'Jeopardy!' champ Mattea Roach's winning streak comes to an end
Mattea Roach's impressive "Jeopardy!" winning streak has officially come to an end.
Roach, a tutor from Toronto, lost by a single dollar on the May 6 episode to challenger Danielle Maurer, a digital marketing manager from Peachtree Corners, Georgia.
"It feels still kind of like a dream. I really came down here hoping to maybe win one game and so I still can't believe it," Roach said in a press release. "You know, it's strange, obviously I didn't come through in the last one, but I still feel so happy and so lucky to have had this experience."
After 23 wins, Roach's run ended with her amassing $560,983. She is now at No. 5 in both all-time consecutive wins and all-time regular season winnings. Only Matt Amodio, James Holzhauer, Ken Jennings and Amy Schneider have won more games or more prize money during their initial runs.
"When I think of the caliber of those four players, I really don't feel like I deserve to be mentioned in the same breath as them to be honest," Roach said. "Like, I can't believe it. It's such a huge honor that I am being spoken of in relation to people like Ken, James, Matt, Amy. It's, wow. There's no words."
Roach recently opened up to "Good Morning America" about her Canadian heritage, something she has in common with late "Jeopardy!" host Alex Trebek.
"To get to represent Canada on the 'Alex Trebek Stage' means a lot. As Canadians, we're so proud of our homegrown celebrities who made it big in the U.S.," Roach told Robin Roberts. "And so, it didn't occur to me as I was taping these shows that I had become the longest-running Canadian but I'm really honored by the support that everyone across the country has shown me. It's so meaningful and it fills me with so much joy."
As for what she plans to do after her "Jeopardy!" stint, Roach told "GMA" the details are still up in the air.
"Honestly, I would love to know the answer to it myself," Roach said. "I'm definitely thinking at this point now -- especially with all the money I have in the bank -- going back to school, either for professional school or master's degree or something, might be in the cards in the future. But you know, 'Jeopardy!' showed me unexpected things can happen. So I'm trying to be open-minded about what might come next."
One thing definitely on Roach's schedule will be returning for the "Jeopardy!" Tournament of Champions this fall.
