Jamie Ding, from Lawrenceville, N.J., won big time.

*Jeopardy *champion wins 20th straight game, ties Ken Jennings’ all-time single-game correct responses record

Jamie Ding, from Lawrenceville, N.J., won big time.

By Raechal Shewfelt

Raechal Shewfelt

Raechal Shewfelt is a writer at **. She has been working at EW since 2024. Her work has previously appeared on Yahoo and in American *Journalism Review* and *The Shreveport Times*.

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April 9, 2026 8:17 p.m. ET

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Ken Jennings and Jamie Ding on 'Jeopardy!'. Credit:

Disney/Christopher Willard; Hulu

It was a big day for* **Jeopardy!** *champion Jamie Ding, as he won his 20th straight game, which is no small feat.

The self-described beaurocrat and law student from Lawrenceville, N.J., went into Thursday's episode with 19-day winnings of a staggering $539,573.

What he did after that was even more impressive. By the end of the *Jeopardy!* round, he had a solid lead: $8,800 compared to $800 and $3,400 for his opponents, Alexandra Leith and Prithish David, respectively.

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After many more questions, including ones on *Ted Lasso *and *Saturday Night Live*'s "Weekend Update" segment, Ding was running away with the win. He had $32,000, compared to $6,000 and $6,600 for his opponents, respectively. He fared well in "Final *Jeopardy!*," too, finishing just shy of $20,000 ahead of his closest competitor.

Ding is the first *Jeopardy! *contestant to win 20 or more games since 2022, when fan favorite Amy Schneider was triumphant in 40 games. The same year, contestants Mattea Roach won 23, while Cris Pannullo walked away with the win 21 times.

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During his run, the show noted, Ding has also tied a record that Ken Jennings, the current host of the game show, set when he was a contestant back in 2004. Ding had correctly answered 45 clues in a row during his third game, matching Jennings' record during his 74-game streak.

Looking at the stats, Ding will now attempt to tie Pannullo’s 21-game streak. If he does so, Ding, who always wears orange for good luck, would be tied with him for sixth place on the list of contestants with the most consecutive wins.

He's already tied with Julia Collins for seventh place when it comes to all-time consecutive wins. The $572,600 total he's won puts him in sixth place in regular-season winnings.

Alex Trebek and Ken Jennings in 2004. Eric McCandless/ABC via Getty Images

The long-running quiz show scored headlines last month, too, when it celebrated its 62nd birthday on March 30.

*Jeopardy!* has remained culturally relevant, too, with clues such as one last month that referenced actor Timothée Chalamet's recent unfavorable take on ballet and opera.

*Jeopardy! *airs daily — check local listings — and streams on Hulu.

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