Jeopardy! has seen a string of mega-champions over the past year, from Matt Amodio to Amy Schneider and Mattea Roach. Now some fans say they are beginning to tire of the dominant winning streaks.
One of the game show’s long-time viewers posted a thread on the Jeopardy! Reddit on Saturday, July 9, asking, “Does anyone else enjoy new champions on the regular?” While the fan noted that mega-champs are “great,” he added that he enjoys “seeing a daily or regular turnover of champions,” pointing to Yungsheng Wang’s recent short tenure as champion and how it “made the whole game more enjoyable.”
Wang, a Public Defender from Los Angeles, California, won just three games before he was knocked off the top spot. Despite Wang’s brief run, the series has seen several mega-champs in recent months, starting with Yale doctoral student Amodio, who amassed 38 wins and more than $1.5 million in prize money last year. This was quickly followed by engineering manager Schneider who went on a 40-day winning streak, taking home a whopping $1.3 million.
Canadian tutor Roach won 23 consecutive games, bagging herself $560K in winnings, and just days later, rideshare driver Ryan Long went on a 16-game streak, earning $299K.
In response to the Reddit thread, one fan explained how the mega-champs happening so close together made the show boring. “I like mega champions every now and then,” they wrote. “Matt, Amy, and Mattea happened so close to one another that I ended up itching for more of a turnover. Had there been more space between each run, I think I would have been more excited over it.”
Others agreed, with one commenter writing, “I get bored with mega-champs after a while. Runaway after runaway gets boring,” and another adding, “I like seeing competitive games. Longer running champs tend to mean less competitive games, so I usually like them less.”
However, not everyone was on the same page, with some still enjoying the streak of mega-champs. “I enjoy watching mega-champions who are extremely good at the game win in fair competition over challengers,” said one viewer.
“Personally I like having champions of at least medium term because it adds a little drama and gives you someone to root for or against, but it’s not a strong preference,” wrote another.
And for some, the contestants and winning stats don’t seem to play a factor at all, as they just enjoy playing along at home. “I usually don’t even notice scores until final jeopardy I’m too busy guessing incorrect answers on every question,” commented one fan.
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