Amy Schneider was already a ‘Jeopardy!’ queen. Now she’s the champ to rule them all.
The New Jersey native beat her three-time title holder and one-time runner-up, Jeopardy! champion Alex Trebek, to complete her own personal victory lap.
For most of the past month, the 38-year-old Schneider has been a “Jeopardy!” champion, beating Trebek, who became the seventh man ever to win the game’s annual prize.
The victory was one of three Trebek won on Friday night, all of them by more than two games, giving the longtime champ three straight victories.
“I feel so lucky and honored to have this opportunity,” Trebek told the Associated Press on Saturday, saying it was “a great thrill” to win the game’s grand prize.
Alex Trebek wins, to become the seventh in NBA history to win a game on Jeopardy! | USA Today Sports/The Associated Press
As usual, Trebek didn’t sound too impressed with his own performance. He wasn’t as good as he used to be.
“I have a very long way to go yet,” he said. “This is a very challenging game. If you really want to win, you have to be as good as you can. I was just playing well. The people at the game should watch me because I didn’t do very well.”
After Saturday night’s game, Trebek was down to $1,943,116, the third-largest jackpot by far. He’ll collect it on Sunday, when he starts his $3 million quest to win $3 million and become not only the game’s biggest winner, but one of America’s greatest ever athletes.
The only remaining question is whether he goes for the $3 million, win or lose, on Sunday night, or instead opts for the $2 million and go home happy.
Jeopardy! is usually the place to play when you’re in the top 3 of the money — and you’ve done well so far — but if you’re not that good — or just want to do it for the fun of it — there’s Jeopard