Matt Amodio Nodded Toward ‘Jeopardy!’ Champ Ken Jennings After Blowing Past A James Holzhauer Record

Someone alert Jeopardy! champ James Holzhauer because Matt Amodio just passed his record for consecutive wins. This development arrives not too long after Holzhauer took a good-natured swing at Amodio, who recently passed the $1 million mark in winnings. Amid the ongoing who-will-host-this-show-permanently fiasco, he’s maintained focus and stayed strong, and on Friday, Amodio achieved an elusive 33-game winning streak.

The Ph. D student now stands as one of the most decorated Jeopardy! champs during the show’s 50+ years in existence. He’s achieved a rarefied position of now only sitting behind Ken Jennings, although it must be noted that Jennings currently holds the 74-win overall consecutive record, so Amodio’s not nearly king. He’s not doing too shabby, however, with a current running winnings total of $1,267,801. His accomplishment is particularly notable since Amodio has a habit of answering that drives some fans nuts. Still, the man knows his stuff (and then some), and following his Friday win, he made sure to pay tribute to Jennings, who formally won the show’s GOAT tournament in 2020. Yep, Amodio knows the drill here:

“Ken’s always been the face of JEOPARDY! to me, so when I think of JEOPARDY!, I think of him,” Amodio said when asked about Jennings. “To [be] right behind him is a surreal experience.”

From there, he can start chipping away at more consecutive game wins, but he’s got a long way to go before reaching Jennings consecutive-wins record. Meanwhile, Jennings is sharing co-hosting duties with Mayim Bialik for the rest of the year, and it’ll be quite a sight if Amodio comes close to the Jennings record while they’re both on the set.