“Jeopardy!” champion Matt Amodio’s stats continue to rise as he moves up yet another spot on the popular game show’s Hall of Fame.
The 30-year-old PH.d. student out of New Haven, Conn. returned to the show on Monday for its Season 38 premiere with $574,801 earned across 18 games, putting him in third place on the “Jeopardy!” all-time highest winning list in regular games, behind only legendary players James Holzhauer and Ken Jennings who won $2,462,216 and $2,520,700 respectively.
He continued his winning streak that night and again Tuesday, bringing his total earnings up to $678,801. While he still has a while to go before he cracks Holzhauer’s total earnings, his win on Tuesday earned him a different accolade in the “Jeopardy!” Hall of Fame. At 20 consecutive wins, Amodio is now tied for third place in that category with Julia Collins, who went on a similar winning streak in 2014 that only netted her $428,100.
In a preview for the episode, Amodio noted that being tied with Collins puts him in “pretty good company.”
He took to his own Twitter to note how happy he is to have tied with Collins and note what a fierce competitor he saw her as while watching her run.
“I enjoyed watching Julia on #jeopardy so much, what a thrill to try to tie her amazing streak!” he wrote.
In a follow-up tweet, he added: “Tied with @JeopardyJulia… unbelievable. I would say #Jeopardy dreams do come true, but at this point I’m way beyond anything I dreamt!”
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On Wednesday, Amodio will not only seek to beat Collins’ record, but he’ll attempt to increase his total winnings, further securing his place in third as well as inch ever-closer to Holzhauer and Jennings.
While there have been several champions in the game show’s history, none have won their games across more hosts than Amodio. He began his time on the show long after the death of Alex Trebek, winning game-after-game at the most chaotic time in the show’s history as a slew of guest hosts filled in each week. So far, his 19-game winning streak saw him field questions from Robin Roberts, LeVar Burton, David Faber, Joe Buck and, in Monday’s Season 38 premiere, the embattled Mike Richards.