- And we have to say goodbye to Matt Amodio
with an unbelievable 38 day winning streak.
That is one for the books.
It has been an honor and a pleasure to watch you here.
Congratulations.
- Matt Amodio our 38 day champion,
I have to ask, how are you feeling right now?
- Sad, but I'm also thinking back to all the good times
that I've had along the way,
and so there's plenty of happiness too.
- When you think back on this game,
the game that ended up being your last,
what emotions come to mind?
- Yeah, so I've been replaying every question along the way
in my head non-stop since
which I'm sure is a healthy reaction.
- I'm sure what's the one that stands out to you the most,
would you say?
- I think the Final Jeopardy! that I got wrong
was not a good taste to end on.
- You've had such an impressive run
over one and a half million dollars, 38 wins.
And so many records that you were shattering along the way,
tell me about this experience.
- Wow, I just took it one step at a time
and I was able to appreciate each one
and I didn't take anything for granted.
Then they just kept on coming.
And I thought at some point I might no longer feel that joy,
but every single win was just like the first,
I got such happiness out of it.
- Tell me about today, was it unlike any other day
or did you feel any different?
- I woke up on the wrong side of the mattress.
I didn't know it at the time.
No, it's just like every other day,
but this time the chips fell in the other direction.
- You certainly had some really impressive challengers
in Jessica and Jonathan, talk about that.
- Yeah, absolutely, so you try and scope out
the other contestants and see who's going to be a challenge,
but I've learned throughout all this
that you can't do that because everybody's a challenge.
Everybody's so smart and they're so competent,
you know that this could happen any game
and this time it did.
- People always talk about that.
It all comes down to the categories.
Certainly was your experience today.
- Yeah, I had some tough categories
where I made some mistakes and then also that buzzer
just it's always a mystery.
- Even after 38 wins?
- You'd think I would get used to it,
but no it works and then it doesn't work
and I'm totally at sea either way.
- Certainly you've gotten a lot of attention along the way.
What's it been like becoming a well-known name
and face in America right now?
- There's a lot of positive attention.
There's some negative attention,
but I'm focusing on the positive attention.
I didn't realize that the internet could actually be nice.
So I have a lot of fans who tweet,
congratulations and encouragement,
and I really just expected anonymous strangers
to be mean, and I've experienced the opposite.
- In Matt style,
what's been your favorite part of this experience?
- Oh well, I have to think the broader scope,
I've been able to meet people.
I've been able to work with the people behind the scenes.
And this is my favorite show.
I've always seen what goes on the television.
Now I've gotten to experience the stuff
behind the stage too, and that's just been so fun.
- One thing, one of our champions, James Holzhauer has said,
Ken Jennings the same that if you lose,
you want to lose to a great champion.
You want to lose in a way that feels like you can really
honor the person who took your place.
How do you feel about your game?
- Yeah, I was happy that I got Final Jeopardy! wrong,
but the champion got it right.
And I'm wishing for him to go on to a great streak
of his own.
He deserves it.
- What advice do you have,
now that you've had a long run here at Jeopardy!
for people who like you know,
people have been telling them, maybe their dad,
you got to try it, you got to do it,
and they don't think they have what it takes.
You certainly are a perfect example
that you have to believe in yourself.
- Absolutely, just put yourself out there.
I think that this game comes with a lot of uncertainty.
Do I belong on the stage in the first place?
Should I try out?
But then even once you get there,
should I ring in, should I take a guess?
And I think people should just be brave,
put themselves out there and see if good things happen.
- I don't think there's any way that you could move forward
without saying Jeopardy!
has now officially changed your life.
Talk about that.
- I always wanted to be a Jeopardy! champion
and I accomplished that with one win.
I've had a few more wins and with that,
I think I will always have this as part of my life.
I will know going into every bar trivia game that I play,
that I'm going to come in with a little intimidation factor.
But also I just like the badge that it represents
as somebody who prioritizes knowledge
and knowing things that this is really
a good one to have following me everywhere.
- You have so much to celebrate.
How are you going to celebrate this monumental event?
- I'm going to get a good night's sleep,
which I think I haven't in a long time.
So the stress comes along with all of the good moments
and it'll feel nice to breathe deeply
and really just sit back for the first time since my shows.
- Matt, you have been a pleasure to watch.
Congratulations on an incredible run.
We'll be seeing you, I can assure you in the future.
So looking forward to that.
- Thank you.