As a Seeded Champion, Schneider, a writer and former engineering manager from Oakland, California, received a first-round bye, allowing her to bypass the quarterfinals which began Oct. 31. The Chaminade Julienne graduate ranks second all-time behind Ken Jennings for most consecutive wins. She is also the first transgender contestant to qualify for the Tournament of Champions.
Credit: Sean Black
Credit: Sean Black
“The three players here on the stage with me became record holders not only in Season 38 but in the ‘Jeopardy!’ history books as three of the top five players for consecutive games won ever,” Jennings said at the outset. “As a result, we saw fit to seed them straight into the semifinals but what that means is they did not get a chance to compete in a quarterfinal match. So this is a rehearsal of sorts for them. No prize money is at stake. Just the chance to compete on the Alex Trebek Stage, on this, the second anniversary of his passing.”
During the interview portion, Jennings asked each super champion to share updates, particularly the perks of their “Jeopardy!” fame. Roach noted meeting author Margaret Atwood at a Toronto magazine fundraising gala, Amodio said he threw out the first pitch at a Major League Baseball game, and Schneider reflected on her visit to the White House.
“I was not able to meet with the president but I met Doug Emhoff, the second gentleman, and it was the International Transgender Day of Visibility,” Schneider recalled. “It was really great.”
Roach dominated throughout the episode, leading with $17,600 at the end of Double Jeopardy! Schneider was in second with $7,400. Amodio trailed with $3,600.
The Final Jeopardy! clue in the category Chemical Element Names: “The three elements whose names begin with two vowels are iodine and these two, one synthetic and one natural.”
Schneider and Amodio were stumped but Roach answered correctly with einsteinium and europium. Roach didn’t wager and remained at $17,600. Amodio didn’t wager and remained at $3,600. Schneider wagered $6,496, finishing third with $904.
“Alex Trebek always loved the Tournament of Champions, he loved having fun on ‘Jeopardy!,’ and he loved great players like these,” Jennings said.
The semifinals will begin Wednesday featuring Schneider against Maureen O’Neil, an executive assistant from Cambridge, Massachusetts, and Tyler Rhode, a director at a start-up from New York, New York. Schneider will not compete daily due to Amodio and Roach in rotation.
The tournament, which assembles the top players of 2022, was taped in September in Los Angeles.
“Jeopardy!” airs weeknights at 7:30 on WDTN Channel 2.
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