Amy Schneider's come-from-behind win puts her ahead in Jeopardy! tournament

Amy Schneider, the all-time Jeopardy! champ among women and transgender people, has a good chance at another milestone.

Schneider won the first game of the first-ever Jeopardy! Invitational Tournament’s final round Friday. She came from behind by answering a question in the Double Jeopardy! round that put her within reach of Victoria Groce. Going into Final Jeopardy!, Schneider had $15,000, Groce $29,600, and Andrew He $9,600.

In the category of U.S. Government, the Final Jeopardy! clue was “The formation of the Brownell Committee out of concern over U.S. communications intelligence led to the 1952 creation of this body.” Schneider was the only one to answer it correctly: the NSA, or National Security Agency. She wagered everything, so she finished with $30,000, and Groce lost $401 with her wrong answer of the CIA. He, out of the running, submitted the joke answer “What have I gotten myself into?”

In the invitational tournament, featuring past champs and fan favorites, the first contestant to win two games in the finals wins the tournament. The top prize is $100,000 and a spot in the Jeopardy! Masters Tournament, a prime-time event. The next game airs Monday night.

Schneider made history in 2021-2022 by winning 40 consecutive regular-season games, putting her second only to current Jeopardy! host Ken Jennings. Her regular-season cash winnings, $1.382 million, put her in fourth place on the all-time list. The all-time leading woman contestant and out trans contestant, she won the 2022 Tournament of Champions and placed fifth in 2023 Masters Tournament.

Since her history-making season, she has quit her job as a software engineer, written a memoir, gotten married, had a trip to the White House for Transgender Day of Visibility, and spoken out on trans issues. Her memoir, In the Form of a Question: The Joys and Rewards of a Curious Life, came out in October.