Well, Amy Schneider's run on Jeopardy! ended yesterday, after 40 straight wins that put her in second place for all-time streaks, between Ken Jennings and Matt Amodio. I had an inkling she might be at an end when I saw two different on-line pieces about her, both discussing how difficult it is for long-run champions to keep their secret. One of them included the kind of questions I can only imagine she would answer after she had finally lost.
There was also a hint when the contestant who ultimately beat her, Rhone Talsma, a librarian from Chicago, dominated the early play in the first round, hardly letting Schneider get in at all. He also hit two of the three Daily Doubles: he missed the first one, but crucially went all in on the last one, putting him within striking distance of Schneider's total.
Then, in Final Jeopardy, he was the only one with the correct answer, finishing with a total just $2000 bigger than Schneider's to that point...and Schneider, perhaps over confident, had wagered $8000, putting her about $10,000 behind Talsma.
The Champions tournament later this season should be very interesting, with both the second and third-place all-time winners competing. I expect we'll see them head-to-head in the finals (but not before, if the producers are smart in how they arrange the quarter- and semi-finals).
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