Matt Amodio received his second recreation of the 2025 Jeopardy! Invitational Event on Thursday, March 6, that means he received your complete event. He performed towards Roger Craig and Juveria Zaheer and is now talking out about his first event win.
The champion appeared on the Inside Jeopardy! Podcast the day after his win to speak about his fellow opponents, how he practiced, and what’s subsequent for him. Amodio had completed in third and sixth on Jeopardy! Masters, so successful feels good, he shared.
Podcast host Sarah Whitcomb-Foss requested Amodio how he felt going into the competitors going up towards 26 different Jeopardy! greats. Out of the contestants, Amodio had solely ever performed towards Amy Schneider and Jonathan Fisher.
“I didn’t really feel nice about it,” he shared. “There have been some people who I’ve been an enormous fan of after which some I didn’t know however wowed me. Realizing how a lot expertise was on this pool, I didn’t count on that it might find yourself like this.”
Cohost Michael Davies requested the champion if there was any distinction to his strategy on this event in comparison with common Jeopardy!. Amodio shared that he was principally doing the identical factor, however he is aware of he’s in “event life” eternally and has to “elevate the obscurity stage on the trivia.” He added that he’s going to need to brush up on the popular culture questions.
The JIT winner stated that along with his full-time job as a quantitative researcher, learning for Jeopardy! must “take a again burner.” He added, “However it’ll by no means be additional again from that as a result of it’s simply enjoyable. I’m obsessive about studying and information, so it’s only a pleasure to have additional motive to do that.”
About his win, Amodio stated that he had “some good buzzer mojo” and “the winds of destiny” behind him. “I acquired some key right issues once I wanted it,” he stated.
Nevertheless, in recreation one, the sport present contestant admitted that he didn’t really feel prefer it was going “all that effectively” because it was occurring. “With two very proficient folks subsequent to me, I felt like I used to be on a knife’s edge,” Amodio stated.
Originally of the event, Amodio shared that he was attempting to be the sport present’s new villain. Davies requested him if he’s going to play into that the following time he competes. Amodio stated that he may need to develop a handlebar mustache and “discover some practice tracks to tape a damsel in misery to.”
To wrap up the dialog, Whitcomb-Foss requested the participant what he had realized from his Jeopardy! journey. “I’ve realized to get pleasure from it, no matter it’s. It’s simpler to get pleasure from it once you win, however you by no means know the way it’s going to return out,” he stated.
“Don’t take it personally. Generally, it simply doesn’t go your method. It’s not an indictment of you as a human being. And in addition, don’t get too massive in your britches,” he concluded.
Amodio will compete on Jeopardy! Masters arising within the subsequent few months.
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