The current champion has had to defend himself more than once.
Matt Amodio is Jeopardy!’s reigning champion fair and square, whether folks like it or not.
After the computer science PhD student from New Haven, Connecticut hinted that his run on the beloved game show might be coming to an end, Matt won his 33rd consecutive game on Friday. The historic moment placed him in second for the most consecutive games ever won, an achievement previously held by Jeopardy! prodigy James Holzhauer with 32 wins (Ken Jennings holds the top spot with 74 games). Despite getting knocked down to third place, James didn’t pass up the opportunity to celebrate Matt on Twitter while offering up some humor.
“I’ve been betting sports since 2005 and this is the first time I’ve seen anyone hit a 33 game parlay. Congrats @AmodioMatt!” James wrote. “Still haven’t seen anyone hit one for more than $2.46MM though. Stay hungry!”
The 30-year-old Jeopardy! star countered back with his own clever tweet, which referenced his strategy of answering clues with “what’s,” even if the correct answer is a person.
“I am so proud that a cursory glance of the #Jeopardy record books can now yield a wrong conclusion about which one of us is the better player,” Matt replied back.
Since he first stepped on to the Jeopardy! stage in late July, viewers have been calling out Matt for his “annoying” habit. The repetitive complaints led to the ABC quiz show issuing a statement to clarify the rules, which deemed his responses “totally acceptable.” That said, not all Jeopardy! fans were left satisfied, and it sounds like even this far along in the competition, some just can’t get over Matt’s unique phrasing.
Reacting to James’ congratulatory tweet, one fan wrote, “James, at least you and Ken @KenJennings knew proper English, this answering what to everything is so disturbing… doesn’t matter what the rules say… (A person is not a what, they are a who..).”
Within hours, Matt saw the comment and shot back with a factual response to shut down this notion once and for all. “All who’s, why’s, when’s, and where’s are also what’s, but not all what’s are who’s, why’s, when’s, and where’s,” he wrote.
In an interview with the Yale School of Engineering and Applied Science, where he attends and teaches, Matt revealed that cutting down his word choice helps him stay on task.
“I have a strategy where I form all of my questions with a ‘what’s’ at the beginning – then, I can focus on the rest of the clue,” he told the university. “Other people have been very upset about me being robotic instead of forming a question differently each time. I was glad that Jeopardy! said this was perfectly within the rules. I’ve watched Jeopardy! every day of my life, so I knew it was okay.”
So, Matt is standing by his “what’s” and Jeopardy! fans will have to keep trying to get used to it. After all, he’s still going strong and his eyes are now on Ken’s first place title. In order words, he’ll be around for a little while longer!
Selena is the entertainment and news editor for Good Housekeeping, where she covers the latest on TV, movies and celebrities. In addition to writing and editing entertainment news, she also spotlights the Hispanic and Latinx community through her work. She is a graduate of CUNY Hunter College with a B.A. in journalism and creative writing.
