Canada’s quiz show extraordinaire Mattea Roach has finished second place on Jeopardy! Masters.
On Wednesday’s episode, the Toronto-based writer and podcast host earned a combined two-game score of 41,685, equalling to a prize of $250,000 US.
The Jeopardy! spin-off consists of two high-stakes games with six of the highest-ranked current Jeopardy! contestants competing against each other in every hour-long episode.
Roach went head-to-head against worthy contestants Amy Schneider, Matt Amodio, Andrew He, Sam Buttrey and James Holzhauer for the grand prize and the title of Jeopardy! Masters champion.
This year, Roach lost the title to James Holzhauer who came in first place with a score of 43,795. Holzhauer was awarded the first-ever Trebek Trophy, named after former veteran host Alex Trebek who died in 2020. He also received a whopping prize of $500,000 US.
On Tuesday’s semi final episode, Roach also learned of their father’s death during the course of filming.
🧵(1/8) In one of my contestant anecdotes on tonight’s Jeopardy Masters, I’m talking about my dad. I’ve done this many times on the show before, but this time I’m speaking in past tense bc my dad died at the start of this month pic.twitter.com/JFFCPaJI5e
— Mattea Roach (@mattearoach) May 23, 2023
In a Twitter thread, Roach said, “I was at the set of Jeopardy when my dad died. Short of being at home with family, I cannot imagine a better place to be when receiving such horrific news.”
“My fellow contestants were beyond supportive in the moment, and so many people on the production side of things moved mountains to make sure I could get home to my family and then come back later in the month to finish out the competition,” the 24-year-old added.
During Tuesday’s game, Roach dedicated their contestant’s anecdote to their dad and thanked him for instilling their love of learning and the knowledge they hold. Roach says their dad is the reason why they are on Jeopardy! today.
Roach also shared their gratitude for their fellow contestants and the support they gave them and their family in what they call the worst day of their life thus far.
Our hearts go out to Mattea and their family 💙 pic.twitter.com/8DS9qTrVEL
— Jeopardy! (@Jeopardy) May 24, 2023
Roach is the most successful Canadian in Jeopardy! history. In 2022, they held a 23-game winning streak on the show and it is considered the fifth-longest streak overall.
Roach is also placed in sixth for all-time regular season wins.
