Schneider who holds the record as the woman with the most wins in Jeopardy! history lost in the final Jeopardy! round on Wednesday, Jan. 26. In the “Countries of the World” category, the answer was “The only nation in the world whose name in English ends with an ‘H’ and is also one of the 10 most populous.” Schneider was stumped and didn’t offer an answer. Rhone Talsma replied with the correct question, “What is Bangladesh.” The Chicago-based librarian ended up in first place with $29,600 as Schneider came in second place winning $19,600. Talsma was a worthy opponent, which was no surprise to Schneider. “I had thought that Rhone was going to be tough going into it," said Schneider in a statement. “I loved hanging out with him. We had a great conversation before the taping, but I could tell that he was here to play and that he was going to be good. I still came very close to winning, but I did feel like maybe I was slipping a little bit. And once it was clear that he was fast on the buzzer, I knew it was going to be a battle all the way.” However, this certainly isn’t the last we’ll see of Schneider, an engineering manager from Oakland. She will be back this fall for the Tournament of Champions. She also has the distinction of being the second player with the most consecutive wins (the first is Ken Jennings who in 2004 had 74 wins.) She is also the show’s fifth person to become a millionaire. This week, after overtaking Matt Amodio’s 38-game streak, she had this to say: “It still feels unreal,” said Schneider in a statement released by Jeopardy! “Knowing that I had this chance, I was definitely thinking about it …Then Ken said it, and I thought, ‘Alright, I just accomplished this huge thing’ and it was pretty great.” In a New York Times story Schneider recounted what she did right after losing on the Nov. 9 taping. After she handed out cards to thank the crew she shared, “I went in the bathroom, cried for about 30 or 40 seconds, pulled myself together and headed out.” Meanwhile, host Ken Jennings, the only person to surpass her consecutive wins had glowing things to say about Schneider. “Of all the Jeopardy! greats, I’ve never seen anyone that played the game with the kind of unflappable ease that Amy Schneider always seemed to have,” Tweeted Jennings. “I’m dazzled by her talent, of course, but also by how she was always so authentically and straightforwardly herself as her streak aired, What a champ!” Reflecting on Jennings’ comments Schneider replied with her signature grace. “Going into my first taping, one of the things I told myself was “Just be yourself, and then whatever happens as a result, you’ll be OK with it,” Schneider Tweeted. “I’m so glad that seems to have come across for everyone!”
