Mattea Roach‘s Jeopardy! winning streak has officially come to an end after she played and lost her 24th game.
After 23 wins, Roach leaves the game show with a grand total of $560,983 in winnings as challenger Danielle Maurer beat her by a single dollar in Final Jeopardy! on Friday, May 6. Maurer is a digital marketing manager from Peachtree Corners, Georgia, who finished in first place with $15,600, beating out Roach’s $15,599 total.
“It feels still kind of like a dream,” Roach said in a statement. “I really came down here hoping to maybe win one game and so I still can’t believe it. You know, it’s strange, obviously, I didn’t come through in the last one, but I still feel so happy and so lucky to have had this experience.”
(Credit: Jeopardy Productions, Inc.)
Roach’s misstep in the latest game was wagering $3,601 during Final Jeopardy!, which she did not answer correctly. She had been in the lead with $19,200, but when Maurer wagered $4,200 of her $11,400 total heading into Final Jeopardy!, she edged Roach out by answering correctly.
The Final Jeopardy! category was “USA,” and the clue read: “These 2 Mayors gave their names to a facility built on the site of an old racetrack owned by Coca-Cola magnate Asa Candler.” The correct response to the clue was, “Who are William Hartsfield & Maynard Jackson?”
Currently, Roach’s 23 wins and $560,983 prize places her at number five on both the all-time consecutive games list and the all-time highest regular-season winnings list. The only competitors who won more games or money during their time on the show are Ken Jennings, Amy Schneider, Matt Amodio, and James Holzhauer.
“When I think of the caliber of those four players, I really don’t feel like I deserve to be mentioned in the same breath as them to be honest,” said Roach. “And there’s a noticeable financial gap between my money and theirs, but it’s an amazing accomplishment. Like, I can’t believe it. It’s such a huge honor that I am being spoken of in relation to people like Ken, James, Matt, Amy. It’s, wow. There’s no words.”
For fans of Roach, fret not because she’ll be back for the Tournament of Champions this fall. In the meantime, catch more games as Jeopardy! airs weeknights.
Jeopardy!, Weeknights, Check your local listings
