Jamie Ding’s “Jeopardy!” winning streak came to a close Monday night, ending the fifth-longest win streak in show history. But at least he got to say goodbye.
His cheeky Final Jeopardy answer read “TTFN” — “ta-ta for now” — as he understood there was no way to come back from a nearly 14,000-point deficit to keep his streak going. The polite adieu was apropos for a player some fans considered the show’s nicest ever.
“I wouldn’t have done that,” Ding told People, “if there had even been a chance of me coming out with the victory.” He couldn’t remember another time a “Jeopardy!” super champion, i.e. a contestant who has racked up five or more consecutive wins, had lost that big.
His loss came after 31 victories, one game shy of James Holzhauer’s 32-game streak in 2019. Current host Ken Jennings holds the record, having clocked 74 games in a row in 2004. Ding lost to international chess master Greg Shahade.
Ding didn’t come close to Holzhauer’s prize haul of almost $2.5 million, unfortunately, amassing only $882,605 over his six-week streak. Yeah, “only.” The difference came because, as the New York Times noted, the 33-year-old bureaucrat-slash-law student didn’t go all-in wagering on Daily Doubles like Holzhauer had.
But Holzhauer didn’t rock an orange wardrobe with Ding’s level of commitment to his favorite color. The latter told NYT he might need to shop for more orange garb as he preps for the “Jeopardy!” Tournament of Champions.
“I have a reputation to uphold,” he said.
And sure he’s bummed to be done, he told People, but he’s also happy his streak happened at all.
“I kept hearing how it was bringing people together, and I love that very much,” Ding told the celebrity news outlet. “I’ve heard people say, ‘It’s nice to have something positive on TV!’”
That said, watching himself on TV hasn’t been an entirely nice experience. First off, he told NYT, “I can be pretty self-critical — like, Why did you do that? Or, What’s wrong with your face?”
Then there was the tension about whether he would keep winning, like during the episode where he won for the 30th time.
“I mean, I was nervous watching it,” he told “Good Morning America” on Friday, “and I knew the outcome.” That game, he said, was “fantastic,” as was the entire experience.
“Nobody goes in planning to win 30 games,” Ding said on “GMA.” “Only a complete egomaniac would do that. I mean, I thought, like, I entertained the possibility. It’s nice to dream big but that it’s actually happened is, it’s amazing.”
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