‘Jeopardy!’ Champion Matt Amodio Stuns Fans With Jaw-Dropping Wager

Martin Holmes August 4, 2021, 7:47 am

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Current Jeopardy! champion Matt Amodio continues his impressive run as he now becomes the eighth biggest winner in show history, and he did so with a massive wager.

The graduate student from New Haven, Connecticut, was aiming for his tenth consecutive win on Tuesday’s episode and only had a slim lead of $1600. But when he landed on a Daily Double, Amodio made a bold play by betting his entire prize pot of $13,000. This risky tactic stunned viewers, who took to social media to share their reactions.

“I almost had a heart attack!!!!” wrote one fan in response to Amodio’s gutsy gamble. “My palms were sweating for you,” commented another viewer. Even Amodio himself felt the pressure as he watched the episode back. “I’m still terrified,” he tweeted.

Oh my Goodness when he went all in I almost had a heart attack!!!!

— Andy Masson (@CDG_Andy) August 4, 2021

Holy hell, Matt with a *big time* move on Jeopardy today

— OyVeidt (@OyVeidt) August 4, 2021

My palms were sweating for you!!
Brilliant!

— Donna J Czerniecki (@JCzerniecki) August 4, 2021

However, Amodio had nothing to worry about, as he correctly answered “What’s Commonwealth?” to the question regarding Australia becoming its own nation in 1901. With that, Amodio doubled his money and took control of the board, earning the respect of the Jeopardy! faithful at the same time.

“[Matt Amodio] is a frickin legend. Never have I ever sat on the edge of my couch biting my fist during a true daily double before until tonight,” one fan wrote on Twitter. “Cannot smack talk a pro jeopardy player and pro risk taker.”

@AmodioMatt Is a frickin legend. Never have I ever sat on the edge of my couch biting my fist during a true daily double before until tonight. 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻 Cannot smack talk a pro jeopardy player and pro risk taker 😂

— Em.i.a (@mscaggz) August 4, 2021

“We do these things not because they are easy, but because they are hard”–JFK (slightly misquoted) https://t.co/LwGvZPUM9l

— Matt Amodio (@AmodioMatt) August 4, 2021

Strong champs bet on themselves. Not necessarily that late in the game 😂 but they still do it. 👍

— Jeremy DeBose (@CoachDeBose) August 4, 2021

Legend

— bjornapooryoung (@Bjornapoor) August 4, 2021

@AmodioMatt I held my breath when you went all in. I’m glad it paid off, way to keep killin’ it!

— LaurenNotLaura (@LaurenNotLaura2) August 4, 2021

Amodio’s jaw-dropping play catapulted him to his tenth win in a row and helped add $52,000 to his total of $362,400. “Wow,” said current guest-host David Faber after reading the amount out loud. And Amodio is already thinking about what he’s going to spend his earnings on.

“Yeah, so I’ve never actually owned the ground that I stand on before. And real estate can be a very good investment. So that might be where I go,” the Yale student said.

Ask Matt: 'Jeopardy!'s Latest Champ

The official Jeopardy! Twitter account also cleared up the previous confusion about Amodio answering “What is?” to every clue regardless of whether it is a person or thing. “That’s totally acceptable!” the tweet read alongside a link to the official Jeopardy! rules.

What’s up with Matt Amodio? A lot of “what’s” in his responses — and that’s totally acceptable!

Read more about other Jeopardy! rules here: https://t.co/6Ld05LMRR4

— Jeopardy! (@Jeopardy) August 2, 2021

According to the rules, “…all contestant responses to an answer must be phrased in the form of a question.” But the show doesn’t require that the response is grammatically correct. “Further, the three-letter name of a British Invasion rock band can be a correct response all by itself (“The Who?”), and even “Is it…?” has been accepted. So, Matt Amodio’s no-frills approach is unique but well with guidelines,” the website reads.

And, of course, Jeopardy! superfan Amodio clarified that he carries a copy of the rules with him at all times.