Jeopardy! Masters’ Amy Schneider reveals how a player could ‘get locked out’ of buzzer on show
JEOPARDY! star Amy Schneider has explained the issues that come with the buzzer aspect of the game show.
After competing in the Masters tournament, the 44-year-old revealed being skilled in ringing in was one of the biggest components and one could get locked out if they did it incorrectly.
4
Amy Schneider came fourth place in Season 2 of Jeopardy! MastersCredit: Jeopardy
4
→ Swipe to see more articles
The 44-year-old star revealed being good at the buzzer was an important skill for any playerCredit: Getty
Season 2 of Jeopardy! Masters wrapped up on Wednesday with the big finale episode.
While Amy didn’t make it to the finals, which saw Victoria Groce beat out Yogesh Raut and James Holzhauer to win it all, she did last until the semifinals.
Matt Amodio and Mattea Roach, the other two contestants who competed in the round-robin style tournament comprised of top Jeopardy! players, were cut ahead of the semis.
In a new interview, Amy opened up about her upsetting timing with the buzzer, which affected her gameplay.
BUZZING IN
“At this level, the [buzzer] is so much of the game,” she told Dayton Daily News. “So many of us know so many of the answers and are so good at the buzzer.”
“It looks frantic because, as is the nature of how the buzzer works, you have to hit it a bunch of times – not just once – because you might get locked out,” Amy revealed.
Along with trying to work on her buzzer skills ahead of competing in the tournament, Amy said she had specific topics she read up on.
“I studied more obscure world capitals and flags and a few things like that, but more of what I did was try to look at lists of things I already knew that were not necessarily at the top of my mind,” she said.
“For example, looking [at] the list of all the U.S. vice presidents,” Amy said. “So, it wasn’t learning anything new just getting them closer to the top of mind because you have to know it right away on ‘Jeopardy!’”
TAKES PRACTICE
Victoria, the winner of this season of Jeopardy! Masters, recently shared how she became so skilled at the buzzer.
To celebrate her big win, the 43-year-old participated in a Reddit Ask Me Anything with fans.
One of the big questions was about her skills ringing in to answer the clues.
Jeopardy! Universe
Jeopardy! first aired in 1964 until 1975. Then the nighttime version began in 1974. Since then, spinoffs of the game show have emerged. Here they all are:
Jeopardy! – (primetime) 1974 to present, weekdays on ABC at 7pm.
Tournament of Champions – 1984 to present, features the top champions who have appeared on the show since the last tournament.
Celebrity Jeopardy! – 1992 to present, has celebrities compete against each other to raise money for charity.
Jeopardy! Masters – 2023 to present, features six notable recent Jeopardy! champions competing against each other.
Jeopardy! National College Championship – 2022 to present, undergraduates from 36 colleges and universities across America compete to win $100,000.
Other versions of Jeopardy! have fizzled out throughout the years.
“I have both a LOT of musical training on instruments involving finger dexterity (piano and harp, mostly) and have played a LOT of video games over the course of my life,” she revealed.
“[That] couldn’t have been anything but helpful.”
“I’ve mentioned in other places that I love rhythm games and have definitely logged my 10,000 hours there,” the champ added, referencing the theory that a person needs 10,000 hours to master a skill.
Jeopardy! Masters’ Victoria Groce reveals secret talent that helps buzzer speed after rival ripped for ‘mashing’ button_YouTube_Jeopardy!
Victoria also explained how she improved her skill at the game as a whole.
“It’s not the most exciting answer, but playing a ton and studying a ton,” Victoria revealed. “I did quiz bowl and other trivia things from the time I was a kid until a little out of college.
“Kinda left the community for a while when my kid was young (just too busy), and then got back into it about 12 years ago, and about 10 years ago I started doing gradually more of it,” she added.
4
While Amy had some trouble with the ring-in buzzer, winner Victoria Groce recently explained how she got so good at this aspect of the showCredit: Jeopardy!
4
The champ said she grew up playing musical instruments, which helped her finger dexterityCredit: Getty
