Amy Schneider's historic 'Jeopardy!' run comes to an end with loss to Rhone Talsma

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Thursday, January 27, 2022
Amy Schnieder breaks silence after ending historic 'Jeopardy' streak
Schneider's 40-game winning streak, which began Nov. 17, came to an end Wednesday when she lost to Rhone Talsma, a librarian from Chicago.

Amy Schneider's historic run on "Jeopardy!" ended on Wednesday's episode after a 40-game winning streak.

Schneider, an engineering manager from Oakland, California, lost Wednesday to Rhone Talsma, a librarian from Chicago. She had a sizeable lead until Final Jeopardy when she dropped to second place after failing to produce an answer against her $8,000 bet. The episode began to air early Wednesday afternoon in certain markets in the Eastern and Central time zones.

Her list of accomplishments during her time on "Jeopardy!" is long: She is the winningest woman in the show's history and one of only four people to surpass $1 million in regular-season winnings.

Amy Schneider talks about her record-breaking run on "Jeopardy!" in her first live interview.

Earlier this week, she unseated Matt Amodio to claim the second-place spot for most consecutive games won in the show's history.

"The best part for me has been being on TV as my true self, expressing myself, representing the entire community of trans people and...just being a smart, confident woman doing something super normal like being on 'Jeopardy!'" Schneider told George Stephanopoulos in an exclusive interview on "Good Morning America" Monday morning.

While her regular-season play has come to an end, Schneider has earned a spot in the show's tournament of champions - the first openly trans person to do so. She'll be competing in the tournament alongside Amodio, who won $1,518,601 during his 38-game streak last year.

Amy Schneider has been a "Jeopardy!" fan her whole life. Now, she's become the first trans contestant to qualify for the 'Tournament of Champions.'

"I'm definitely looking forward to it. I'm also a little bit intimidated by it. When I first started, I wasn't sure if I might be going up against Matt Amodio and I was really hoping I wouldn't. And now it turns out I'm going to have to anyway," she said Monday on "GMA."

Schneider added: "It's going to be really challenging; a lot of strong players there, but it should be a lot of fun."

Throughout her run on the show, Schneider has fulfilled a prediction made by her 8th-grade classmates in Dayton, Ohio: She was voted most likely to be a "Jeopardy!" contestant based on her geography and spelling bee prowess.

Click here to see when "Jeopardy!" airs in your city.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.