An East Bay Jeopardy Champion

Amy Schneider of Oakland hits 1 million on the famous trivia show. 

By Madison Sciba
Culture Columnist

On January 7th, Oakland engineer Amy Schneider hit one million dollars, and now, is the first woman to qualify for the Jeopardy Tournament of Champions. Jeopardy is a long-running trivia show that airs every night, taking a twist on the traditional question and answer format. Schnider, being the third longest-running champion and first transgender person to qualify, has become one of four people in the history of Jeopardy to reach one million dollars. 

In the 39th season of the show, viewers have seen two contestants rise to the top three longest-running champions. Matt Amodio had an astonishing 38-game run, becoming the second longest-running champion earlier in the season, while Ken Jennings, one of the current game hosts, holds the Jeopardy record for most games. Only five people have ever achieved one million on the show, which Schnider did on January 7th, and only two people have ever reached two million in the game, Jennings and James Holtzhauer. However, Schneider beat Holtzhauer’s 32-day run on January 17th. Schneider becomes the first woman and first trans person to join the Jeopardy million-dollar club, but still has a long way to go to get to Jenning’s record of 74 consecutive games. After the death of beloved host Alex Trebeck in November of 2020, former Big Bang Theory actress, Mayim Bialik, and record holder Jennings, have shared the job of hosting the show. 

Seeing as the show has been running since 1964, Schneider’s accomplishments mean a lot. She has been an inspiration for many Jeopardy fans and we are all excited to see how long she can last, as well as the battle between her and Amodio in the 2022 Tournament of Champions.