The season of the so-called “super champion” on “Jeopardy!” shows no signs of slowing down.
Mattea Roach has won 14 games in a row after besting the competition again April 22 when she tacked on another $34,000. The 23-year-old Canadian tutor has now won $320,081 and qualified for the Tournament of Champions.
“I’m only 23. So, this is like so much more money than I’ve ever seen in my entire life,” Roach told the show last week after she won her 12th straight game. “It’s really amazing. I’m so grateful.”
This season of “Jeopardy!” has been notable for the long reigns of its champions. Roach joins Amy Schneider, Jonathan Fisher and Matt Amodio as players who’ve enjoyed double-digit win streaks.
Roach is cementing her place in the show's history. She now owns the eighth-longest winning streak in “Jeopardy!” history — Schneider (40 games) and Amodio (38 games) are second and third, respectively, behind contestant-turned-host Ken Jennings (74 games). She is also 10th on the all-time winnings list in regular season play.
“This has been such a crazy season of streaks,” Mattea told "Jeopardy!" “I was fully thinking, you know, Amy might still be here. If it’s not Amy, there’s going to be some other super champion that’s just going to knock me out game one. And then, I guess what I didn’t realize is maybe I could become the super champion I wanted to see in the world.”
Roach is sad that she can’t share her accomplishment with the late Alex Trebek, who was also Canadian.
“It is somewhat bittersweet and sad that (this streak) is happening after he passed, and that he is not getting to celebrate what is now by far the longest run by a Canadian contestant on the show,” she told CTV News.
And despite etching her name in “Jeopardy!” lore, Roach remains grounded, shuddering at the thought of potentially meeting the likes of Schneider in the Tournament of Champions.
“I am so excited to probably lose to her,” she said.