Yale grad student Matt Amodio returning to ‘Jeopardy!’ for Tournament of Champions 2022

Matt Amodio, the Yale graduate student who became one of the top contestants on “Jeopardy!,” is returning to the game show next week for its Tournament of Champions 2022 as well as for a special “exhibition game” against two other well-known recent champions.

On Nov. 8, Amodio will play a no-stakes exhibition game against 40-game winner Amy Schneider and 23-game winner Mattea Roach. Amodio’s winning streak lasted from July to October of 2021, Schneider won her games from November 2021 to January 2022 and Roach’s streak happened in April and May on 2022. The three haven’t played against each other before.

In a video titled, “What is The (Great) Exhibition?” on the “Jeopardy!” YouTube channel, producer Michael Davies said the special show came about because of the obvious interest in a match between the three recent star contestants, coupled with a concern that the Nov. 8 episode might be preempted in some markets by Election Day coverage. That led to an episode that Davies calls “one of the most fun ever,” where the contestants are playing for the love of the game rather than money or long-term standings. The producer notes that it is also the second anniversary of the death of longtime “Jeopardy!” host Alex Trebek, so the special serves as a tribute.

Two days after the exhibition match, Amodio will return to the “Jeopardy!” stage to take part in the tournament semifinals on Nov. 10, playing against two winners of the quarterfinals being held this week. If he wins, he’ll be part of the finals, which begin Nov. 14.

The episodes are pre-recorded. All participants are sworn to secrecy regarding the outcome of the games until the shows air.

Amodio studies neural networks as a Ph.D. candidate in the Yale Department of Computer Science. He has lived in Connecticut for much of the past six years, though he stayed in his native Ohio during the early COVID lockdown period while Yale was conducting classes online. Amodio has been a regular at the weekly trivia matches at the Playwright in Hamden. While he was winning on “Jeopardy!,” his face adorned national ads for “Jeopardy!,” he was profiled in a Yale School of Engineering and Applied Science publication and received a congratulatory phone call from Gov. Ned Lamont.

Amodio’s time on the show last year happened while “Jeopardy!” was auditioning for a new host following the death of Trebek. Amodio’s 39-game span encompassed six different hosts, including one of the two people ultimately picked as permanent hosts, Mayim Bialik. Now he’ll play for a seventh, Ken Jennings, the other permanent host, who had not yet begun his tenure when Amodio’s run ended.

Amodio’s 38-game winning streak in 2021 made him the second-highest earning contestant in “Jeopardy!” history, with $1,519,601. He was relegated to third place a few months later when Schneider won her 39th and then 40th games, though her total winnings of $1,384,800 fell a little short of his, partly due to Amodio’s confident betting style.

Amodio is known for his distinctive inquisitive style when providing “Jeopardy!” responses, which are rendered in the form of a question. Rather than the more specific “Who is...?” or “What is?,” Amodio simply begins every response with “What’s ...?”

Reach reporter Christopher Arnott at [email protected].