The Jamie Ding era of “Jeopardy!” is officially over.
Jamie Ding ‘Jeopardy!’ winning streak ends
Going into Monday night’s game, Ding, a law student from New Jersey, had 31 wins under his belt — just one away from tying James Holzhauer’s 32-game winning streak in 2019.
Now, Ding will permanently remain one spot behind Holzhauer on the “Jeopardy!” Leaderboard of Legends after losing Monday night — officially bringing an exciting chapter of the quiz show to a close.
Ding’s 31-game winning streak puts him at No. 5 for most consecutive wins in show history and highest winnings in regular season play (over $880,000). He also cracked the show’s top 10 for all time winnings, which includes tournament play.
“It’s been a wild ride but really fun,” Ding told The Detroit News after Monday’s episode aired. “People on the show told me that America’s going to love getting to know you, and I guess they were right. And the love is mutual.”
Jamie Ding’s final ‘Jeopardy!’ game
Throughout his run, Ding often obliterated his competition due in part to his speed on the buzzer.
The majority of his games were runaways, meaning he would have such a large lead going into the Final Jeopardy round that he couldn’t be caught.
But for the first time in his entire run, Ding found himself on the other side of a runaway.
Going into the Final Jeopardy round Monday night, it was Greg Shahade, a chess player from Philadelphia, who had a runaway with $32,600. Ding, in second place with an even $16,000, wouldn’t be able to catch Shahade even if he wagered all of his $16,000 and got the clue right.
Ding’s shot of winning game No. 32 diminished as Shahade managed to land on — and correctly answer — all three Daily Doubles in the game. For the two Daily Doubles in the second round, Shahade added $7,000 and $7,600 to his sum.
Ding told The New York Times he felt calm during his final game — even as he realized a loss was on the horizon.
“During it, I was trying to stay grounded,” he said. “Planning to win a whole bunch of games of ‘Jeopardy!’ just feels like asking to lose.”
Ding used vacation days from his job as a program administrator for the New Jersey Housing and Mortgage Finance Agency to film five episodes at a time in Los Angeles, The New York Times reported.
Here are two clues Ding missed during his final “Jeopardy!” game:
- The shape of things: “Long thin cookies, called ‘langue de chat’ in French, are named for their resemblance to these.”
- Flowers on the wall: “There are Madonnas of the Carnation by this man and by Luini, born 30 years later, c. 1480; 19th-century critic John Ruskin liked Luini’s better.”
Answers: (1; tongue; 2. Leonardo di Vinci)
Ken Jennings on Jamie Ding potentially beating his winning streak
“Jeopardy!” host Ken Jennings previously told a studio audience during a recent “Jeopardy!” taping that he “would be very excited” if Ding beat his record, as the Deseret News reported.
“I’m of course perfectly impartial every game, but I actually believe that my record can be beaten,” he said in a clip shared on the official “Jeopardy!” Instagram. “I just hope I am hosting when it happens.”
Jennings’ record — a staggering 74 games — remains untouched 22 years later. Amy Schneider holds the No. 2 spot with 40 wins; Matt Amodio is third with a 38-game winning streak; and Holzhauer has 32 straight victories to his name.