‘Jeopardy!’ Fans Call Champion “A Frickin Legend” for Risky Daily Double Wager

Jeopardy!‘s new golden boy is at it again. Contestant Matt Amodio may have been criticized for his bizarre answering technique, but that’s certainly not why he’ll go down in the show’s history. Last night (August 3) on the ABC game show, Amodio had the opportunity to bump his winning streak up into the double digits. And thanks to one incredibly risky wager on a Daily Double, the star player has now reached an astounding 10-day winning streak.

The race was tight as Amodio chased down his tenth straight win on the show, and clearly, he knew the stakes were high. When Amodio landed on a Daily Double, he jumped at the opportunity, betting his entire bank’s $13,000. The contestant only held a slight lead of $1,600, and having only just popped into first place, the wager was bold.

David Faber, this week’s beloved guest host, read the clue: “Australia became its own nation January 1, 1901 as the this of Australia, a word implying union for everyone good.” Amodio barely took a second to respond, answering with a correct, “What is commonwealth?” and scoring that sweet, sweet $26,000.

Jeopardy! fans rushed to Twitter to laud Amodio. “@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,” one Twitter user wrote. “Cannot smack talk a pro jeopardy player and pro risk taker.”

Amodio himself expressed just how anxious he was at the moment. “I’m still terrified,” he wrote on Twitter, sharing two scared emojis with it.

Thanks to Amodio’s massive Daily Double, the contestant went on to win the game, cashing in on a whopping $52,000 check. The contestant’s new ten-day total is now $362,400, climbing the ranks in Jeopardy history’s top 10 all-time winnings on the show. Can anyone stop Amodio? You’ll have to tune in to Jeopardy! to find out.

Jeopardy! airs weeknights on ABC at 7/6c.

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