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Canadian quiz show superchamp Mattea Roach finishes second in 'Jeopardy! Masters'

Canadian quiz show champ Mattea Roach made it to the finals, but couldn't clinch the "Jeopardy! Masters" title.
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Canadian Mattea Roach appears in an episode of Jeopardy! in a handout photo. **MANDATORY CREDIT**

Canadian quiz show champ Mattea Roach made it to the finals, but couldn't clinch the "Jeopardy! Masters" title.

The Toronto-based writer and podcast host finished second on Wednesday's episode, with a combined two-game point total of 41,685, earning a prize of US$250,000.

James Holzhauer scored 43,795 points to win the tournament and its US$500,000 first prize, while fellow American Matt Amodio came in third to win US$150,000.

The "Jeopardy!" spinoff pit six recent trivia titans against each other, with a different combination of competitors playing two “high-stakes games” in each hour-long episode of the quarter- and semifinals. 

The tournament came at a difficult time for Roach, who noted in Tuesday's semifinal episode that their father died in the course of filming. Roach said their dad was a big part of why they were able to compete on "Jeopardy!" at all, instilling in them a love of learning.

Roach thanked everyone on set who ensured they could go home to grieve instead of continuing to film on what they said was the hardest day of their life so far.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 24, 2023.

The Canadian Press