Matt Amodio Becomes One of ‘Jeopardy!’s Biggest Winners Ever

Jeopardy Matt Amodio
Jeopardy!, Inc.

Jeopardy!‘s latest champion is setting a record with his big winnings after the latest episode. Matt Amodio won his seventh straight game with a total of $74,000 for a single game.

The large sum puts his grand total of winnings earned so far at $268,800, entering him in ninth place for all-time Jeopardy! regular-season winnings. The graduate student from New Haven, Connecticut has been crushing the competition and continues to wow current guest host LeVar Burton.

Despite his continued success, Amodio is most proud of his first victory, which he claims is the sweetest to date. “Once you [win] once, that’s just such a great accomplishment,” Amodio said in a statement shared with press. “Nobody can ever take that away from you.”

Amodio will continue his run on the show during the July 30 episode, aiming for his eighth straight victory against Andrew Kleinschmidt from La Jolla, California, and Rachel McMullen from Denton, Texas.

Jeopardy Matt Amodio

(Credit: Jeopardy!, Inc.)

After his fifth win, Amodio qualified for Jeopardy!‘s Tournament of Champions, which will take place next season as Season 37 comes to a close over the next couple of weeks. Burton will wrap his guest hosting on Friday as well, paving the way for Season 37’s final guest hosts David Faber and Joe Buck.

Could Amodio’s run continue on with the upcoming guests? Only time will tell. Don’t miss out as Jeopardy! continues its Season 37 run.

Jeopardy!, Season 37, Weekdays, Check your local listings




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  1. B

    BluePlanet

    I don’t care if he says who or what. I admire his depth of knowledge, that’s what matters on Jeopardy. I find his Lyle Lovett hairdo amusing.

    23 1

    1. B

      BlueBox

      Respect his knowledge. Sure. But he makes for annoying television.

      Nothing new, though...many of J!'s biggest (and most famous) winners have been terribly annoying - James Holzborer....Buzzy Cohen...Matt Jackson...Colby "This is David Byrne's suit" Burnett...Austin Rogers...Mackenzie "I'll steal Buzzy's annoying mannerisms" Jones...Ryan "I get my butt kicked everywhere except on Jeopardy" Bilger...

      It sort of goes with the nerd territory...

      In fairness, a couple of those folks are likely on the Autism/Asperger's spectrum, so we'll cut them some slack. (Including, I think, the kid who died last year...)

      2

  2. R

    RedCoffee

    So sad to read all those negative comments about a very nice contestant… So he has some quirks. Most of the people with higher IQ have…

    On yesterday’s program (29th July) he answered90 plus % of all the question… Amazing….

    20 2

  3. P

    PurpleBug

    I can't believe some people (who are not NOT on Jeopardy) are so bothered by the what/who thing. Is it so important? Matt Amodio is brilliant. Note: He probably doesn't care what you think either.

    13 1

  4. R

    RedElephant

    Great job Matt & he’s nice too

    After he wins he turns toward the other contestants & says something to them.

    5

  5. G

    GreenApple

    Those that critize him for the word "what" for a person ..May I ask a question? Have you ever been on Jepordy and won more than once? If not, then please your opinions to yourself. I wish that I had .010 of the knowledge that he has.. .

    4

  6. B

    BlueTooth

    Love that 1940s hair!

    3

  7. B

    BlueBox

    Nice to see the kid from Ratatouille win all that money, though. Maybe the rat is secretly pressing the buzzer, or giving him the answers???

    5 2

  8. P

    PurpleButterfly

    I can't wait to watch Matt every night. He is so intelligent! What difference does it make how he words his questions, he has already proven he is extremely intelligent. I think he is very nice . I am a fan of him for sure. He seems like an humble , sweet guy.

    1

  9. G

    GreenQuill

    “Continue on” in a professional journalism piece?

    I LOVE that he says “What” for every response.

    1

  10. G

    GoldPizza

    I find your comment boring

    1 1

  11. G

    GoldButterfly

    I'm sure he is going to miss you.

  12. G

    GoldButterfly

    I also thought of Lyle Lovett when I saw his hair! Nothing wrong with that! And he an incredible player. Makes for an exciting game in my opinion.

    1 1

  13. O

    OrangeFish

    He is amazing! I'm in love!

  14. G

    GoldButterfly

    He came out of left field while we were all watching Levar Burton pile on the mistakes and talk over everybody. This guy quietly took over and in the same week twice contestants failed to make it to final Jeopardy.

    1 1

  15. P

    PurpleDucky

    We watch JEOPARDY every day, however I refuse to watch Joe Buck!

    1 1

  16. R

    RedPlane

    Enjoyed every Jeopardy show Matt was in!

    Guy is so intelligent!

    Good job who are only thinking of who or what! I'm sure you know what Alex Trebek was doing wrong.

    Enjoy your life!

    1 1

  17. C

    CyanMagnet

    he’s not one of the biggest winners , Ken , Brad , James he’s not even close to those three

    5 5

    1. C

      CyanPumpkin

      Uh OH, time to retract the claws. "One of the biggest winners" should probably be interpreted to be in the top 10 - not top 3.

      8 2

    2. B

      BlueBox

      Ummmm, yeah. He is. Ninth ALL-TIME out of THOUSANDS? "One of the biggest"

      In fact, his Regular Season winnings substantially dwarf those of Rutter. Yes...Rutter was on in in 2000 before the board totals were doubled just about a year later....AND yes...he had to retire after the "5-Day Winner" rule...but who's counting? Oh yeah...you were.

      3 1

    3. R

      RedQuill

      I think he will be

      1

  18. A

    Antonio Montealegre

    For the second time this week, a contestant lost so much money he never made it to the Final Jeopardy. And, also, he didn't reply fast enough-compared to the women next to him-that you'd be forgiven if you'd forget he was even there after it was all over...

    1. B

      BlueBox

      Didn't get to look it up yet...but that guy was darn close to the WORST performance ever on Jeopardy. (MOST negative total, that is...). Some of his misses weren't even close.

      1 1

  19. C

    CyanStrawberry

    So he has a photogenic memory, which doesn’t mean intelligent.

    If you watch him you can tell that’s what he has. Just watch his facial expressions, he’s trying to recall. I do agree the other contestants have been brutal.

    2 4

    1. G

      GreenQuill

      Did you mean photographic?

      2

    2. G

      GoldButterfly

      All the winners have that. So you're really adding nothing.

  20. B

    BlueBox

    And...WHY does nearly every woman on Jeopardy look the same? (Check out this year's TOC contestants - I thought the same gal got to play three times!!!) Mousy...blonde-ish... glasses...nervously giggling...

    Before they introduce them and say what they do, I usually scream - "LIBRARIAN!!!"

    1 3

  21. O

    Olive8Ball

    Also one of the most annoying contestants ever. Only knows one “W” word. No who or where, always what’s. A PhD candidate?

    13 21

    1. O

      OliveFlower

      Yes I noticed that too. It's kind of annoying. Everyone else says 'who is' or 'what is'.

      6 3

    2. B

      BlueBox

      Noticed that immediately. It's one of the stranger affectations in Jeopardy history...and there have been many. WHO in the world says "WHAT'S" when they're talking about a person? HOW does one learn that....and WHY?

      4 3

    3. G

      GoldButterfly

      I've been too preoccupied with Levar's mistakes and loudness to notice that. I mean this isn't a children's' show. I just suddenly noticed after his fifth win that he really knows everything. That may be a variety of recall but knowing is about recall.

      1

  22. J

    Jena

    I find long-run winners to be boring. I look forward to him being dethroned so the show is compelling (competitive) again.

    10 22