Following within the footsteps of Jeopardy! GOAT Ken Jennings and champ James Holzhauer, contestant Matt Amodio is having fairly a profitable run on the quiz present. Not too long ago profitable his nineteenth consecutive recreation on the present’s season premiere, Amodio ranks because the third highest winner behind Jennings and Holzhauer.
Clearly having fun with the trip, the Jeopardy! star does have one factor he needs he might change throughout his time on the present.
Matt Amodio had hoped to fulfill ‘Jeopardy!’ icon Alex Trebek
Jeopardy! has been in flux with hosts because the demise of legendary quiz grasp Alex Trebek in November 2020. With celebrities and former contestants pinch hitting on the lectern, Amodio famous the huge void nonetheless felt by Trebek’s absence and expressed his disappointment at not assembly the sport present icon.
“He was a symbol to our society, and there’s no way that transition can happen without it being a big shock to people,” Amodio advised the Washington Post. “And that, I will say, is my one real regret.”
Whereas the Yale Ph.D. scholar shared his appreciation for his run on Jeopardy!, Amodio needs that his appearances had been underneath Trebek’s tenure.
“Things are working so well for me on Jeopardy!” Amodio mentioned. “I’m so tremendously grateful for the opportunity the show has given me, but it just didn’t work out, timing wise, to meet Alex.”
‘Jeopardy!’ champ isn’t centered on internet hosting controversy
Amodio has appeared with numerous hosts throughout his streak together with Robin Roberts, Joe Buck, LeVar Burton, and the now-ousted former government producer Mike Richards. Some might think about the revolving expertise on the lectern and up to date controversy of Richards’ firing as distractions when competing, however Amodio is laser centered on the quiz board.
“Frankly, the last thing I’m thinking about when I’m in the middle of a game is who’s hosting,” Amodio remarked. “I’ve had people say, ‘Oh man, you’ve moved on to your fourth host, that has to be difficult.’ And I would say, ‘Well, you’re right, but I didn’t even realize that, necessarily.’ ‘Cause I’m trying to pull these really obscure facts out of my brain, and that takes all the mental energy I can afford at the moment.”
One profitable technique that has labored for previous champs nonetheless eludes Amodio. In terms of being first to ring the buzzer, the pc science scholar finds it to be the luck of the draw.
“I go for long stretches without having won a buzzer,” Amodio defined. “Then I feel like I’m doing like the exact same thing, and it goes well for me for a long streak. It’s kind of a mystery to me.”
‘Jeopardy!’ followers took concern with ‘What?’ as an alternative of ‘Who?’
By no means underestimate a Jeopardy! fan’s consideration to element. Viewers rapidly picked up on Amodio’s tendency to reply with the phrase “what” as an alternative of “who” even when the clue pertains to an individual, and voiced their disapproval on social media.
“I didn’t think it would be overly noticeable to viewers,” Amadio famous. “Maybe some super die-hards, it would raise their eyebrows, but I left wondering if anybody would ever comment on it at all. Then, not only did somebody comment on it, it was kind of the main focus of the discourse.”
The Jeopardy! champ took the criticism in stride, but emphasised that his alternative of phrases is solely for focus functions relatively than a disregard for courtesy.
“I actually found it kind of amusing, that people could be so irritated by it,” Amodio mentioned. “But the only problem I had was when people interpreted it as a sign of disrespect. That was obviously not at all what I intended.”
Viewers are certain to tune in to see if Amodio surpasses former champs Jennings and Holzhauer as he takes on his twentieth recreation on Sept. 14.