Nancy Donehower Defeated Jonathan Fisher Two Years Ago; In Six Days, She Faces Two Former Champions
On this day in 2021, superchampion Jonathan Fisher was defeated by Nancy Donehower following eleven consecutive wins.
The End of the Rodeo
2021 was a hectic time in Jeopardy! history. The final shows with Alex Trebek aired at the beginning of January which resulted in a revolving door of guest hosts, rather than the naming of a new host. Ken Jennings was the first guest host for six weeks followed by former executive producer Mike Richards, who was quickly apprehended by media publications such as The Ringer and NPR, following his official self-declaration as host. During the final guest host stints of Robin Roberts, LeVar Burton, David Faber, and Joe Buck, a new trivia star emerged in 38-time champion Matt Amodio. He swept through the final 18 games of the season after defeating three-time champion Josh Saak, who would later go on to win the first ever Champions Wildcard tournament on October 19th, 2023 for the group of Spades.
After sweeping through Mike Richards’s only games as official host at the beginning of Season 38, Matt went on to win 15 more games under the hosting of Mayim Bialik, who was named permanent host alongside Ken Jennings soon after Richards’s departure from the position. On October 11th, 2021, Matt finally met his matches when he lost to Jessica Stephens and Jonathan Fisher, with Jonathan coming in 1st place with $29,200 and returning as champion the next day. Matt Amodio went home with 38 wins and over $1.5 million and later appeared in the 2022 Tournament of Champions, as well as the 2023 Jeopardy! Masters the following year. What immediately followed Matt’s run was very unprecedented: Jonathan went on to win 10 more games, becoming one of only 16 players to surpass 10 victories, right after Matt and not long before Amy Schneider. He’s the only player in Jeopardy! history to become a double-digit champion following the dethroning of another double-digit champion.
Giant Killer Defeats Giant Killer
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