Long-running “Jeopardy!” champion Amy Schneider lost in an episode that aired on Wednesday, ending the second-longest winning streak in the quiz show’s history.
Schneider, an engineering manager from Oakland, California, was defeated by Rhone Talsma, a librarian from Chicago, as he raked in $29,600 in this latest game, besting Schneider at $19,600.
Almost all of Schneider’s wins had been in 2-to-1 blowouts going into Final Jeopardy, meaning those final questions only figured in how much prize money she’d score.
But Wednesday’s game was unusually close, with Schneider only leading Talsma $27,600-$17,600 headed into that last question, under the category “Countries of the World.”
The show wanted to know which is the only nation that ends its English spelling with an “h” and is also among the world’s top 10 most populous countries.
Talsma correctly asked, “What is Bangladesh?” while Schneider came up blank. His winning bet of $12,000 and her losing wager of $8,000 meant a new champion was suddenly crowned.
Talsma’s quick trigger was key to staying close throughout the game, said Schneider.
“I had thought that Rhone was going to be tough going into it,” she said in a statement released by the show.
“I loved hanging out with him, we had great conversation before the taping, but I could tell that he was here to play and that he 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.”
When Talsma took the “Jeopardy!” stage in Culver City, the librarian had no idea he’d be facing down one of the winningest contestants in the show’s history.
“I’m still in shock,” Talsma said. “This is my favorite show … I was so excited to be here and I just wanted to do my best. I did not expect to be facing a 40-day champion, and I was excited to maybe see someone else slay the giant. I just really didn’t think it was going to be me, so I’m thrilled.”
Schneider’s success on the show was particularly celebrated by the transgender community, as she became the first transgender contestant to make it to this fall’s Tournament of Champions and is now the highest earning female competitor in “Jeopardy!” history.
Schneider’s 40-game streak is second only to Ken Jennings’ record streak of 74 wins.
She won $1,382,800 over this stretch, good for No. 4 all-time in regular season play, trailing only Jennings ($2.5 million), James Holzhauer ($2.4 million) and Matt Amodio ($1.5 million).
Coincidentally, Holzhauer’s run on the show was also ended by a Windy City bookworm as he was ousted by University of Chicago librarian Emma Boettcher in 2019.
Jennings now splits “Jeopardy!” hosting duties with former “Blossom” and “Big Bang Theory” actor Mayim Bialik and he’s presided over Schneider’s winning streak.
“It’s really been an honor,” Schneider said. “To know that I’m one of the most successful people at a game I’ve loved since I was a kid and to know that I’m a part of its history now, I just don’t know how to process it.”
Source: | This article originally belongs to Nbcnews.com
