James Holzhauer may joke about how Matt Amodio’s Jeopardy! run isn’t all that impressive, but after Friday night’s episode the Ph. D student put himself into elite territory as the show’s latest millionaire.
Amodio’s win on Friday night was good for his 28th straight victory on the program, a streak that spans not only several guest hosts and the ill-fated run of Mike Richards but also an entire summer break between seasons. And his victory on Friday night gave him an additional $48,800 to a total that pushed into seven figures for just the third time in the long history of non-tournament Jeopardy! play.
“This was beyond my wildest dreams going in,” Amodio said according to a press release. “I knew it was a possibility, but I thought it was a very remote possibility, and to have it actually happen is unbelievable.”
Amodio is now officially in rarefied air when it comes to the show’s best champions. Though many never got the chance to string together enough wins to reach seven figures, since the five-game cap was lifted just two players have reached more than $1 million in winnings: Holzhauer and Ken Jennings. The former won 32 games and earned $2,462,216, while Jennings holds the record for both wins (74 games) and winnings ($2,520,700).
While Holzhauer reached millionaire status much quicker than both Amodio and Jennings thanks to his big betting and strategic play, Jennings’ historic run still stands as the most impressive in history. It’s unclear just how far Amodio will get on his run, but now he’s no longer known as just one of the more frustrating players in the show’s history because of his answering style: He’s officially one of the best ever.