‘Jeopardy!’: Ryan Long’s Winning Streak Ends, Fans Sound Off

The latest long-running Jeopardy! champion, Ryan Long, saw his winning streak come to an end during Monday night’s game. Long finished with 16 wins and $299,400 in earnings. Minneapolis meteorologist Eric Ahasic beat Long Monday and started his own winning streak since Ahasic also won Tuesday night. Fans congratulated Long on his streak on Twitter.

Long will be back on Jeopardy! soon. He will take part in this fall’s Tournament of Champions, facing off against fellow winners Amy Schneider, Matt Amodio, and Mattea Roach. Long holds the number nine spot on Jeopardy!‘s list of Legends Consecutive Games Won list.

Before Jeopardy!, Long was living paycheck-to-paycheck to support himself and his son in Philadelphia. He worked as an Uber and Lyft driver and needed help to afford the plane ticket to California. During the early days of his streak, he was squinting because he forgot to take his glasses. He’s also unique among Jeopardy! champions, as he told the Philadelphia Inquirer he didn’t have any elaborate strategies. “I just kind of went in and did my thing,” he said.

After Monday’s episode aired, Long took to Twitter to share an inspiring message. “So many feelings…I’m going to try and keep this short, but I’ll probably fail. I want to thank everybody who watched and supported me. I want to thank all my fellow contestants who were, to a person, exemplary human beings,” Long wrote. “I want to thank my momma and everybody who put me in the position to do this. I owe them everything.”

Fans look forward to seeing Ryan return for the Tournament of Champions

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Long went on to reflect the importance of his Jeopardy! success and hopes he can inspire others trying to break out of the box society put them in. “I feel like this thing that just happened is proof that you can. Trust yourself, hold on to your dreams, you know who you really are,” Long wrote. “Take your shot, and don’t let anybody tell you you can’t do this or that, or you should be doing things a certain way. As my grandmom would’ve said, never let ANYBODY steal your shine. Much love to everybody. See you in the fall.”

‘Relish in your success with your family’

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Long told Jeopardy! he has no plans to change his life, despite the six-figure victory. “I’m going to be the same. Whatever circumstances, I am who I am,” he said. “But it’s definitely going to change the quality of my life.”

‘What a great run!’

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Scroll on to see how fans responded to Long’s 15-game winning streak ending.  

‘Absolutely adored watching his run’

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“I absolutely adored watching his run on the show .. he was INCREDIBLY humble! Hope he does very very well in the tournament of champs,” one viewer wrote.

‘Never rooted for anyone as much as Ryan’

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“Congratulations Ryan. You were a pleasure to watch,” one viewer wrote. “You did a great job and will look forward to seeing you on the tournament of champions. You are already a winner!”

‘He’s a great champ with amazing knowledge’

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“What a run! From categories to 16 wins. Never missed a show. Looking forward to watching you at TOC. Hope you and your son have a great trip and enjoy the time together,” another viewer wrote.