‘Jeopardy!’: New Winning Streak Has Started

Jeopardy! has a new dominant champion on its hands. The latest reigning champion is Ryan Long, an Uber driver from Philadelphia. Long has gone on the longest Jeopardy! winning streak since Mattea Roach, a Canadian tutor whose own streak came to an end in early May when she lost by just $1. 

As of Monday night, Long won over seven games and has earned a total of $145,201, per The Blast. With his win on Thursday night’s game, he secured a spot in the upcoming Tournament of Champions, where he will face off against other champs including Roach, Matt Amodio, and Amy Schneider. Amidst his winning streak, Long spoke with the Inquirer to share how he came to be a multi-day winner on Jeopardy.

“It’s been really surreal,” Long said about his Jeopardy wins. “It didn’t feel real until I saw myself on television, and I was like, ‘OK, so this is a thing that happened and it wasn’t a fever dream.’” Unlike other Jeopardy champs, Long admitted that he didn’t do a ton of studying before appearing on the quiz show program. He said, “I didn’t study or anything. I probably should have perused something, but I just didn’t. I just kind of went in and did my thing.”

Elsewhere in his interview with the publication, Long acknowledged that the past few years have been difficult for him. In January 2021, he was hospitalized for several weeks due to COVID-19. After he was released, he returned to work as a paratransit driver for SEPTA’s Customized Community Transportation program. However, Long realized that his battle with COVID-19 affected his ability to do the work. As a result, he decided to work for various rideshare companies, including Uber, in order to support himself and his 8-year-old son Nathan. When Long is done with his time on Jeopardy, he said that he plans on taking his son on a fishing trip, telling the Inquirer, “That’s really where my head is at.”

The current season of Jeopardy has featured a number of champions going on lengthy winning streaks. As previously mentioned, prior to Long’s streak, the longest came courtesy of Roach. Before her, Schneider went on a dominant streak and marked a series of firsts as she did so. Upon the end of her run in January, Schneider became the most successful female champion in Jeopardy history, as she became the fourth ever contestant and the first woman to earn over $1 million during her time on the series. She also became the first transgender contestant to qualify for the Tournament of Champions.