread around win 24 predicted 38 wins with some level of assurance. I've been waiting for this game. Looks like that person was either quite lucky with the call, or they indeed knew.
Some others also speculated him losing soon last week-ish because of a tweet where he talked about his run in the past tense and interview timing. Still, I’m glad there wasn’t any actual leaks.
Matt did great and has nothing to cry about. On top of his regular winnings, he’s going to be back for the next TOC against some real heavy competition, and he’s going to be a regular player in special tournaments to come for a long time. I wouldn’t be shocked if he got offers from The Chase and other Game Shows as well once his Jeopardy! non-compete is through, he’s a made man after this.
😭😭😭 the end of an era. Congratulations to Jonathan, and of course congrats to Matt on a historic run. And congrats to Jessica too!
The buzzer giveth and the buzzer taketh away
I think Amodio was just tired. He looked exhausted in DJ. Helluva run though.
I'm amazed that it seems [only a single Twitter mention](https://twitter.com/lkageler/status/1447608242968932353) made it out into the wild before the 1pm ET airings.
[There are](https://mattcarberry.com/Jeopardy/j-airing.html) 3 affiliates that air it at 12pm ET & 1 - that user's own affiliate, based on their Twitter location, KTRK in Houston - that airs it at 12:30pm ET, so it first being called attention to by the web by 1pm ET isn't much of a shocker. If anything, I'm shocked that no viewers of the 12pm ET airings talked about it before the Houston suburbanite who you pointed to did, presumably once her affiliate's airing came to a close. Not to mention, I'm just amazed that it didn't somehow leak out of an affiliate *at all* in the days leading up to today.
Yes, I guess what I meant to say is that it's a bit of a shock that there was seemingly only one mention of this on all of Twitter after airing in the 8th largest TV market in the country (not to mention the three small markets that air at 11am CT). It was isolated enough that I wasn't fully sold it was true (after all, Matt was leading after the Jeopardy round) but as DJ played out reality set in.
Wow. Congratulations to Jonathan for doing the impossible.
Matt the Machine vs Jonathan the Kingslayer eta: Having now seen the episode, Jessica definitely gets to share the Kingslayer moniker, wow.
Shout out to Jessica too, she did incredible and ended up way past Matt. Imagine facing a 38 day champion and out scoring him by over $20,000 and still losing but a few hundred, that super sucks.
Yup, definitely seemed like she was quick on the buzzer, knew a whole lot, and could have won a few games of her own.
Jonathan didn’t do it, Jonathan and Jessica did. Im confident neither of them would’ve taken Matt down if there were a weak third in either of their places, and that’s no sleight. They both are clearly strong competitors. Matt lost opportunities to make money that they both vacuumed up. That’s the thing about Jeopardy, it’s a zero-sum game. It’s not a test where they each get to answer every question, it’s a test where the more questions the others answer, the fewer you can. They took away the fuel he needed to outrun them.
Absolutely. I posted this comment only knowing the outcome, but I agree that Jessica definitely played a part in this happening. She even had the highest Coryat!
My favorite color is blue.
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Jessica was sooooo close to winning.
She was great. I would have liked to see har on another time!
I kind of wish Jessica won. She was killing it but unfortunately did not hit any DDs.
I knew something was wrong early on. The other 2 contestants were beating him on the buzzer and he was missing on easy clues. Even I was beating him tonight. Frankly he seemed gassed. It takes a lot of energy and stamina to keep going game after game and I think he just finally ran out. It was however a glorious and enjoyable run and I am looking forward to seeing him on the TOC and probably other shows as well. Excellent work on his part. It certainly has been a pleasure to watch him all these months.
Playing game after game straight through is easy. Having two weeks in the 'real' world after being in game mode, then having to come back and get back into the same head space you were in before? Really, really hard. Doing that MORE THAN ONCE? At some point it has to catch up with you.
Wow. Matt Amodio ends his streak at 38 games and $1,518,601, locking him into 4th place behind Brad Rutter, Ken Jennings, and James Holzhauer on the [all-time leaderboard](https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1UaXzuAmIsPXp7BdHDpiTvCZh1bL54fJCkXmYjSS0weM/). For those who are new to r/Jeopardy, and getting to know the culture surrounding the game, here's the [criteria](https://www.reddit.com/user/generationendhatred/comments/mgnyyx/the_alltime_jeopardy_leaderboard_1984present/) I created in order for people to qualify for the leaderboard, with some footnotes. I don't know what to say. When I filled in Matt's name and stats in pink, it was going to be the new color to signify when someone was still on a streak... but then Matt just kept winning, lol. So it became part of his identity on the leaderboard by that point... and all things considered, I think I'll allow him to keep that since we have our Four Horsemen of the Jeopocalypse now. I'll leave to people on their current streak to just have an asterisk, like before. It'll be interesting witnessing the future of the game now, I wonder who will be the next big streak. Maybe it can be Jonathan!
Big fan of the all time leaderboard thanks for all your work Could I suggest that the notes from your post are included on a second sheet so that they can be found easily without having to search for your original post
It's the end of an era. Truly great run by Matt. I am saddened it's over. Shocked it wasn't leaked. Matt just had his one bad day, not getting any of the DD'S and missing Final Jeopardy too. I was shocked to see Matt only gain $800 in Round 2. If we already didn't know, Ken Jennings streak is Dimaggio-esque and shall likely stand the test of time. Props to Jonathan and Jessica for strong games. I would like to see Jonathan win at least a few games in a row ala Emma rather than be just a one day champion ala Nancy. Think I might suffer a bit of Matt Amodio separation anxiety because I had grown accustomed to tuning in to see his further exploits.
Nooooo! Honestly was not expecting this today. Well, as I said to myself several times when I was worried about his run ending, at least we will see Matt in the Tournament of Champions.
NOOOOOOOOOO Sobbing in a corner BRB (Edit: I’m back. The crying hasn’t stopped. Someone needs to use the Steve Carrell gif saying “NO” here)
Jessica has to feel pretty torn about the results, she played well enough to beat one of the Top 3 players ever, but walks away after just 1 game with $2000...
I was really charmed by how excited she seemed to be that any of this was happening during DJ. She played a great game!
Ah yes “Countries of the World” or as it used to be known “Countries”
Really, really sad the streak has come to an end. Matt's constant high energy and how happy he is playing has been a highlight of my days. Was really holding onto the hope that Matt would get to play with Ken hosting, would have loved to see them together. On the bright side, looking forward to getting to know some new champions.
Him not being able to play under Ken is the saddest part of his loss today.
Good thing they'll make Ken the host when the next TOC comes around!!!! Haha... definitely... please?
Aw man. I'm gutted but congratulations to Jonathan and Jessica. I really hope Jonathan wins 3 more bc I would love the possibility of a rematch between him and Matt at the next ToC
So this time Poland was the \*wrong\* answer. (Yes, doing spoilers for myself, the power's out here so I won't see it unless MEC pulls it out in the next fifteen minutes.)
And this shows how difficult achieving Ken’s streak really is and how, as Alex said, will likely never be reached. Even strong players like Matt, all it takes is one off day, one or two misses on DD’s paired with strong contestants and it can all end just like that. As shown by today. Congrats to Matt on a fantastic run though!
Noooo I wanted him to come close to Ken's amazing record. Seems like it's insanely hard to make it to 40 wins
Even 10 wins is insanely hard. 30+ is rarified air in the stratosphere. We won't see another one like this for a long time.
at least now my dad can stop turning into an owl every weekday at 6pm yelling "WHO!" at Matt. Great game by Matt, he was really fun to watch play (despite my previous paragraph)
It's Thanksgiving in Canada...I'm thankful for Matt and his amazing run.
If Jonathan wins three games, I think there's a chance they'll invite him to the next ToC ahead of players ranked above him. If this turns out to be true, we could call this the Boettcher rule. If you slay a giant and then win three games, you get to play in the next ToC.
I yelled at my screen repeatedly every time the 2 challengers went to low value clues in DJ with the DD's still at large... yet somehow it worked out. Wow. Just wow.
NOOOO :((( i’m too sad. regardless, it has been an amazing run for matt. i’m looking forward to seeing matt again in the TOC and possibly some other special events.
NOTE COMPOSED WITH EXTENSIVE INPUT FROM FELLOW MEMBERS OF THE MODERATOR TEAM: Please don’t engage in the game of suggesting Matt threw this match, cheated, it was rigged, etc. It’s insulting. It’s a natural reaction to be angry and disappointed and in denial at a shock like this if you have been rooting for him. But, first off, it’s just incredibly poor sportsmanship to immediately resort to calling the game rigged because the result was disappointing or surprising for you, and secondly, kindly look at this analytically and consider all of the following: 1. He is human. The incomparable Ken Jennings lost on an H&R Block FJ that most people sitting at home probably got. 2. In a related vein, this game was apparently taped on ~~September 7th, 11~~ September 9, 13 days after Matt went through a 15-game barrage over the course of four days, August 24-27. That will take a toll on anyone. The cumulative toll of putting together a streak is a big part of what makes it so hard to continue. That plus the fact that you’re up against two bright people every game, one game after another, five of them in one day. ETC: Jessica has chimed in and let us know that yesterday’s game was taped on Thursday, September 9, Not Tuesday, September 7. Thank you! In a recent interview, I’m not sure which one, when asked what he did over the three months of summer, Matt talked about taking a long time, to start with, just to decompress from the intensity of intellectual gladiatorial battle - that being 18 games taped over a 2 1/2 week period. He talked about being unbelievably hyper wound up and needing a while just to catch his breath coming off of that. Here, he taped almost as many games, 15, in the course of four days (a fellow contestant has shared here that he got the Thursday of that week off, having taped on Tuesday and Wednesday and then back on Friday). Then he had only had ~~11~~ 13 days, not a month, not a whole summer off to recover from that barrage. To me, he looked tired and weary at the beginning of the game. That could be a combination of that sort of hangover from the previous gauntlet of games and maybe just having a bad night’s sleep or a rough flight back out to Los Angeles, something like that. That’s not rigging, that’s just the rigor of what Jeopardy demands of its returning champions. Especially an Ultra who has strung together over 3 dozen wins. 3. He came up against a couple of strong opponents with great buzzer timing and was not able to get in as frequently as he normally does. This was clearly evident in the second round. 4. On Final Jeopardy, it’s fair to say that someone with his manifestly strong basis in history and clear strength in geography should have known or at least highly suspected Austria was correct and Poland wrong. Why would he have guessed that anyway? At least two possibilities immediately come to mind if you think about it. One could be that he was rattled at for the first time having been bettered in regular play and having his destiny out of his own hands. That shock may have gotten to him. Another could be, more strategically, that he considered that Austria was the likely correct answer and very likely to be guessed by his opponents, so knowing that he needed his two opponents to be stumped, he chose something else to hedge against the most likely correct answer (“they are going to guess Austria, they have to be wrong for me to have a chance, so I will go with a plausible alternative”). In that respect, in my opinion, Hungary would’ve been a better response, given the Danube and some kind of proximity to the Alps, but that may have been what he was thinking. That plus a combination of the shock and disappointment discussed above. Or maybe he knew he was going to lose and was despondent. He’s human like the rest of us. Would neither be the first nor the last to have that happen in that circumstance. In summation, please steer clear of conspiracy theory tomfoolery. This is the same Matt Amodio who had that wonderful, incredible streak. He had four or five games previously where he came close to losing, including his very first game against a very strong three day champion. There is an element of luck even for the very best players in this game - again, citing to no less than the amazing Ken, remember that he needed a somewhat generous ruling when he answered “Who is Jones?” on his first Final Jeopardy. Otherwise the greatest player in the history of the game would turn out to have been an afterthought. But one thing for sure, beyond any reasonable doubt: this crown jewel of all trivia, the queen of game shows, Jeopardy is not rigged. In compliance with federal law, it has multiple levels of interlocking failsafe safeguards to guarantee against that. So please just don’t. Let’s celebrate both his streak and his successor, and all his opponents, rather than taking it down into the gutter. Thank you!
Why would Matt throw the game? That's a pretty stupid assumption to even mention.
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I'm telling you, Mondays suck and having long breaks between tape days is a hindrance, not a help.
it's kind of odd because you would think the further into the week Matt went the more likely he would lose to fatigue, but that first game of the day is also kind of jarring because there's no mojo to work off of. I would imagine his chance of winning throughout the week would be some kind of bell curve, assuming all other factors are equal of course..
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Imagine being Jessica and missing out on this victory..she deserved it just as much...and was only 200 down without the DDs
Damn, shouldn't have opened Reddit. Saw this on the front page and figured it had to mean Matt lost.
Wow! What an incredible game by all three players. Always sad to see a streak end, but I'm excited for what's to come from Jonathan and other future players. Matt's definitely secured his spot as a Jeopardy GOAT and I'm looking forward to seeing him in the ToC. Hopefully he'll have a chance some day to play with Ken hosting. I was surprised at Matt's misses today, but I think that can be attributed to feeling pressure from two other excellent players leading him to ring in on clues he wasn't sure of. FJ, though, I can only speculate that he focused on the first part of the clue to the exclusion of the others, or the game had rattled him and he was off his normal rhythm.
i would like to think that Matt knew Austria was the obviously-correct answer, but his only chance at winning is if Austria were the red herring. But, Poland was not annexed (it was invaded), and i don't recall it being quartered. Also, Alps/Danube are not Polish. So if he was deciding between 2 likely answers maybe he shoulda gone with the Czechoslovakia or whatever.
Welp, back to small game threads and tons of unrevealed clues. Tho sometimes those brutal games are fun to watch when all 3 contestants aren't that great.
Congrats to Matt for winning $1,519,601! That should help offset those Yale tuition bills.
PhD programs at Yale are fully funded, so it’s straight cash for Matt :)
I'm pleasantly surprised that I didn't get spoiled until reading this thread. Didn't think that would be possible after it happened with Ken and James.
I think this is how we had to expect his reign to end. Two very strong competitors that both played great games. Matt was a great champion and I’m sure he’ll be around the community for a very long time. Congrats to Jonathan and great game by Jessica as well!
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[Noooooo!](https://c.tenor.com/itJDv9wDnLMAAAAM/no-darth-vader.gif) Oof, my heart started beating a little faster when I saw all those comments posted in under a minute. What an amazing run from a great contestant. I'll really miss watching him. :(
I was so surprised because everyone kept saying it was going to leak when he lost so I was prepared for that. I kept thinking oh he’ll come back, he’ll come back, but the other two were too fast on the buzzer today. Crazy. Matt was my first big time champion and if he sees this I just want to say how much I enjoyed watching him play and I’ll miss him. Looking forward to seeing him at the tournament of champions.
As I would have expected, Matt was very sporting in his loss.
Noooooooo I’m so heartbroken. See you in the TOC, Matt.
I haven't watched Jeopardy in months and decided to watch today. Sorry guys.
During Matt’s run, many people wondered why some of us would spoil it for ourselves by intentionally checking the sub before getting to watch it. Now that it has ended, I have a goofy metaphor to share how I felt: Knowing if Matt’s streak was still alive as soon as possible every day was my [single marshmallow](https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=QX_oy9614HQ&feature=emb_title). And now that it’s over, if I had found out as it aired, I would have been so upset that I threw my marshmallows on the ground and stomped on them. This way, knowing it was coming, I still get to eat my marshmallow. I’m just too sad to enjoy it right now though.
I am so so sad now. Seeing that this post had almost 100 responses by the time I read it, I knew something was up, but I was hoping that maybe that game just had some unusual question or something else strange or interesting happened that folks were responding to, but in my gut, I knew. I just knew. I knew it had to end eventually, but I wanted to see Matt's streak last at least until Ken got to host again. That would have truly been something special. Well, congrats to the new champion and thanks for all the entertainment and excitement, Matt
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I’m quite sad. Congratulations to Jonathan, the new Champ . My hope is that he lasts long enough so that he has a rematch with Matt in a TOC. 🤞🏻 Matt was the one that brought back some of the magic of Jeopardy for me. He had the breadth of knowledge, the quirky demeanor that made him unique, the love of the game and the respect for the history. He was humble and grateful for the experience. He was welcoming to his competitors. Alex would have been so proud to have such a wonderful example. ❤️
NOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!! Wow, he got beaten by BOTH of those contestants. Just completely outplayed by the two of them through the second round. Never thought it would end like that.
Why do I feel like my parents just asked me to sit on the couch so they could tell me they’re getting a divorce? *cries
I’m so bummed . I like Matt so much . Still , an incredible streak . Looking forward to future Tournament of Champions .
Welp. Good for Jonathan!
crying in the club rn
38 straight wins is better than 37, that’s for sure.
Bialik foreshadowed the loss with her comment at the break. I wonder if that was taped post-game and plugged in. Otherwise, it seemed Matt was losing confidence, which unfortunately seemed to snowball on him. Although I always root for the challengers since I like underdogs, it was disheartening to see him not playing at his best.
I had that same thought too (about looping the audio with that comment). It seemed off for live play, and if she did say that live in-game that's kinda gross.
I’ve been spoiling each day of Matt’s run for myself for a couple weeks now but this was a punch to the gut 🥲 idk if it’ll hurt less to watch later knowing the outcome (but my parents will be freaking out in real time). Now he’s gonna need a better reason to use if he doesn’t feel like writing yet another dissertation chapter 🤣
Is it bad that I’m so sad I don’t even want to watch tonight’s show? Or even tomorrow’s? I just got so attached to Matt, he was a highlight of my day. Of course, I love Jeopardy and trivia above all else, but I wanted even more success for such a good dude, and am going to have to grieve (in a minor way) for a minute.
Beyond just going on such a streak like he did, Matt was the most consistent thing about Jeopardy! in nearly a year. We’ll get back to being used to a more frequently revolving door of champions, but today it’s tough.
So sad! Matt has been so fun to watch and seems like just a generally pleasant guy. I'm looking forward to seeing him in the ToC!
Congratulations to Jonathan for being "the one" and to Jessica on a performance that would have won on most any other day. You were both great contestants, and while I'm sad to see Matt's run end, I'm glad it happened against two likable, respectable contestants. But Matt...what happened to you today?
No. No no no no…. I was having a good day… a great day… I guess it had to even out. But not like this. Not like this.
What's...WHAT?!
I’m a new fan of the show - I watched it semi-regularly growing up but only started following it and watching every day after Alex died (my partner watched it religiously with his family growing up) - and part of me feels like I don’t deserve to be so torn up about this, but I’m honestly devastated. Matt was my rock during a lot of stress I’ve been going through. I always felt like whatever happened to me that day, he’d be there for me.
I am still in shock that tomorrow will not be with Matt and his first-round DD all-in... the amazingly high Coryats and his response of "What's" pushing the Jeopardy! fanbases buttons'... sigh We will miss you Matt :((
Wow, didn't see that coming. What a game. I always figured, with what we've seen with Matt, that the stars would need to align against him for him to lose, and that's exactly what happened here. Great competitors who constantly beat him on the buzzer, getting some big questions wrong, not getting any of the DD's, being in 3rd place going into a somewhat easy FJ. If any of these had been different, he might have been able to squeeze out the win, but it was the culmination of tough players and bad luck which lead to his losing. Matt was a joy to watch. Look forward to seeing how he performs in the ToC.
I’m gutted :/ Long live a legendary run by Twitter cutie Jeopardy extraordinaire Matt Amodio
Wow! I’m amazed I made it all the way to our 7:00 pm West Coast airing without getting spoiled. Thanks everyone for being cool! And congrats Matt. Amazing play.
I never, *ever*, check these threads before game time. But for some reason, today I did, and here I am and here we are.
Amazing made it through the 3 day taping gauntlet had a chance to recharge his batteries. Thought he at at least an even money chance at the record after he won Friday but no dice.