How Does Matt Amodio’s ‘Jeopardy!’ Winning Streak Compare to Other Champs?
After 39 consecutive wins, Jeopardy! champion Matt Amodio‘s winning streak has officially come to an end. Since his debut on the legendary quiz show earlier this summer, Amodio broke several Jeopardy! records and got close to breaking many others.
On Friday, October 1, Amodio’s 33rd win broke champion James Holzhauer‘s record for the second-highest consecutive wins, placing him behind current record holder Ken Jennings with 74. Additionally, Amodio became the third person in the show’s history to surpass $1 million in regular-season play winnings, having won a total of $1,519,601 over his 39 appearances.
Until we see him again, see how Amodio ranks among the Jeopardy! greats below.
Ken Jennings and James Holzhauer maintain a solid lead
Despite winning over $1 million, Amodio had a long game of catch up to play before beating Holzhauer and Jennings for the most regular-season winnings, having won $2,462,216 and $2,520,700, respectively. According to a stats comparison video on the show’s YouTube page, Amodio and Jennings share the same percentage of correct responses at 92%, with Holzhauer beating them with 97%. Holzhauer also holds the highest percentage of Final Jeopardy responses at 94%, with Amodio in second with 76% and Jennings in third with 68%
Following that same ranking, Holzhauer holds the highest average of winnings per show with $76,944, followed by Amodio with $38,418 and Jennings with $34,064.
Matt Amodio was further ahead than Ken Jennings was during his winning streak
While Jennings is one of the show’s greatest champions, Amodio broke one of his records, having surpassed the $1 million threshold in 28 games compared to Jennings’ 30. As of his last episode, Amodio was close to $200,000 ahead of Jennings’ winnings by his 39th game. As Jennings surpassed the $2 million mark in his 59th episode, Amodio would have needed to beat his amount within the next 20 games to break the record.
However, Holzhauer achieved both milestones in the least amount of time, having earned over $2 million by his 27th game.
How does Matt Amodio measure up to Brad Rutter?
Champion Brad Rutter currently holds the title for the highest amount of total winnings on the show, having won $4,938,436 in both regular-season and tournament games. After hitting the show’s 5-game winning limit during his first appearance in Season 17, Rutter became the show’s highest-earning contestant after winning the 2002 Million Dollar Masters Tournament. After Jennings’ 74-day winning streak broke his record, he returned again in 2005 for the Ultimate Tournament of Champions, during which he surpassed the $2 million benchmark.
It would have taken Amodio a significant amount of time and hard work to dethrone Rutter as the highest winner of all time. However, if Amodio returned in the future for tournament play, there’s no telling how much more he could win.
The end of Amodio’s Jeopardy! era
In a surprising turn of events, Amodio was dethroned by both challengers on Monday, October 11, lagging behind the two for most of the episode. His fate was sealed by his incorrect Final Jeopardy answer, bringing his total down to $5,600. Contestants Jonathan Fisher and Jessica Stephens put an end to his era, with Fisher taking home the win with a total of $29,200.
Amodio gracefully accepted his loss, tweeting, “Congrats to today’s two brilliant challengers for making it an exciting game of #Jeopardy today! Let’s celebrate a match well played by Jonathan and Jessica!”
@AmodioMatt … a haiku for you:
~~
Very smart. So smart.
Thirty eight games, lots of cash
Until next time, Matt
~~ pic.twitter.com/rliFV7ftHU— Jeopardy! (@Jeopardy) October 12, 2021
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Conversation28 Comments
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Comments are closed on this story.
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I absolutely love Matt Amadio, he is so smart . It doesn't bother me a bit that he says What instead of Who! I admire him very much. Also, who cares if he doesn't say "true daily double"? People just want to pick at anything.
I tune in every day to watch him. Go, Matt, Go!!!!!
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I look forward to seeing him win. He is amazing
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I also tune in just to see how he does!
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It seems he has little competition on the show, I think they like the rateing s . Most contestants look like deer in headlights.
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I Soo agree. I think they are doing this on purpose.
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Yeah!
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I love Matt. I look forward to Jeopardy every day. He's amazing and I can’t foresee anyone defeating him as long as he doesn’t go crazy at final jeopardy.
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I agree with ‘Blondie’. It may be his strategy to give incomplete answers but it’s a cheap way to play-
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Matt won 38 times and lost during his 39th appearance. He was outstanding, and I was so sad to see him end such a long run on the show. Congratulations, Matt!!
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The last question was so easy., He should have known it. I did. So did the others. Do I smell a 'fix" in ? Maybe he was thinking of all the income taxes he would have to pay. At least half of it all.......
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I felt the same. Maybe he felt it was time to get out. By missing an easy final jeopardy question he was telling us he had enough. I am sure he knew the answer.
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I think he either got bored or he simply had to return to his academics at Yale. I got a similar impression about Holzhauer, that he had just had enough. Hard to imagine walking away from that money but I'm not them.
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Should have said biathalon as opposed to biathlon. My bad.
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I think they should give any one who lost to him a chance to come back after his winning streak ends!
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Seems unfair he often gives incomplete answers which accepted when others must exact. If spelling doesn't count why did they reject biathlon and accept his biathlon. I see it as misspelling rather than adding a syllable. Same rules for all he should have been out long ago.
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They didn't reject biathlon, they rejected biathAlon.
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Is he left handed, righty, or ambidextrous.
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What hand does he write the daily double answer?
What hand does he hold the clicker?
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R
I don't dislike Matt the way I did James Holzhauer, but I won't be watching until he finally loses. Runaway games are dull. I don't begrudge him the wins, he is obviously a very smart young man, but I don't find it interesting to watch. I like there to be some competition and strategy when they get to final Jeopardy. This feels like watching a pro team play the local high school.
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It feels he doesn't understand a lot of his answers he had just retained what he had .read
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Think they should put Cap on how many games or how much money one person can play. It’s getting boring just watching him rattle off answers the whole show. Also feel bad for other contestants
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Yes Annie I agree with you 100%. As soon as those other contestants come on to play they don't stand a chance. I do agree there should be a limit as too how much money they can win and how long they can remain on the show.
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If you cant stand the heat get out of the kitchen. This isn't liberal left socialism its a game of skill!!!
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I so agree!!
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I thought at one time that they did have a limit, but then, with some fanfare, they eliminated the limit!
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R
In terms of likeability, Amodio is WAY down the scale.
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Not with me. I like his mild manner.
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I think Matt Amodio is THE most likable big-winner contestant. He is so genuine and comparatively humble player of them all!
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