AMY SCHNEIDER’S ‘JEOPARDY!’ REIGN ENDS AFTER 40 GAMES
AND $1,382,800 IN WINNINGS

Chicago Librarian Rhone Talsma Wins With $29,600

CULVER CITY, CALIF. (January 26, 2022) – The second-longest consecutive win streak in JEOPARDY! history is over: 40-game champion Amy Schneider’s reign came to an end today when Rhone Talsma, a librarian from Chicago, finished in first place with a score of $29,600. Schneider finished second with $19,600.

Talsma hit a key Daily Double late in the Double Jeopardy! round and responded correctly, which kept the game competitive. Heading into Final Jeopardy!, Schneider led with a score of $27,600, while Talsma had $17,600.

The Final Jeopardy! category was COUNTRIES OF THE WORLD and the clue read: THE ONLY NATION IN THE WORLD WHOSE NAME IN ENGLISH ENDS IN AN H, IT’S ALSO ONE OF THE 10 MOST POPULOUS. The correct response: “What is Bangladesh?”

Talsma responded correctly; Schneider did not provide a response, and a new JEOPARDY! champion was crowned.

“I had thought that Rhone was going to be tough going into it,” said Schneider. “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.”

In addition to holding the number two spot on the all-time consecutive wins list behind only Ken Jennings (74 wins), Schneider’s $1,382,800 puts her in fourth place on the all-time regular season cash winnings list behind Matt Amodio ($1,518,601), James Holzhauer ($2,462,216), and Jennings ($2,520,700).

“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.”

Schneider will return for the Tournament of Champions this fall. Talsma will face two new challengers on Thursday’s show.

“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.”

JEOPARDY!, America’s Favorite Quiz Show™, is in its 38^th season in syndication. With a weekly audience over 20 million viewers,* JEOPARDY! is the top-rated quiz show on television. The show has won a total of 42 Emmy^® Awards, holds the Guinness World Records^® title for the most Emmy^® Awards won by a TV game show, and received a Peabody Award for “celebrating and rewarding knowledge.” JEOPARDY! is produced by Sony Pictures Television, a Sony Pictures Entertainment Company; it is distributed domestically by CBS Media Ventures and internationally by ViacomCBS Global Distribution Group, both units of ViacomCBS. For more information, please visit Jeopardy.com.

* Source: Nielsen NPower, 2020/21 (9/14/20-7/4/21)

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