The latest champion of the Jeopardy Tournament of Champions has been declared, and her victory will go down in history. Amy Schneider defeated Sam Buttrey and Andrew He to win the prestigious game’s championship yesterday night (November 21), securing $28,600 for herself.
Schneider, a writer from Oakland, California, is the first openly transgender competitor and winner of the Tournament of Champions.
She entered Final Jeopardy with $15,600, while her rivals had $14,200 (He) and $8,000 (Buttrey), and she won by answering a “Plays” category question correctly. The host, Ken Jennings, prompted the candidates as follows: “On January 12, 1864, the Washington Evening Star reported that this “dashing farce” was performed to “a full and thrilled house.”
While both Schneider and He answered the question “What is ‘Our American Cousin’?” correctly, Schneider won after wagering $13,000, far more than He’s wager of $2,801.
Schneider stated in a statement following her triumph, as reported by Entertainment Weekly, “I feel incredible.” “Earlier in the finals, I had a sudden realization that I was on stage for the Tournament of Champions finals, and that was insane. I have won! It’s a wonderful sensation.”
Schneider not only won the Tournament of Champions, but also brought home a substantial financial reward. As the winner of Jeopardy, she received $250,000. And the program did not forget her competitors: He, who placed second, nevertheless received $100,000, and Buttrey, who placed third, earned $50,000. Not bad!
Schneider won the Tournament of Champions after completing an impressive 40-game winning streak on Jeopardy earlier this year. Her time on the show made her one of the most successful contestants in Jeopardy history, second only to Ken Jennings, whose 74-game winning streak is the longest in the game’s history. Schneider also won a substantial amount of money as a Jeopardy contestant, ranking fourth in total winnings with $1,382,800.
»Amy Schneider is the first openly transgender winner of “Tournament of Champions” on “Jeopardy.”«