This is Jeopardy, Do Superchampions Get Tired? Conclusion

 

 

In the last five years 11 players have reached super-champion status winning 11 games or more. Amy Schneider and Matt Amodio, numbers 2 and 3 in consecutive games won respectively gave no real sign that they were running on empty at any point prior to their defeats. For Matt he finally ran into a super-champion of his own; for Amy Rhone Talsma played just well enough to beat her.

So let's look at the others.

 

Jonathan Fisher, 11 Wins, 2021

With Jonathan its very difficult to tell whether exhaustion played a role in his defeat as in so many of his games he either was playing just well enough to win or his opponents were just as good as him. On his eleventh game Jonathan managed 27 correct responses and three incorrect ones but two of those were Daily Doubles he missed. When he finally lost to Nancy Donehower he got 21 correct responses but six incorrect ones.

I can't say one way or the other about Jonathan.

 

Mattea Roach, 23 wins, 2022

In Mattea's case I do think they were starting to flag a little by the end. On their 22^nd win Mattea went into Final Jeopardy well behind Sarh Snider. But somehow Sarah hadn't seen Citizen Kane and Mattea lived to fight another day.

To be clear Mattea was far better the next day: their Coryat score at the end of Double Jeopardy was 17,800 to Danielle Maurer's 6000 and Betsy Hobbs 7600. It was the Daily Double Danielle got late in Final Jeopardy running away from it that stopped it from being a runaway. That said Mattea only got one correct response the entire second half of the Double Jeopardy round so its clear they were flagging. That in the fact the clue happened to relate to Georgia where Danielle was from was the final nail in Mattea's streak.

Throw in that Mattea was never quite as dominant as the other super-champions ahead of them on that list and I think they were running on fumes by the end of it.

 

Ryan Long, 16 wins, 2022

Ryan is hard to say because he struggled a lot in his wins: lot of incorrect responses on Daily Doubles and overall as well quite a few incorrect Final Jeopardys even when he didn't have runaways.  Aaron Gulyas nearly beat him in his 11^th appearance.

The biggest sign he might have been fatigued, however, was in his fourteenth game when he played against  Meagan Morrow. He got 22 correct responses and six incorrect ones; Megan got 16 correct and only one wrong. The two of them were tied in Coryat score but because of the number of incorrect responses Meagan was ahead going into Final Jeopardy. All three players were stumped  by it and Ryan bet slightly less then Meagan to hold on for win number 14.

The next day Ryan faced off against Tom Philipose and it was the same story. Ryan got 28 correct responses and 1 incorrect one; Tom got 20 correct and none wrong. Ryan finished slightly ahead in Double Jeopardy and it was another triple stumper which preserved his streak

So its pretty clear even though it appeared Ryan was playing well he was starting to flag by the time he reached his seventeenth appearance. And on that day not only did he play poorly Eric Ahasic was just too good for him to overcome.

 

Cris Panullo, 21 Games, 2022

Until Jamie Ding came along this past few months Cris Panullo had been fifth all-time in winnings in a players original run, winning more money in 21 games then Mattea did in 23 and arguably a better player then Ken Jennings to that point in Ken's original run. The only argument that Cris was slowing down was that he went from 34 correct responses in his 20^th victory to 'only' 26 in his 21^st. And he managed 27 correct responses in his 22^nd appearance.

The difference was the Daily Doubles. Cris got one wrong in Double Jeopardy that cost him $6600; his opponent Andy Tirrell got one right that gave him $3700. That caused 8 lead changes late in Double Jeopardy and Cris ended up retaking it with his last two clues.

That said the Coryat score tells a different story. Cris would had $19,000 to Andy's $9000. It's hard to argue Cris was losing steam in his last appearance.

 

Ray LaLonde, 13 Games, 2022-2023

 

Ray was one of the best Jeopardy champions but not quite as dominant as so many of those on this list. He had earn many of his wins because his opponents were just that good. That said he was probably starting to miss a step in his last few wins because luck was a big factor.

In his 11^th game Ray, Emily Kawaler and Rachel Cohen were basically dead even all the way through. Emily was $1000 ahead of him in Final Jeopardy and she was the only one to respond incorrectly. Win 12 against Isaac Rabbani and Kristen Jacobsen was even harder and this time he had to respond correctly in Final Jeopardy to win. And playing Denise Carlon in the first game of 2023 he was lucky to pull of a win: Denise was ahead of him at the end of Double Jeopardy and Ray had only a $100 margin at the end of Double Jeopardy after getting both Daily Doubles wrong. That $100 margin got him his thirteenth win.

In his final appearance against Lloyd Sy and Claire Theoret he was clearly running on empty: while he got 22 correct responses, he also got 6 incorrect ones. And that last one for $400 cost him the lead going into Final Jeopardy and therefore his run ended.

As we now know Ray has suffered from physical ailments that caused him to be seated in later appearances on Jeopardy. While I can't rule out that wasn't a factor, he was still playing at a superb level. But his opponents were just as good as him and eventually it cost him.

 

 

Adriana Harmeyer, 15 Games, 2024

Adriana is an interesting case study. While she was a superb player it must be admitted that many of her victories were as much due to her opponents getting incorrect responses – particularly on Daily Doubles – as much as her playing well (and getting Daily Doubles correct). In more than a few games in her original runs her opponents were playing far better than she was throughout the game and it was only through their own errors that she continued to win. In her fifteenth appearance, for example, Colleen Matthews played better than her and finished with a higher Coryat score. But because she got both Daily Doubles incorrect Adriana was in the lead going into Final Jeopardy and as a result won.

But when the crash came, it came fast. And it came in Double Jeopardy against Drew Basile and Tekla Sauter she was once as high as $13,700. Then the last three responses she gave in Double Jeopardy were incorrect and Tekla and Drew completely outplayed her. She became the first super-champion to lose in a runaway victory as Drew Basile began his own impressive run.

It's hard to know if Adriana ran out of steam or if she just ran into a better player: Drew managed the third most games and money won in the 2025 TOC lineup. She couldn't outplay or outlast him.

 

Scott Riccardi, 16 Games, 2025

In Scott's case there is no evidence fatigue was setting in by the end of his run. On the contrary all statistical evidence proves that he was actually getting stronger with each victory in his last week. This was true even in his final appearance: he managed to get 29 correct responses and didn't get a single clue wrong until Final Jeopardy. Jonathan Hugendubler's victory is in part because he got to both Daily Doubles in Double Jeopardy ahead of Scott which insured Scott wouldn't have a runaway – and set up the conditions for his spectacular upset.

 

Harrison Whitaker, 14 Games, 2025

In Harrison's case its hard to know. He managed six consecutive runaway victories prior to his fifteenth appearance and the only clue he got incorrect was the Daily Double in that game. The evidence is that he was giving few correct responses for a while: 30 in his thirteenth game, 28 in his fourteenth, 25 in his fifteenth.

The other evidence is that his opponents were starting to play better and find Daily Doubles ahead of him. That was true for Libby Jones and Brendan Thomas in his last game and Wilder Seitz in his fourteenth. Wilder got to all three in the latter game but critically got 2 wrong. Had he gotten one of them correct he might have been able to end his streak that day.

There's some evidence but its hard to say for sure.

 

Jamie Ding, 31 Games, 2026

In Jamie's case there does seem to be some clear evidence he was starting to run on fumes in that final week. The clearest evidence came in what was his thirtieth win in which Patrick Nolan was ahead of him late in the Double Jeopardy round. In that game he only got 21 correct responses to Patrick's 19 and he had to bet everything on a Daily Double in Double Jeopardy to assure he was ahead in Final Jeopardy – narrowly.

The best evidence is, of course, how thoroughly Greg Shahade beat him in his final appearance. Jamie didn't find any Daily Doubles, got eighteen correct but also three incorrect while Greg found all three to runaway with the game by the end of Double Jeopardy. Greg is only the second Jeopardy super-champion after Adriana Harmeyer to lose his title by being on the other side of a runaway which is the clearest sign of his exhaustion.

 

Conclusion

 

In the case of Cris Panullo and Scott Riccardi, there is no sign fatigue played a factor in their defeats. In the case of Mattea Roach, Ryan Long, Ray Lalonde, Adriana Harmeyer and Jamie Ding the record shows fatigue clearly paid some factor in their losses. There isn't enough evidence in the cases of Jonathan Fisher or Harrison Whitaker for me to state definitively.

Overall of the 20 super-champions in nine cases there would appear to be statistical evidence fatigue played a role in their defeat. In eight there's no direct statistical evidence of it and in three I just can't tell way or the other.

In addition we have to consider the factor of who they lost to as being a role. Five of the super-champions here were beaten by players who would ascend to the Tournament of Champions in their own right. Emma Boettcher, Jonathan Fisher (when he beat Matt Amodio) Eric Ahasic and Drew Basile all ended up getting to the TOC and Greg Shahade almost certainly will be invited back.  Considering that Victoria Groce has subsequently been a finalist in the last two Jeopardy Masters her defeat of David Madden in 2005 would indicate she was a better player than just her one victory in her original appearance.

That's being trying to sound academic. Now I'll be a human being again.

I think there are a lot of factors for long term success on Jeopardy and that to quote Yogi Berra 90 percent of the game is mental. Is the other half physical as that sage put it? No but it has to be a factor the longer the streak goes.

And waiting for every Jeopardy champion is the knowledge that someday, there's going to be someone who is better than you. It may be a great player like Drew Basile or just someone like Nancy Zerg for whom victory is as much a shock to them as it is everyone in the studio or watching at home.

So remember whenever the next super-champion comes along they are only human. At some point they'll be slower on the buzzer or miss a Daily Double that you knew at home because the fatigue on the body will momentarily overcome their beautiful minds. And remember this is Jeopardy. You'll be seeing them again sooner then you think and they'll get a chance to prove how bright they are.