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From record-breaking streaks to jaw-dropping buzzer speed, these trivia titans made history on the Alex Trebek stage. Join us as we celebrate the smartest, most dominant, and most unforgettable champions ever to play this legendary game show. Which brainiac would you crown the ultimate “Jeopardy!” great? Let us know in the comments below!
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00:00Jeopardy! is your Olympics. What do you mean by that?
00:03This is sort of the peak of my, you know, performance.
00:05I'm not going to be this good at anything else, probably.
00:07Welcome to Ms. Mojo.
00:09And today, we're counting down our picks for the most successful
00:12and highest-earning players the iconic game show Jeopardy! has ever seen.
00:16The greatest of all time. Congratulations.
00:21Number 20, Nancy Zurg.
00:23She was only on the show two times, but boy, did she make a great impression.
00:27This Californian realtor debuted in November 2004,
00:30playing against college student David Hankins and the legendary Ken Jennings.
00:35Against all odds, she not only won her first game with a final score of $14,401,
00:41but she also ended Jennings' 74-game winning streak.
00:44He winds up in second place with $87.99.
00:48And Nancy Zurg, congratulations. You are indeed a giant killer.
00:54Zurg was, in fact, the first Jeopardy! contestant to ever end a contestant's long winning streak.
00:59Alas, it was her only win.
01:02She lost her next game, ending with only $2.
01:05Still, Zurg made history.
01:07All good things have to come to an end, don't they?
01:10Well, too bad for Ken, but he's going home with a lot of money.
01:13Number 19, Scott Riccardi.
01:15There are players who consistently win an incredible number of games,
01:19but also others who achieve massive earnings.
01:22Riccardi is the 17th highest money winner on Jeopardy! as of this video,
01:26first appearing on the show in July 2025.
01:29He then went on to dethrone Jason Singer and Andrew Hayes.
01:32This whole experience is just so surreal that it almost feels like it's going to be a thing
01:36where I'm just going to wake up back in New Jersey and none of it will have really happened.
01:40I'm just an Italian Dorothy from The Wizard of Oz.
01:42Riccardi had 16 wins during the regular season run,
01:45becoming the biggest winner of season 41 with a total of $458,000.
01:50He lost in the Tournament of Champions to Paolo Pasco, but still received $75,000.
01:56This is a big winner indeed.
01:58Someone else is going to pass that mark, and they'll feel, you know,
02:01I'm hoping, you know, they'll feel as accomplished as, like, I feel,
02:06and how unbelievable it just feels to, like, have passed someone like that.
02:09So hopefully, you know, whoever that ends up being, I really, I wish them the best of luck.
02:13Number 18, Yogesh Rout.
02:15This Springfield blogger and podcaster had a terrific run.
02:19Beginning in January 2023 in the regular season,
02:22Rout went on to face Nick Cascone and Jake D'Arruda in the Tournament of Champions.
02:26He got all the answers correct in the first two rounds
02:29and became the second three-time champion to win the tournament.
02:33And that is three wins for Yogesh Rout, the winner of this Tournament of Champions.
02:38In Jeopardy! Masters, he faced off against Victoria Gross and Juveria Zahir in the season three finals
02:43and also won spectacularly, becoming the sixth millionaire on the show.
02:48Rout now ranks high among the contestants with the most winnings.
02:52Bravo indeed.
02:53Even though you know that, you know, there's both skill and luck involved,
02:57when you do manage to get one of those outcomes, you know, like that, it always feels really good.
03:02Number 17, Victoria Gross.
03:04Speaking of which, we have to talk about this queen.
03:07Also a streak-ender, Gross made an excellent debut in 2005's Jeopardy!
03:12by ending David Madden's 19-game streak.
03:14New Jeopardy! champion, a giant killer, Victoria Gross with 22,801.
03:21And David Madden's 19-day reign comes to an end.
03:25Although she lost her second game in the regular season,
03:28Gross returned for the Invitational Tournament.
03:31There, she won a total of $100,000 against Amy Schneider and Andrew He in the finals.
03:36$20,001 and you are the winner of our first Jeopardy! Invitational Tournament.
03:42The only person in the finals who has not been a Jeopardy! Master.
03:47But Victoria, you're headed to Jeopardy! Masters in May.
03:49Although she lost to Rout in the season 3 finals of Jeopardy! Masters,
03:53she still took home $150,000.
03:56Wow.
03:57She is now ranked among the contestants with the highest all-time winnings.
04:01We must bow down.
04:02And thank you for the invitation. I mean, I was certainly thrilled to get it,
04:06and I did everything I could to prepare to play my best here.
04:09Number 16. Eddie Tamanis.
04:11This 90s contestant was not just a big winner.
04:14Tamanis made history as the first blind contestant on the show,
04:17using Braille cards and a keyboard to type out his final Jeopardy! responses.
04:21Just at about the same regular age where you start to learn to read,
04:25about three or four, I took up Braille.
04:27But you started with license plates.
04:29Well, I started reading raised letters just kind of for fun.
04:33That sort of became a collection hobby of mine, too.
04:36It was only in his appearance on the show that contestants began the show at the podium
04:40instead of walking up to it, a convention that still exists today.
04:44His performance was also notable, winning five consecutive games in the regular season
04:49with a cumulative total of $69,700.
04:52I said, okay, so we'll go to Ted, let's see.
04:54And I hear this gasp from the audience.
04:57That was the moment where I realized, oh my goodness, he missed it.
05:00I'm a five-timer. I'm coming to the tournament.
05:02He went on to play in the Tournament of Champions
05:04and even reached the Battle of the Decades,
05:07finally losing to Rachel Schwartz.
05:09I'm sure if you could actually see it, it's pretty intimidating for a lot of people.
05:13But maybe I was better equipped to, you know, kind of block all that out.
05:17Number 15. Mateo Roach.
05:19This Canadian writer was breaking records in their very first game.
05:22In 2022, Roach won with $32,001,
05:27breaking the record for the highest single-game winnings by a Canadian.
05:30You have $32,001. Congratulations.
05:34You are our new Jeopardy! champion.
05:38We will see you tomorrow for more Jeopardy!
05:41Roach went on for a 23-game streak in the regular season,
05:44finally losing to Danielle Maurer on their 24th.
05:47They went on to the Tournament of Champions and finally Jeopardy! Masters,
05:51facing off against James Holzhauer and Matt Amodio in the Season 1 Finals,
05:55losing to Holzhauer.
05:56They are the first Canadian, as well as the first non-binary person,
06:00to win 10 or more games.
06:01You finished with $28,400 today and a 22-day total of $534,984.
06:11Number 14. Matt Amodio.
06:13This PhD mathematician is one hell of a doctor.
06:17The third millionaire contestant on the show,
06:19Amodio is the 10th highest-earning American contestant on any game show.
06:23Total for today is $48,800, bringing you to a 28-day total of $1,004,001.
06:32Congratulations. You are our Jeopardy! champion again.
06:37He began with a 38-game streak in the regular season in 2021,
06:41defeated only by Jonathan Fisher in his 39th game.
06:44This earned him a cumulative total of over $1.5 million,
06:48and made him one of the contestants with the longest winning streaks,
06:52behind Jennings and Amy Schneider.
06:54He went on to play in the Tournament of Champions and Jeopardy! Masters.
06:58Amodio really can't be caught.
06:59I will know going into every bar trivia game that I play
07:03that I'm going to come in with a little intimidation factor.
07:06But also, I just like the badge that it represents
07:10as somebody who prioritizes knowledge and knowing things,
07:14that this is really a good one to have following me everywhere.
07:19Number 13, Amy Schneider.
07:21When it comes to winning streaks, only one person surpasses this contestant.
07:25This Californian writer debuted on the show in November 2021,
07:29ending Andrew He's five-game winning streak.
07:31Which means, Amy Schneider, with $31,600,
07:35you are our new Jeopardy! champion.
07:37Schneider went on to win no less than 40 consecutive games,
07:40losing only to Roan Talsma.
07:42She took home over $1.3 million in cumulative earnings,
07:47ranking fourth-highest in cash winnings for the regular season.
07:49What a run. Thank you for the two months you spent with us.
07:52It was very special. It was remarkable.
07:55We'll be seeing you again in the Tournament of Champions.
07:57She later won the Tournament of Champions,
07:59becoming the fourth female champion overall
08:01and the first in 15 years.
08:03Although she lost big in the semifinals of Jeopardy! Masters,
08:07she still brought home $100,000.
08:09Now that's legendary.
08:11I also, actually, I did have a question for you, Ken,
08:15which is, I wanted to ask,
08:16how did it feel when you won your 40th game?
08:19Because I could have asked one of these two, but...
08:23Number 12. Jason Zafraneri
08:25We never suffer watching this New Mexico math teacher win big.
08:29Zafraneri actually tried to get on the show nine times
08:31before he made his smashing debut on the regular season in 2019.
08:35He went on to win over $500,000 in a 19-game streak.
08:39Zafraneri is already the third highest winner ever.
08:42Only two players, Ken Jennings and James Holzhauer, have won more money.
08:47After a brave showing in the Tournament of Champions,
08:50he finally lost to Jennifer Quayle.
08:52He lost the Invitational Tournament as well.
08:54Even so, he became the first champion in history
08:57to win 10 or more games under $10,000,
09:00becoming one of the highest-earning contestants in general.
09:03Amazing.
09:04Watching Ken all those years ago and Julia,
09:07it's an amazing thing.
09:08I don't, I'd be honest with you,
09:09I don't feel worthy to be up there.
09:11This really wasn't some torrent of knowledge.
09:13This was grinded out and just live to see another day,
09:17and it's better than I could have imagined.
09:18Number 11. Jamie Ding
09:20As they say on Twin Peaks, it is happening again.
09:22$34,401 and now a 16-day total for Jamie Ding.
09:28$462,401.
09:30Welcome to the leaderboard of legends.
09:31Ding is a modern Jeopardy! success story.
09:34Beginning in March 2026,
09:36viewers started to take notice of a streak developing,
09:39ultimately managing to get into the history books
09:41as the fifth longest in the show's history.
09:44Takes you up to $36,360.
09:46You're now an 18-day champion, Jamie,
09:48and you've cleared half a million.
09:50$530,372.
09:54Now it's our turn to say ouch.
09:56He's taking us for a lot of money.
09:57He managed 31 incredible showings,
09:59in the process becoming the 20th superchampion,
10:02and even tying with Ken Jennings
10:04in getting the most correct responses in a game.
10:06During an April taping,
10:08Ding's run finally came to an end,
10:10losing to Greg Shahadi in a runaway.
10:12His final winnings?
10:15$882,605.
10:17Not bad.
10:18Number 10.
10:19Austin Rogers.
10:21Just managing to crack the top 10
10:23is this New York City bartender,
10:24who earned $411,000
10:26during regular season play,
10:28and $461,000
10:30when taking into account tournaments.
10:32Rogers is something of a fan favorite
10:34because he doesn't fit the archetype
10:35of Jeopardy! contestants.
10:36Did you bet big?
10:39Yeah.
10:40His mannerisms have drawn comparisons
10:42to Cosmo Kramer from Seinfeld,
10:44and given his propensity
10:45for striking a pose
10:46and various other eccentricities,
10:48we definitely see the similarities.
10:53$6,500.
10:55Not only was Rogers 10th
10:56in terms of total earnings,
10:58but his performance ranked
10:59among the top 10
11:00longest consecutive winning streaks.
11:02He also scored
11:03two of the 10 highest single day winnings
11:05in the show's history at the time of competing.
11:15Number 9. Jerome Varad
11:18Upon retiring undefeated from the regular season in 1992,
11:22Jerome Varad had already earned himself a place in the Jeopardy! record books.
11:25From Los Angeles, California, Jerome Varad.
11:29His winnings as a five-day champion, $96,801,
11:33placed him second only to Frank Spangenberg and his $102,597 run.
11:40By taking home $34,000 in just one episode, however,
11:44he set a new record for single-day winnings.
11:46In tournaments, including a third-place finish in the 2005 Ultimate Tournament of Champions,
11:51his total winnings have soared to $499,102.
11:55And Jeopardy! isn't the only trivia-based game show on which Varad has excelled.
12:00He appeared on Win Ben Stein's Money, where he became the first person to win all of it.
12:05The show subsequently hired him as a researcher.
12:08What is Tonga?
12:09Tonga, right.
12:11Number 8. Roger Craig
12:13With $530,200 in winnings to his name,
12:18this computer scientist is not only eighth on our list,
12:21but was once the contestant with the eighth highest winnings in Jeopardy! history.
12:27In 2010, however, he further distinguished himself by earning more money in a single day
12:32than any contestant before him, a whopping $77,000.
12:37New record, $77,000!
12:39This is a record he would hold for nearly a decade,
12:42until it was finally surpassed in 2019.
12:45Though his name might not be as instantly recognizable as some of those that we'll be discussing later,
12:49it's worth mentioning that in the 2014 Battle of the Decades,
12:53he finished third, behind only game show legends Ken Jennings and Brad Rutter.
12:57It's, uh, I think it's gonna be a great game,
12:59and, you know, I'm playing to win.
13:03Number 7. Matt Jackson
13:04Don't let his relatively young age fool you.
13:07Matt Jackson has got a head full of knowledge well beyond his years.
13:11Born in 1992,
13:13Jackson honed his trivia skills at Yale as part of the Quiz Bowl team,
13:17taking home the top prize at a number of national-level competitions.
13:20Nickname Six.
13:21Hang on, hang on.
13:23You come up with a correct response,
13:25and you want to keep going, I understand that, but we have to pause.
13:28It's on Jeopardy, however,
13:29that he really made a name for himself as one of the top trivia contestants in the country.
13:33The champion had a 13-game winning streak,
13:35and went on to earn a total of $411,612 in the regular season alone.
13:42And he is over $400,000 now. He has $411,612.
13:46The 2015 Tournament of Champions saw him finish second,
13:49helping him to reach a total winnings of $611,612.
13:54Boom!
13:55You got them.
13:56Boom!
13:57Boom, indeed.
13:58Number 6. Julia Collins
14:00This supply chain professional is a bona fide Jeopardy! legend.
14:04I tried to just keep slow and steady, and it worked out really well.
14:08A 20-day champion, she once held the third-longest winning streak.
14:12Over the course of her epic 2014 run, she brought in a whopping $428,100,
14:19which was the fifth-highest regular season winnings on record.
14:23You're now a 20-game winner in second place, $428,100.
14:30Over the course of her epic 2014 run, she brought in a whopping $428,100,
14:36which is the fifth-highest regular season winnings on record.
14:40At the time, that figure put her in third place behind only David Madden and Ken Jennings.
14:45That same year, she also came in third place in the Tournament of Champions.
14:49It's hard to know what will come next, but there's always more interesting ground to cover.
14:54Number 5. Larissa Kelly
14:56Before Julia Collins came along, this academic and science fiction author
15:00held the title for the highest winnings by a female contestant in the regular season.
15:04Are you trying to set yourself up as a rival down the road for Jeopardy?
15:08Are you going to take away our audience?
15:10I'm coming for you, Alex.
15:11Other records that she's held include the longest streak of correct answers,
15:15longest winning streak by a female player,
15:17and, most impressively, the highest five-game total in the show's history.
15:21These have all been surpassed in years since.
15:25Because of her performance in the 2009 Tournament of Champions and 2019 All-Star Games,
15:30she was once the highest winning female contestant, including tournaments,
15:34and fifth overall, with $660,930 in total winnings.
15:39Fun fact, Jeopardy! is actually a family affair for Kelly.
15:43Both her husband and her sister have also competed.
15:45With her impressive winnings, Larissa and her husband bought a house
15:49and became co-owners of NAQT.
15:51Number 4. David Madden
15:53Jeopardy! contestants come in a wide variety of backgrounds and professions.
15:57But there's no denying that art historian is a good position to be in when stepping up to the podium.
16:02And in 2005, Madden certainly put his knowledge of art, among other subjects, to good use,
16:08when he won 19 consecutive games for a total of $430,400.
16:13David Madden, who won 19 consecutive shows in 2003.
16:17This once made him tied for the fourth most consecutive games won and fourth in regular season winnings.
16:23But wait, there's more.
16:24When you add his various tournament winnings,
16:27David Madden was also fourth, now ninth, in total winnings with $763,733.
16:33So, all things considered, we'd say that this Jeopardy! champion has earned his fourth place ranking.
16:38He's since gone on to found the National History Bee and Bowl.
16:42Number 3. James Holzhauer
16:44This professional gambler and Illinois native might be third on our list,
16:49but he earns the spot by being first in many regards.
16:52In 2019, he broke the single-day winnings of the aforementioned Roger Craig by over $30,000.
16:5938,314. A new one-day record.
17:02Since that day, he's gone on to top that record three times,
17:06most notably on April 17, 2019, with a staggering haul of $131,127.
17:13As of April 2026, Holzhauer currently occupies every slot on Jeopardy!'s ranking of the top 10 single-game winnings.
17:21You know, I never thought I could win as many episodes as I did.
17:23I didn't really think I could win as much money in a game as I did.
17:27You know, all these things, they kind of exceeded my own expectations.
17:30His run lasted an impressive 32 consecutive games,
17:34which made him the second-longest running champion at the time
17:37and the player with the second-highest earnings in regular season play with over $2.7 million.
17:42To date, I've won $2.7 million on Jeopardy!
17:46Number 2. Brad Rudder.
17:48If Holzhauer is first and second in multiple key categories,
17:51how is it that Brad Rudder beats him out for second place on our list?
17:55Simple. Brad Rudder has made more money playing Jeopardy!
17:58than any other player in the history of Jeopardy!
18:00It's really changed my life,
18:02and I'm doing things now that I never would have been able to.
18:06And quite frankly, with an all-time winnings of $4,938,436,
18:12it is by a pretty significant margin.
18:15The funny thing is, he doesn't crack the top 10 for consecutive games,
18:19regular season winnings, or single-day winnings.
18:21He had an impressive five-day run in 2000,
18:24but it only added up to $55,102.
18:27It's the tournaments that have made Rudder a legend and a millionaire.
18:30Did he wager anything? Didn't have to.
18:33He's moving on. He's going to play for a million dollars.
18:38Until the 2020 Greatest of All Time event,
18:40he remained undefeated in Jeopardy! against a human opponent.
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19:16Number 1. Ken Jennings
19:18When you think of Jeopardy! icons,
19:20the next name that comes to mind after host Alex Trebek is Ken Jennings.
19:25Now, there are those that feel that Brad Rudder should be number one,
19:27and given that Rudder has won nearly $1.3 million more than Jennings,
19:32we can understand the argument.
19:33Did he risk enough?
19:35Yep, he did.
19:37He's going to play for a million dollars at the end of the week.
19:39What a game.
19:40But here's the thing.
19:41Jennings has the highest regular season winnings of all time,
19:45and given the large cash prizes of the tournaments,
19:48this feels like a more honest metric of success.
19:50Ken.
19:51What is 200?
19:52200.
19:53Chris Carter.
19:53CC.
19:55Plus, when you add to that the fact that his consecutive winning streak lasted 74 games,
20:00and that second place is 32 games,
20:03well, that's a pretty solid argument.
20:05Lastly, his 2020 Jeopardy! the greatest of all time victory seals the deal.
20:10Ken Jennings, you are the champion.
20:13Thank you for that.
20:15James, congratulations.
20:16That was a heck of a lot.
20:17Which Jeopardy! contestant is your favorite?
20:19The one you think is the best of the best?
20:21Let us know in the comments.
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