Jeopardy! champion Mattea Roach suffers devastating tragedy amid major success on Masters special

JEOPARDY! star Mattea Roach's father, Phillip Henry Roach, has tragically passed away- according to local news reports.

The beloved Canadian contestant is currently a frontrunner in the ongoing Jeopardy! Masters tournament.

Mattea's sudden loss was reported by Nova Scotia Buzz, which is the 24-year-old's hometown.

Phillip Roach "died of a brain aneurysm at his home in Halifax on May 2, 2023," the outlet wrote.

Phillip's four children with his wife Patti McKinnon were "the greatest joy of his life."

Phillip graduated from Saint Mary’s University in 1993 with a degree in business and had a career in human resources. He also loved cycling and cooking.

Mattea has not personally spoken out about the tragic passing at this time.

'WITH MY DAD'

Mattea's father enjoyed playing Trivial Pursuit with his children, the local outlet wrote, and he was proud to have passed down his love of rock music to them.

Mattea was never shy to boast about their bond with their dad on or off stage after first competing on Jeopardy! in April 2022.

The wunderkind said on stage during their 23-win initial run that their dad's vintage denim jacket was their favorite item of clothing.

They were also so excited to see the band Kraftwerk with him [seen above].

"After ten years of talking about it, I am finally going to see Kraftwerk with my dad," Mattea tweeted in 2022 while all smiles with Phillip.

Mattea's proud parents hosted a watch party at their home for each and every one of their original 23 wins last year.

Mattea's parents decorated their glass front door with a sign that reads: "This is Jeopardy!"

Since their run, Mattea has begun hosting a popular Canadian podcast and now uses the pronouns they/them.

Mattea, who is now the sixth-highest-earning Jeopardy! winner of all time with $560,983K in regular gameplay earnings would undoubtedly currently be making their father proud as ever.

MASTERFUL COMEBACK

Mattea has won two out of their three Masters matches since the special hit the small screens on May 8-putting them at third place out of six going into week two.

The 23-time champ who now works as a writer and podcaster Toronto, Ontario soared during the first week of the three-week-long showdown.

Their second victory was especially impressive as Mattea had a negative score going into Double Jeopardy! but wound up with $20K and beating frontrunner and 40-time winner Amy Schneider.

The lineup also includes James Holzhauer,Amy, Matt Amodio, Sam Buttrey, and Andrew He.

Masters' six beloved players will be whittled down to the top four at the end of this week after three more episodes on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday.

Each episode will see two matches in various parings of the six players and the remaining four will duke it out in week three.

The eventual top three will play for the $500,000 grand prize in its May 24 finale.

Mattea's strong first week of Masters also comes after they were eliminated in their first game during the last Tournament of Champions by Andrew He.

Although Ken Jennings is hosting Jeopardy! Masters solo, he normally shares hosting duties with Mayim Bialik.