‘Jeopardy’ Champion Amy Schneider Beats Matt Amodio’s Streak for Second-Most Consecutive Wins

variety.com:

Rebecca Rubin Film and Media ReporterReigning “Jeopardy” champion Amy Schneider is coming for Ken Jennings’ hall-of-fame spot.She may have a long way to go, but on Monday, Schneider claimed her 39th victory, making her the contestant with the second-most consecutive wins in the game show’s history.

Only Jennings, who newly took over hosting duties from the late Alex Trebek, has a longer winning streak. Jennings became a household name in 2004 after notching an unprecedented 74 back-to-back triumphs.In the 39 games she has conquered so far, Schneider, an engineering manager from Oakland, Calif., has collected a casual $1,319,800.“It still feels unreal,” Schneider said in a statement. “Knowing that I had this chance, I was definitely thinking about it.

Then Ken said it, and I thought, ‘Alright, I just accomplished this huge thing’ and it was pretty great.” In taking the No. 2 perch, Schneider dethroned Matt Amodio, who previously occupied second place with 38 wins earlier this season.

Schneider’s dominance has pushed Amodio, a Ph.D. student in computer science at Yale, to the No. 3 spot. Schneider and Amodio will face off in the next edition of the Tournament of Champions, the annual “Jeopardy” event featuring the season’s top 15 players.