CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Medina native Matt Amodio has picked up right where he left off on “Jeopardy!”
After a month-long hiatus, the Ph.D. student from Yale has won the first three episodes of the classic game show’s 38th season to extend his consecutive win streak to 21 games. His win on Wednesday put him in sole possession of third place in that category. Only “Jeopardy!” legends Ken Jennings (74) and James Holzhauer (32) have won more games in a row than Amodio.
Like most of his appearances, the Ohio State graduate had the game in hand before the “Final Jeopardy!” round. Still, he bet nearly half of his total of $41,200 on the final category, which was authors. Amodio came up with the correct answer and finished with a total of $61,200.
That raised his total winnings to $740,001, also good for third place all-time behind Jennings and Holzhauer. Amodio looks to keep it going Thursday night when he faces Emily Sharpkellar, the director of admissions at the University of Chicago Medical School, and Keisha Virtue, a senior retail research analyst from Boca Raton, Florida.
In other “Jeopardy!” news, Sony announced Jennings and Mayim Bialik will split hosting duties for the rest of 2021 starting next week after Mike Richards completes his short stint as host. Bialik, the former “Blossom” star, hosts from Sept. 20 through Nov. 5. She and Jennings, who guest-hosted last season following the death of Alex Trebek, will alternate after that.
Richards, who also served as executive producer, stepped down in August following criticism over comments he made on a podcast and questions about his role in the selection process which led to his hiring.
“Jeopardy” airs weeknights at 7:30 p.m. on WOIO Channel 19.
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