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Amy Schneider makes history as Jeopardy! win-streak ends at 40

amy schneider jeopardy win streak ends after 40 games
Amy Schneider achieved the second-longest win streak in Jeopardy! history. Pic credit: Jeopardy!/YouTube

Jeopardy! contestant Amy Schneider has added her name to the history books for the long-running answer and question game show.

Schneider achieved an impressive win streak on the show, as she dominated the game and defeated opponents for 40 straight days. That also made her quite a bit richer in the process.

Following her first loss in 40 days, she spoke about how it felt to achieve that “remarkable” run on the show, which puts her in elite company.

Amy Schneider’s Jeopardy! streak stops at 40

On Wednesday, viewers watched the impressive Amy Schneider finally lose to a Jeopardy! opponent on stage. Schneider, an engineering manager from Oakland, California, was defeated by Chicago librarian Rhone Talsma.

Final Jeopardy! came down to “The only nation in the world whose name in English ends in H, and it’s also one of the 10 most populous.”

Talsma had the correct question, “What is Bangladesh?” and a wager of $12,000. That gave him just a $2,000 lead over the reigning champion. However, Schneider came up blank for her response, losing $8,000.

Once the totals were revealed for Final Jeopardy, Talsma had racked up $29,600, while Schneider had $19,600. That ended her two-month stay on the show. Even so, Schneider banked nearly $1.4 million during her impressive 40-day winning streak.

“It’s been a remarkable run. One for the books,” host Ken Jennings said ahead of Schneider’s loss Wednesday.

Schneider spoke about her accomplishment in a clip on the official Jeopardy! Instagram page.

“It’s really been an honor. I mean, just to really know that, like, I’m you know, one of the most successful people at a game I’ve loved since I was a kid, wanted to be on since I was a kid. And just to know that I’m part of its history now. I just, I don’t even know how to process it,” Schneider said.

The clip below also features a reveal of Schneider’s impressive stats, as host Ken Jennings talks about how much he enjoys watching a “great champion” play the game at a “high level.”

During Schneider’s win streak, 85 percent of her games were “runaway games” where she just couldn’t be caught. She also had 95 percent correct responses during the run.

However, Wednesday arguably brought her toughest opponent in her two months competing on the show. Schneider also admitted she could tell Rhone was “here to play” and was “going to be good.”

“I still came very close to winning, but I did feel like maybe I was slipping a little bit. And once it was clear that he was fast on the buzzer, I knew it was going to be a battle all the way,” she said.

In addition to achieving the second-longest winning streak, Amy Schneider became the first transgender woman to qualify for Jeopardy! Tournament of Champions.

Schneider shared stage with record holder

As mentioned in the clip above, Jeopardy! host Ken Jennings said the “two Jeopardy! champions in the show’s history with the longest streaks” were officially sharing the stage.

Jenning is considered the all-time greatest player in the history of the game. His win streak ended at 74 games, a mark that almost seems untouchable.

In addition, Jennings is the highest-earning Jeopardy! contestant of all time, having accumulated $4,522,700 in prize money while competing on the show.

He competed in multiple tournaments following his success on the show, including Jeopardy! Battle of the Decades and Jeopardy! The Greatest of All Time in January 2020. Jennings won the latter over two other Jeopardy! greats, giving him G.O.A.T. status for the game show.

Now Jennings shares hosting duties along with actress Mayim Bialik. The duo took on that role following various celebrity guest hosts filling in after the passing of longtime host Alex Trebek.

Next up for Amy Schneider will be a spot in the Tournament of Champions, with a chance to add even more winnings to her nearly $1.4 million.

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