Brayden Smith: What to Know About the Late ‘Jeopardy!’ Champion

Jeopardy!‘s Tournament of Champions event, hosted by former champion Buzzy Cohen, will wrap up on Friday. During the tournament, the quiz show paid tribute to former contestant Brayden Smith, who died earlier this year. 24-year-old Smith was widely considered to be the “Last Great Champion” during the Alex Trebek era, as he was the final contestant to go on a multi-day winning streak prior to the host’s death in November.

Smith won five games during his time on Jeopardy! and amassed over $115,000. The episodes that he was featured on aired in December and January just weeks before his passing in February. Trebek dubbed Smith, “Billy Buzzsaw,” for his skills on the show. Due to his prior success on Jeopardy!, Smith did qualify for the Tournament of Champions. Since he qualified for the tournament, Cohen paid tribute to him on Friday night’s episode, during which the guest host explained that Jeopardy! would be donating to a fund that Smith’s parents set up in his honor.

“You’ve now met all 15 of the player who qualified for the Tournament of Champions — well, almost all,” Cohen said. “Brayden Smith, the incredible young man who won five shows and $115,000 in January, passed away earlier this year. Brayden’s family has established a fund in his name, and Jeopardy! will be donating to that fund. We want to express our best wishes and condolences to his family.” A local CBS station in Smith’s hometown of Las Vegas, KLAS, reported that he died from complications from a surgery that he underwent for an undisclosed illness prior to his passing.

At the time, his mother, Debbie, announced her son’s death on social media and thanked all of the fans who have sent Smith’s family love and support amid the heartbreaking situation. She wrote, “The outpouring of love for Brayden is overwhelming. We can’t express how much your beautiful comments are comforting us during this painfully sad time. Thank you.” Smith was a graduate of the University of Nevada, Las Vegas where he studied economics. While he had his sights set on attending law school after graduation, he was focused on one event in the meantime — the Tournament of Champions. Prior to his passing, Smith expressed his excitement over being able to compete in the event.

“Tournament of Champions has been my favorite tournament every year since I was a kid. These people are sort of my trivia idols and to know that I’m gonna be on the same metaphorical and literal stage that they were on is really something special,” Smith said during an interview that was posted by the official Jeopardy! Twitter account. The late contestant is survived by three brothers and his parents, Scott and Deborah Smith.