Matt Amodio - Jeopardy! History Wiki - Fandom

Matthew "Matt" Benjamin Amodio, Ph.D. (b. December 4, 1990) is an American game show contestant who won 38 consecutive games on the game show Jeopardy!. A researcher with a doctorate in computer science at Yale University, he has won $1,519,601 in 39 appearances on Jeopardy!, the second-longest such streak in the show's history, behind Ken Jennings. making him the third millionaire contestant (based on regular-season play) after Ken Jennings and James Holzhauer. He is the tenth highest-earning American game show contestant of all time. Across all American game shows, he is the tenth highest-earning contestant of all time. His run on the show has been called the "Amodio Rodeo".

Contents

• 1 Early Life and Education
• 2 Academic Challenge
• 3 Jeopardy! Run
  • 3.1 Regular Play
  • 3.2 End of the Streak
  • 3.3 Tournament of Champions
  • 3.4 Invitational Tournament
  • 3.5 Jeopardy! Masters
• 4 Common with Other Champions
  • 4.1 Ken Jennings
  • 4.2 David Madden
  • 4.3 Roger Craig
  • 4.4 Matt Jackson
  • 4.5 Jason Zuffranieri
  • 4.6 Zach Newkirk
  • 4.7 Jonathan Fisher
  • 4.8 Andrew He
  • 4.9 Mattea Roach
  • 4.10 Ryan Long
  • 4.11 Hannah Wilson
  • 4.12 Drew Basile
  • 4.13 Scott Riccardi
• 5 Evaluation
• 6 Strategy
• 7 Trivia
• 8 Personal Life

Early Life and Education[]

Amodio is a native of Medina County, Ohio, though he does have extended family in New York per a Good Morning America interview given around the time of his run. His father, Jim Amodio, is an attorney. His mother, Bonnie Amodio, is an English professor. Matt has three older brothers (Steve, Dan, and Mike.)

He holds bachelor's and master's degrees from Ohio State University and an additional master's degree from the University of Wisconsin–Madison. He received a PhD from Yale University in 2022, after his Jeopardy! run, and completed a post doctoral assignment at the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard in Cambridge, Massachusetts from 2022-23. At the time of the 2024 Jeopardy Masters and the 2025 Jeopardy Invitational Tournament and Jeopardy Masters airings, he is a quantitative researcher in New York City.

Academic Challenge[]

Amodio was a contestant on the quiz show Academic Challenge on WEWS in Cleveland, Ohio, while studying at Medina High School in 2009. Participating with two fellow students against two competing high schools, his Medina team finished in second place.

Jeopardy! Run[]

He is the third-highest earner of all time in regular-season play, second-most successful in consecutive games won and fourth-biggest all-time winner. His averaged $39,963 per victory, second highest all-time to James Holzhauer at $76,944. During the 2022 postseason, he qualified as the second seed in the 2022 Tournament of Champions.

Regular Play[]

His winning streak came during an interregnum in the show's hosting position after longtime host Alex Trebek died in November 2020, during which the show was helmed by guest hosts. His streak spanned episodes hosted by Robin Roberts, LeVar Burton, David Faber, Joe Buck, Mike Richards and Mayim Bialik. As Jeopardy! films 5 episodes per filming day, he filmed his 39 episodes on 9 separate days (3 on his first day, 1 on his final day). Also, if include Ken Jennings, the host of ToC, you have met a total of 10 hosts during his appearance.

Game No.	Air Date	Final score	Cumulative Winnings	Notes
1	July 21, 2021	$40,400	$40,400	Matt's first nonrunaway game.He defeats 3-day champion Josh Saak.Later, Josh wins the first Champions Wildcard and advances to the following ToC in 2024.
2	July 22, 2021	$41,000	$81,400	He is the sixth champion to break $80,000 in just 2 games. Collaborators on this record include Larissa Kelly, Roger Craig, Mark Runsvold, Chris Fleitas, and James Holzhauer. All of them, except for Chris, have had three or more wins in a row.
3	July 23, 2021	$20,000	$101,400	Last show with Robin Roberts as host.
4	July 26, 2021	$21,000	$122,400	First show with LeVar Burton as host.Matt's second nonrunaway game.Fellow competitor Patrick Pearce finished the Double Jeopardy round with -$7,400, which is the lowest score ever recorded; however, adjusted for doubled dollar values, the pre-doubled -$5,100 set in Season 1 by Joan Kantor is the current record.
5	July 27, 2021	$25,400	$147,800	Matt's third nonrunaway game.
6	July 28, 2021	$47,000	$194,800
7	July 29, 2021	$74,000	$268,800	He achieved a Coryat score of $39,000 in this game, which is the second-highest Coryat of all time; ironically, the record of $39,200 was set by Ken Jennings in his seventh game.
8	July 30, 2021	$22,400	$291,200	Last show with LeVar Burton as host.
9	August 2, 2021	$19,200	$310,400	First show with David Faber as host.
10	August 3, 2021	$52,000	$362,400	First player to become a superchampion in the post Trebek era.
11	August 4, 2021	$6,200	$368,600	He broke the record for most money lost on a single Final Jeopardy wager, with $37,000; this surpasses both the adjusted record (pre-doubled $15,000 by Jack Lechner in 12/2/88) and the unadjusted record ($22,200 by Alex Lamb earlier in 7/13/21).
12	August 5, 2021	$26,000	$394,600
13	August 6, 2021	$35,600	$430,200	Last game with David Faber as host
14	August 9, 2021	$10,400	$440,600	First game with Joe Buck as host.The first game in which he crossed out the correct response in Final, record for second money lost on a single Final Jeopardy wager, with $34,000.
15	August 10, 2021	$35,000	$475,600
16	August 11, 2021	$29,600	$505,200	Second game in which he crossed out the correct response in Final.
17	August 12, 2021	$42,400	$547,600	Matt's fourth nonrunaway game.He surpassed Jason Zuffranieri for regular-season earnings and took the third-place spot in that regard.
18	August 13, 2021	$27,201	$574,801	Last game of Season 37.Last game with the 2008-2021 music.Last game with Joe Buck as guest host.Last game with John Lauderdale as the stage manager.The show was taped at Sony Pictures Stage 10 for the last time.Rowan Ward had exactly half of Matt's score going into Final Jeopardy. In the end, Rowan wagered everything, but got Final incorrect. Matt wagered $1 and got Final correct. His run would go on a month-long hiatus for two weeks of "Around The World With Alex" episodes as well as reruns of the 2021 Tournament of Champions, hosted by Buzzy Cohen. After that, Rowan Ward earned ToC qualifications.
19	September 13, 2021	$67,800	$642,601	First game of Season 38.First game with Jimmy McGuire as the stage manager.First game with the 2021-present music.First show with Mike Richards as host.Last game where Johnny Gilbert's opening is "This is Jeopardy!"Game prefaced with announcement of the renaming of Sony Pictures Studios Stage 10 as "The Alex Trebek Stage" in a ceremony earlier the same day of taping, attended by Jean, Matthew, Emily, and Nicky Trebek, and emceed by Chairman and CEO of Sony Pictures Entertainment, Tony Vinciquerra.He tied Jason Zuffranieri and David Madden for fourth longest winning streak. $67,800 is also believed to be a one-day record for a season premiere.
20	September 14, 2021	$36,200	$678,801	First game where Johnny Gilbert's opening is "From the Alex Trebek Stage at Sony Pictures Studios, this is Jeopardy!"
21	September 15, 2021	$61,200	$740,001	He passed Julia Collins for third longest winning streak; additionally, he was the only the third contestant to pass $60,000 three times.
22	September 16, 2021	$35,400	$775,401	He started Double Jeopardy with -$600 and ended it with $30,400; this is the highest amount of money amassed in Double Jeopardy after entering the round with a negative total and win regular game after being below $0 going into DJ! since Zach Newkirk on june 9, 2020 (30th all-time since October 2004). one years and three months later, the challenger who beat the super champion (Cris Pannullo) to become the new champion (Andy Tirrell) went through the same process as his 22 games. Passed David Madden for fourth-highest earnings (including tournament play).
23	September 17, 2021	$50,400	$825,801	Last show with Mike Richards as host.
24	September 20, 2021	$31,200	$857,001	First game with Mayim Bialik as host.Matt's fifth nonrunaway game.The only non-runaway game in regular season play where he was actually in danger of losing as he did not get Final Jeopardy correct; luckily, second-place challenger Tracy Pitzel did not either.
25	September 21, 2021	$36,200	$893,201	He broke the record for most money lost on a Daily Double ($15,000) since October 4, 2004. Along with Steve Berman, he co-owns the record for highest loss on a single Daily Double, and a pre-doubled $7,500 loss in Steve's 3rd game. Expanding to tournaments, Alex Jacob's $15,600 in the March 1, 2019 All-Star Game is the highest DD miss.
26	September 22, 2021	$36,200	$929,401
27	September 23, 2021	$25,800	$955,201	Third game in which he crossed out the correct response in Final.
28	September 24, 2021	$48,800	$1,004,001	He is the third contestant to reach $1,000,000 in regular play, and fourth overall (including tournaments) and achieved the record faster than Ken Jennings (30 games) but slower than James Holzhauer (14 games).
29	September 27, 2021	$33,000	$1,037,001
30	September 28, 2021	$70,400	$1,107,401	He is only the second contestant to surpass $70,000 twice.
31	September 29, 2021	$50,600	$1,158,001
32	September 30, 2021	$54,400	$1,212,401	Final Jeopardy! question was the creation of the Hippocrene spring. He correctly gave the Greek divine horse Pegasus as the answer. Host Mayim Bialik also noted that the "Hippo" in Hippocrene means "horse." Coincidentally, the $400 Animals clue from the series premiere on September 10, 1984 was "Close relative of the pig, though its name means 'river horse'", to which the correct response was "What is hippopotamus?"
33	October 1, 2021	$55,400	$1,267,801	He moved into #10 on American game show winnings list and passed James Holzhauer for second-longest winning streak in regular play.
34	October 4, 2021	$83,000	$1,350,801	He is currently the highest one-day total of anybody not named James Holzhauer.
35	October 5, 2021	$50,000	$1,400,801
36	October 6, 2021	$16,600	$1,417,401
37	October 7, 2021	$50,400	$1,467,801	The sweater he wore this game was originally owned by James Weldon, who he defeated in his 12th game.
38	October 8, 2021	$50,800	$1,518,601	Last game with Mike Richards as executive producer and writer.
39	October 11, 2021	$5,600	$1,519,601	First game with Michael Davies as executive producer.Only regular season play game where Matt did not find the Daily Doubles.Matt's sixth and final nonrunaway game in regular season play.Lost to Jonathan Fisher, who went on a 11-game winning streak.He trailed Fisher and another challenger Jessica Stephens heading into Final Jeopardy!, the first time he trailed a challenger at that point of the game. It was the 10th game in which he failed to give a correct response in Final Jeopardy. Later, Jessica Stephens joined the ToC by winning Week 1 of the SCT.

End of the Streak[]

He was defeated by Jonathan Fisher on October 11, 2021. He had a lead at the end of the Jeopardy round ($9,800 vs $4,000 for Jonathan) despite not finding the Daily Double. However, he gave four incorrect responses in Double Jeopardy (worth a total of $6,000) and did not find either daily double. This is the only episode he hasn't found any DDs so far, giving him a net gain of only $800 for that round and putting him in third place going into Final Jeopardy. He did not answer correctly to Final Jeopardy either, the tenth time he failed to do so, and only the second instance in which it was not a Triple Stumper. He finished in third place with $5,600 and was given the $1,000 consolation prize.

Jonathan went on to win 11 games and $246,100, making him the highest-winning and longest streaking giant killer (term given to contestants who defeat ultrachampions, or people that have won 10 or more games) taking both records away from Emma Boettcher (3 games, $98,002). Jonathan's run also made history, but in a different way - Matt and Jonathan are the only back-to-back super champions in Jeopardy history. Both players would go on to play in the 2022 Tournament of Champions. In addition, Jessica Stephens later won the 2022 Second Chance and qualified for ToC, setting a unique record of all participants in one contest advancing to ToC.

Tournament of Champions[]

In the exhibition match, he faced off against Amy Schneider and Mattea Roach. Throughout the first two runs, he came up with 18/28 correct responses (including 2/2 Daily Doubles). Although he and Amy got Final correct, this did not count towards the winnings.

In the second semifinal game, he faced off against John Focht and Sam Buttrey. Throughout the first two rounds, he came up with 19/21 correct responses (including 1/1 Daily Double). Everyone got Final correct, but after losing to Sam, he and John took home $10,000.

Invitational Tournament[]

In the first quarterfinal game, he faced off against Hannah Wilson and Doug Molitor. Throughout the first two rounds, he came up with 26/28 correct responses (including 1/1 Daily Double). Doug finished Double Jeopardy with -$3,200 and could not play Final Jeopardy. Both remaining players got Final correct. Matt advanced to the semifinals. Hannah and Doug received $5,000.

In the second semifinal game, he faced off against Luigi de Guzman and Emily Sands. Throughout the first two rounds, he came up with 18/21 correct responses (including 2/2 Daily Doubles). He was the only player correct in Final and advanced to the finals. Luigi and Emily received $10,000.

In the finals, he faced off against Roger Craig and Juveria Zaheer. Throughout the finals (which lasted two games), he came up with 46/52 correct responses (including 1/1 Daily Double). Everyone got 1/2 Final Jeopardy correct. Matt won $150,000. Roger and Juveria received $50,000. All three finalists advanced to Jeopardy Masters.

Jeopardy! Masters[]

• Season 1 Quarterfinals
• Season 1 Semifinals
• Season 1 Finals
• Season 2 Quarterfinals
• Season 3 Knockout Rounds
• Season 3 Quarterfinals

He played in the first game of night one against Amy Schneider and Andrew He. Throughout the first two rounds, he came up with 12/15 correct responses (including 1/1 Daily Double). Everyone got Final correct. Matt earned no match points.

He played in the second game of night two against Andrew He and James Holzhauer. Throughout the first two rounds, he came up with 16/18 correct responses (including 2/2 Daily Doubles). He and James were tied going into Final Jeopardy. Nobody got Final correct. He earned 3 match points.

He played in the second game of night three against Andrew He and Mattea Roach. Throughout the first two rounds, he came up with 18/22 correct responses. Everyone got Final correct. He earned no match points and still has 3 match points.

He played in the second game of night four against James Holzhauer and Mattea Roach. Throughout the first two rounds, he came up with 14/20 correct responses (including 1/2 Daily Doubles). He finished Double Jeopardy with -2,000 and earned no match points. He still has 3 match points.

He played in the first game of night five against Mattea Roach and Amy Schneider. Throughout the first two rounds, he came up with 17/19 correct responses (including 1/1 Daily Double). He and Mattea got Final incorrect, but still earned 3 match points for a total of 6 match points.

He played in the second game of night six against James Holzhauer and Amy Schneider. Throughout the first two rounds, he came up with 11/12 correct responses (including 1/1 Daily Double). He and James got Final incorrect. He earned no match points and still has 6 match points.

He played in the first game of night seven against Mattea Roach and Sam Buttrey. Throughout the first two rounds, he came up with 25/26 correct responses (including 3/3 Daily Doubles). He and Mattea got Final incorrect. He earned 3 match points for a total of 9 match points.

He advanced to the semifinals along with James Holzhauer, Mattea Roach and Andrew He. Sam Buttrey took home $50,000 and Amy Schneider took home $75,000.

He played in the first game of night one against James Holzhauer and Andrew He. Throughout the first two rounds, he came up with 10/12 correct responses. Everyone got Final correct. He earned no match points.

He played in both games of night two. In game one, he faced James Holzhauer and Mattea Roach. Throughout the first two rounds, he came up with 14/19 correct responses (including 0/1 Daily Double). Nobody got Final correct. He earned no match points. In game two, he faced Mattea Roach and Andrew He. Throughout the first two rounds, he came up with 19/22 correct responses (including 2/2 Daily Doubles). Again, nobody got Final correct. He made a tribute message "What an honor it is to share a stage with these wonderful people". He earned 3 match points.

At the end, there was a tie for last place with 2 match points (Mattea Roach and Andrew He). The first tiebreaker was the number of games won in the semifinals. Both have 0. The second tiebreaker was the number of correct responses during the semifinals. By a score of 50-45, he was joined by Mattea Roach and James Holzhauer. Andrew He took home $100,000.

He faced Mattea Roach and James Holzhauer. Throughout the finals, he came up with a combined 26/30 (including 1/1 Daily Double). Everyone got 1/2 Final correct. With where the scores were, James Holzhauer came from behind to become this season's winner. Mattea Roach took home $250,000 and he took home $150,000.

He played in the first game of night one against Mattea Roach and Victoria Groce. Throughout the first two rounds, he came up with 13/15 correct responses (including 0/1 Daily Double). He was the only player correct, but Victoria's runaway gave her 3 match points. He earned no match points.

He played in the first game of night two against James Holzhauer and Mattea Roach. Throughout the first two rounds, he came up with 20/21 correct responses (including 1/1 Daily Double). Everyone got Final correct. He earned 1 match point.

He played in the first game of night three against Yogesh Raut and Amy Schneider. Throughout the first two rounds, he came up with 14/18 correct responses (including 2/2 Daily Doubles). He and Amy got Final correct. However, Yogesh's runaway gave him 3 match points. He earned no match points.

He played in the first game of night four against Amy Schneider and Mattea Roach. Throughout the first two rounds, he came up with 15/18 correct responses. Everyone got Final correct. He earned no match points.

He played in the first game of night five against Victoria Groce and James Holzhauer. Throughout the first two rounds, he came up with 5/8 correct responses. Everyone got Final correct. He earned no match points.

He played in the first game of night six against Yogesh Raut and James Holzhauer. Throughout the first two rounds, he came up with 16/19 correct responses (including 1/2 Daily Doubles). He and James got Final correct. He earned 1 match point for a total of 2 match points.

The top 4 finishers were Victoria Groce, Yogesh Raut, Amy Schneider and James Holzhauer. He took home $50,000 and Mattea Roach took home $75,000.

He played in Game 2 of the first Knockout episode against Roger Craig and Juveria Zaheer. Throughout the first two rounds, he came up with 17/19 correct responses (including 0/1 Daily Double). Everyone got Final correct. He earned 1 match point.

He played in Game 1 of the third Knockout episode against Victoria Groce and Adriana Harmeyer. Throughout the first two rounds, he came up with 14/14 correct responses. Everyone got Final correct. He earned 1 match point for a total of 2 match points.

He secured a spot in the quarterfinals along with Victoria Groce, Roger Craig, Juveria Zaheer, Yogesh Raut and Isaac Hirsch. Brad Rutter, Adriana Harmeyer and Neilesh Vinjamuri received $15,000.

He played in Game 2 of the first quarterfinal Episode against Juveria Zaheer and Isaac Hirsch. Throughout the first two rounds, he came up with 17/21 correct responses (including 2/2 Daily Doubles). He was the only player correct in Final, and after a come from behind win, he earned 3 match points for a total of 5 match points.

He played in Game 1 of the second quarterfinal Episode against Victoria Groce and Yogesh Raut. Throughout the first two rounds, he came up with 9/12 correct responses (including 0/1 Daily Double). No one got Final correct. He earned no match points and still has 5 match points.

He played in Game 2 of the third quarterfinal Episode against Juveria Zaheer and Roger Craig. Throughout the first two rounds, he came up with 19/22 correct responses (including 1/2 Daily Doubles). Roger finished Double Jeopardy with -400 and could not play Final Jeopardy. Therefore, he received $50,000 for sixth place. Both remaining players got Final correct after originally going for James. He earned 1 match point for a total of 6 match points.

Isaac Hirsch also had 6 match points. Based on the first tiebreaker, # of games won (2-1), Isaac Hirsch advanced to the semifinals. Juveria Zaheer, Yogesh Raut and Victoria Groce joined Isaac. Matt Amodio received $75,000.

Common with Other Champions[]

Ken Jennings[]

• Both achieved the highest Coryat Score record in their 7th games.
• Both holds a record of over $70,000. The difference is that Ken has only done it once, while Matt has done it three times.
• Both went on winning streaks over two seasons.
• They struggled in their 18th game. Matt was at risk of a come-back defeat, and Ken struggled enough to set the record for an all-time opponent in 18 straight wins.
• About a month later, they became a millionaire.
• Except for the episode where both got off, they held the 1st place until the end.

David Madden[]

• Based on the airing date, they won through two seasons.
• Both dropped out on Monday, finishing third before the last regular game FJ. The difference is that David moved up to 2nd place.
• They didn't win a single opponent in the ToC semifinals, and they had a 4-time champ. Among them, David lost to the four-game champion and Matt lost to the winners of other tournaments. Coincidentally, both of them who won in the semifinals were placed as 2nd runner-up.
• None of the contestants who appeared in the season, including themselves, made it to the ToC finals (David - S21, Matt - S37).
• The two finalists competed in the Regular Game (David - Bill MacDonald and Vik Vaz, Matt - Andrew He and Amy Schneider). The difference is that David's ToC was won by a third person (Michael Falk) and Matt's ToC was won by the Regular Game winner.

Roger Craig[]

• Both broke the $100,000 mark in three games, and Roger broke it in just two.
• In the challenge for second game, one participant got off before FJ!.
• Both have a total of seven DD wagers of $10,000 or more, tied for the second most all-time record like Andrew He. In first place is James Holzhauer, with a whopping 32, and has never failed a DD over $10,000. Including the special event, it is number 35.
• Both have records of winning over $70,000, with Matt having three.
• Both won $50,000 in a Jeopardy Masters Tournament.
• Both got off in 3rd place. The difference is that Matt was in third before the last FJ and Roger was in first before the last FJ! before dropping to third.
• Both of them were students at the time of Regular Game, and had graduated from ToC.
• At the time of Regular Play, New enters the city you live in (Roger: Newark, Matt: New Haven).

Matt Jackson[]

• Both men beat 3-time men's (Dylan Parson) champions to become the new champions.
• The timing of getting off is also similar, and Jackson got off 3 days later.

Jason Zuffranieri[]

• Like Ken and David, Both went on a winning streak over two seasons.
• Both have had rounds of regular games winning under $10,000. Matt's 11th game, Jason's 5th and 13th games.
• Both recorded nonlock games six times in their regular run.
• The 6th FJ that their solved was later resubmitted as another Superchamp's FJ. In Jason's case, it was resubmitted as Amy's 21st FJ (The Carpathia), and in Matt's case, it was resubmitted as Cris' 22nd (last) FJ (The Tempest).
• Not a single win in ToC. Also, the two who beat them in the semifinals were both runners-up. In addition, the first name of the finalist is Sam.

Zach Newkirk[]

• Even though both went down to minus before the DJ round, they reversed themselves and won. Zach's first appearance, Matt's 22th game.
• They went on to win over two seasons. The difference is that Zach has been delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
• Both left on Monday. When they left, the champions who defeated them went on a winning streak.
• Like the contestants they competed with, they entered ToC. Brian Chang for Zach, Jessica Stephens and Jonathan Fisher for Matt. The difference is that Zach beat the challenger, and Matt lost to both. Also, none of the opponents they competed with made it to the semifinals.
• Both were thrashed by Sam Buttrey in ToC, Zach in the Quarterfinal and Matt in the Semifinal.
• They defeated a champion who qualified for a Tournament on their debut day.
• Both lost their final regular season play game to a contestant who competed in a Tournament.

Jonathan Fisher[]

• Both held first place when they reached the championship, doubled the prize money in FJ and won.
• They didn't miss first place until they both got off.
• Both met the 4-time champion in the ToC where they both lost. This also applies to Ryan.
• They defeated a champion who qualified for a Tournament on their debut day.
• Both lost their final regular season play game to a contestant who competed in a Tournament.

Andrew He[]

• Both topped $100,000 in three games and broke over $40,000 in those times. For reference, Matt did it twice and Andrew did it once.
• Both of them Jeopardy! Round's highest score is $18,600. Matt A achieved it in the 25th and 34th games, and Andrew in the 2nd game. For reference, Amy Schnider also held the same record in 18th game as they did.
• All of their successor champions have achieved 10 or more consecutive wins. And successive champions set another record, Jonathan Fisher winning 10+ consecutive champions and also setting a record of 10+ consecutive wins, and Amy Schneider setting the record for the most consecutive wins among women's most consecutive champions, most money recipients, and ToC winners.
• The champions before their debut made it to the Champions Wildcard Tournament. The difference was that the champion before Andrew finished as a semifinalist and the champion before Matt won the Tournament and a ticket to the Tournament of Champions.

Mattea Roach[]

• Both were college students at the time of the show.
• Both had the last game with a staff member during their run.
• Both won $75,000 in a Jeopardy Masters Tournament.
• The title was handed over to the champions of the same gender, and both new champions succeeded in re-election.
• Like Matt, she didn't win a single opponent in the semifinals. The difference is that Matt was in second place before FJ, while Mattea lost to his opponent.
• The champions before their debut made it to the Champions Wildcard Tournament. The difference was that the champion before Mattea finished as a quarterfinalist and the champion before Matt won the Tournament and a ticket to the Tournament of Champions.
• Both lost their final regular season play game to a contestant who competed in a Tournament.

Ryan Long[]

• Both left on Monday, finishing in third place.
• All the new champions succeeded in winning more than 5 consecutive victories.
• Like Matt, he lost to the 4-time champion in the ToC (Maureen O'Neil).
• The champions before their debut made it to the Champions Wildcard Tournament. The difference was that the champion before Ryan finished as a semifinalist and the champion before Matt won the Tournament and a ticket to the Tournament of Champions.
• Both lost their final regular season play game to a contestant who competed in a 2022 Tournament of Champions.

Hannah Wilson[]

• Both the former and successor champions under his regime qualified for ToC, and the former champion won three times in a row. Matt's Josh Saak advanced as Wildcard champion.
• Including themselves, a total of 4 people qualified to advance to ToC under my system, and 2 people advanced as Second Chance winners. Among these, one person from the Hannah system came up through the Juveria Zaheer champion process.
• Both lost to champions who had won four games in a row from ToC, and in Matt's case, the winner was the winner of another tournament.
• Both got off on Monday. The difference was Matt placed third in the last regular game and Hannah placed second in the last regular game.
• Both lost their final regular season play game to a contestant who competed in a Tournament of Champions.

Drew Basile[]

• Both defeated the champion who qualified for ToC and became new champions. However, the difference is that Matt's previous champion won the next ToC as a Wildcard champion.
• Both had more than 5 consecutive wins, and the challenger with 4 consecutive wins received a score of -$7K.
• They defeated a champion who qualified for a Tournament on their debut day.

Scott Riccardi[]

• Both have recorded at least two wins of $50,000 or more.
• Their giant killers' first name is Jonathan (Matt's giant killer is Jonathan Fisher, and Scott's giant killer is Jonathan Hugendubler). In addition, both giant killers went on to win another game.
• They defeated a champion who qualified for a Tournament on their debut day.
• Both lost their final regular season play game to a contestant who competed in a Tournament.

Evaluation[]

He is the longest-serving champion since James, and his strategy is similar to that of James. Just as James pushed for a bold strategy in DD and FJ, Matt also pushed for a bold strategy like James. As a result, I was able to record the 2nd DD earning ever after James.

However, unlike James, who never failed in a regular game with DD or FJ over $10,000, in Matt's case, he often failed. Nevertheless, she was able to record 38 consecutive wins following Amy and James.

Another tactic was to score maximum points in the Jeopardy Round, and also choose to bet moderately in the DD. This method was also widely used by later ultrachampions. His gameplay style mimics that of Holzhauer in the Jeopardy round in that he selects the highest value clues on the board first to amass as much money as possible with which to wager whenever he hits a Daily Double, and always wagers everything he has on the Jeopardy round Daily Double. In the Double Jeopardy round, though his regular style is mimicking of Holzhauer, his Daily Double style is much more similar to that of Jennings in that he wagers somewhat conservatively unless he is behind someone else or is in a close game; in these cases, his bet is much more similar to Holzhauer. Matt phrases his responses as "What's..." rather than "what is/who is" regardless of what is grammatically correct, drawing criticism from some fans. He chose this strategy as it is one less thing he has to think about when forming his response. Jeopardy! even went out of its way to clarify that Amodio's strategy is perfectly within the rules, noting that the only requirement is for responses to be in the form of a question - it need not be grammatically correct.

After that, he emerged as a strong candidate for the championship in ToC, but he became the only participant among millionaires who failed to advance to the finals when he met a powerful dark horse. Nevertheless, it seems that we will be able to meet often in other tournaments depending on the achievements in the future.

After that, at the Masters, not only did he take revenge on Sam, but he saved Millionaire's pride by finishing third.

Strategy[]

He is noted for his strategy of consistently prefacing his responses with "What's" instead of adjusting the interrogative pronoun to fit the response. He chose this method because Jeopardy! rules allow any question containing the correct response to be used; by not having to adjust the pronoun, he has one less thing to think about when formulating a response, potentially speeding response time. He has credited Wikipedia's format for allowing him to meander through various topics in a random but logical progression and learn content quickly.

Trivia[]

• The 10+ champions dropped off on Monday along with David Madden, Julia Collins, James Holzhauer, Ryan Long, and Harrison Whitaker.
• Like Superchamp James Holzhauer and Ryan Long, the victor has a history of winning streak, both of which have appeared on ToC.
• Starting with him, it is not an exaggeration to say that the dynasty of Super champions was opened. Jonathan Fisher, who defeated him, had 11 straight wins, and Tyler Rhode succeeded in winning five in a row after defeating Nancy Donehower, who had defeated Fisher. After the fifth episodes, Amy Schneider, who defeated 5-time champ Andrew He, go for 40 wins. Also, three months later, Mattea Roach had a 23-game winning streak, and a week after leaving, Ryan Long had a 16-game winning streak. For that reason, there are only 61 champions during S38 (based on 190 episodes). In S39, Cris Pannullo and Ray Lalonde continue the lineage of Superchampion.
• Following Ken Jennings, David Madden, and Jason Zuffranieri, he is the fourth super champion to win 10 or more games in a row over two seasons.
• He was given the nickname "Ol' Mr. Can't Be Caught" by Joe Buck in his 16th game.
• A few online are pushing for him to become a Chaser on ABC's The Chase.
• In a Reddit AMA, when asked about the Final Jeopardy clue in the game that he lost, which he did not know the answer to, he clarified that he did not get it incorrect on purpose, but overlooked a major part of the clue, being the part about the Danube River, which misled him towards Poland instead of the correct answer (Austria).
• As of the 2025 Masters, his ranks 8th in American game show winnings records.
• Like S25 ToC runner-up Larissa Kelly, he is the second participant with a higher regular game prize money than the longest winning streak champion.
• It's a hypothesis, but if he tried to win 75 consecutive wins, he could have broken the record in front of Ken sitting in the MC seat exactly 17 years after he left.
• After Zach Newkirk among the champions with 5 or more wins, he is the second participant to meet two or more hosts when trying to win a streak. Mattea Roach later met two or more hosts for the third time.
• According to the interview, the winning prize money will be used for finance. He said in a later Jeopardy appearance that he used some of the money to fix his car and hire an accountant.
• After he got off, the champions after Matt had more than 10 wins in a row if they succeeded in the challenge of 6 consecutive wins. It was broken by Eric Ahasic.
• Unusually, like Brad Rutter, all of his losing matches came in third place (including exhibition matches).
• He is the first and only person whose run contained the runs of four other separate Tournament of Champions challengers. Later, Hannah Wilson followed suit, setting a record of having more than three competitors, including herself, advance to ToC - Josh Saak from his first game, Rowan Ward from his 18th game, and Jessica Stephens and Jonathan Fisher from his 39th game. Since the three people he competed in SCT/CWC won, and the winning opponent also had to win at least four consecutive wins, it seems that this record will be maintained for the time being.
• He is the first Jeopardy! millionaire to not make to the ToC finals.
• In ABC's version of The Chase, Season 2 saw them joined by a fourth chaser, Mark "The Beast" Labbett, and there is large push for Season 3 or Season 4 to include Him as a Chaser as well.
• Until 2025, he had not won a Jeopardy tournament. This was broken when he won the 2025 Jeopardy Invitational Tournament (JIT).
• Along with Ken Jennings, he is one of the two millionaires to have never won a ToC.

Personal Life[]

Amodio is an avid baseball fan and had the opportunity to throw an opening pitch for at least one baseball game after his Jeopardy run. He played the sport in high school as well.

At the time of the 2023 Jeopardy Masters airing, Amodio mentioned a girlfriend who helped him improve his knowledge of pop culture and movie trivia. At the end of the 2025 JIT, he also credited her for helping him write comedic anecdotes for his Jeopardy appearances.

At the time of the 2024 Jeopardy Masters airing, he reported being a fan of Jane Austen's work.