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MATTEA MADNESS
Inside Jeopardy! 14-time champ Mattea Roach’s wildest moments so far with hosts Ken Jennings and Mayim Bialik
JEOPARDY! 14-time champion Mattea Roach is a 23-year-old Canadian TATTED-UP tutor currently tearing through records.
Here's a look inside her wildest gameplay moments yet with dueling co-hosts Ken Jennings and Mayim Bialik.
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Mattea's 14th straight win on April 22nd tied her for eighth-most consecutive Jeopardy! victories ever.
Also on that legacy list of luminaries are Amy Schneider, James Holzhauer and Ken himself.
Many fans want Ken to take over full time, as one wrote to Facebook this week: "I really wish Jeopardy would just say Ken is the new host and get this over with."
While the permanent hosting slot is still in 'Jeopardy!' there's no question Mattea's run has been WILD with $320K so far as she Cana-does the impossible.
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STUDENT LOAN STAR
With a septum piercing, wire-frame glasses and a love of classic rock, Mattea first hit the stage on April 5th.
She is a recent graduate of the University of Toronto, and currently works as a tutor in Ontario - which she made known, as she won her first game and $32K.
"All my student loans are paid off," the power player SHOUTED from the podium, covering her mouth with her hand.
She also mentioned her prized possession was her dad's "vintage" jean jacket from the '80s.
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ONCE IN A LIFETIME
During her second game, which was also hosted by Mayim that week as many slammed the banter-heavy Blossom actress as rather "annoying" - Mattea continued to be an unconventional underdog.
During the meeting and greet, she discussed her SEVEN tattoos including two LEG tattoos dedicated to the band The Talking Heads.
"So I have under both of my knees - on one leg I have 'same as it ever was' and on the other leg I have 'how did I get here' both from [the song] Once In A Lifetime," she .
"She has good taste in music! #Jeopardy," a viewer tweeted when she shared her ink.
"I have 7 tattoos! Good for Mattea~~knew I liked her! #Jeopardy," another fan wrote, relating to her.
Later, Mattea rolled up her sleeves and showed off her scorpion ARM tattoo, visible for much of that game, as she continued stinging her competitors into the following week.
One fan then wrote: "a Scorpio with a Scorpio tattoo and glasses is running jeopardy ... just saying."
WAR OF THE WORDS
During her seventh game, which Ken returned to host that week which many celebrated -some history-heavy critics felt Mattea's Canadian upbringing "favorably" came into play.
The Final Jeopardy question read: "Intimately familiar with World War I, Churchill considered this war from some 150 years earlier the 'First World War.'
Both first-time contestants answered: "What is the French Indian war" but Ken told them both they were WRONG, while Mattea correctly answered, "What is the seven years war."
One Twitter user wrote: "Both answers should have been accepted. It was an error to allow such ambiguity in a Final Jeopardy answer."
While another: "[I] expected it to favor Mattea, to which one replied "Correct. Canadians know it as the Seven Years War."
However, Mattea has only missed one Final Jeopardy so far - on April 21 - and it wouldn't have mattered as she was far enough ahead.
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CANADA & KEN COMRADERY
Speaking of Canada, Ken began Mattea's 10th game by noting that she is Canadian, before listing other people, places, and things from the country.
"Mounties, moose, maple syrup, ketchup chips ... northern lights, Niagra Falls, Celine Dion, Norm Macdonald... [the late] Alex Trebek" he vamped before the game had even started.
One noted: "What was with Jennings extended Canada themed #Jeopardy intro?"
Some called it "goofy," others "distracting" but Ken seemed to simply be celebrating all things Canada and perhaps - Mattea.
The famed alum known for his winning streak of 74 games in 2004, the longest ever, seems to be a fan.
Often when Mattea gets a question right, Ken - who perhaps sees himself in the rising champ simply replies, "good."
When Mattea shared an off-set celebration from LA's In-N-Out Burger on Twitter, Ken and wrote:
"If this is the In-n-Out on Venice, I’ve been going here after @Jeopardy off and on for 18 years. Solid choice."
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LAST MATTEA STANDING
Of course, episode 12 of Mattea's ongoing streak saw what many called the "wildest game ever."
During Wednesday's April 20th game, two first-time contestants entered Final Jeopardy with negative scores, so they didn't even compete.
In an extremely rare move, the show returned from commercial with two long-running champs - Ken and Mattea, on stage alone, together.
She and Ken stood there as she answered the category "On The Internet" correctly with "What is: Masterclass."
A shocked Ken noted as they quietly stood alongside two empty podiums, "We don't usually come to you first in Final Jeopardy but we're going to today."
"Wow, the other two contestants didn't make it to Final Jeopardy. Never seen that one before," one wrote on a situation that rarely occurs.
"Has that ever happened before?" another wondered.
While some critics have noted her "wild hand gestures," as one fumed, "Mattea quit with the ad libs and awkward hand gestures” - the consensus is clear:
She's a hand wave away from becomming a household name.
And it wasn't more clear than her Wednesday Final Jeopardy win, a moment that saw an empty stage perhaps only filled with mutual admiration.
Mattea will attempt her historic 15th win Monday and as pointed out, she is now a 'super-champ' with a 93% clue response accuracy rating and an 88% Daily Double accuracy rating.
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Mayim and Ken started filling in as temporary hosts after Alex Trebek's tragic death in 2020.
The actress announced that she and when the yet-to-be-announced permanent host will take over.
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