Did Lesbian Jeopardy! Champ Mattea Roach Make It Past Game 24?

Mattea Roach had a superlative run on Jeopardy!, but now it has come to an end.

Roach, a lesbian and one of several stellar out contestants the show has had recently, saw her winning streak end in the episode that aired Friday. She lost by a single dollar to challenger Danielle Maurer.

Maurer, a digital marketing manager from Peachtree Corners, Ga., finished in first place with $15,600 while Roach, a tutor from Toronto, came in second with $15,599.

Roach was in the lead with $19,200 heading into Final Jeopardy!, wagered $3,601, and did not respond correctly, while Maurer, who had $11,400 going into the round, wagered $4,200 and did provide the correct response.

The category was USA, and the clue was "These two mayors gave their names to a facility built on the site of an old racetrack owned by Coca-Cola magnate Asa Candler." The correct response was "Who are William Hartsfield and Maynard Jackson?" Both were mayors of Atlanta, and the facility is Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport.

But Roach's run on Jeopardy! was a great one. Her 23 wins and $560,983 put her at number 5 on both the all-time consecutive games list and the all-time highest regular season winnings list. Only Ken Jennings, Amy Schneider, Matt Amodio, and James Holzhauer won more games or money during their time on the show. Schneider, a trans woman, is another of the show's stellar LGBTQ+ contestants.

"When I think of the caliber of those four players, I really don't feel like I deserve to be mentioned in the same breath as them, to be honest," Roach said in a press release from the program. "And there's a noticeable financial gap between my money and theirs, but it's an amazing accomplishment. Like, I can't believe it. It's such a huge honor that I am being spoken of in relation to people like Ken, James, Matt, Amy. It's, wow. There's no words."

"It feels still kind of like a dream," she added. "I really came down here hoping to maybe win one game, and so I still can't believe it. You know, it's strange, obviously I didn't come through in the last one, but I still feel so happy and so lucky to have had this experience."

Roach will return this fall for the show's Tournament of Champions, which will also feature Schneider and Amodio.