Tournament of Champions Exhibition Match
Amy Schneider vs. Matt Amodio vs. Mattea Roach
In the studio, a lot of the previous contestants had stayed to watch this game. It had been a long day, but everyone was excited to see this special match. On one recording of the contestant intros, Matt did a little “ta-da” jazz hands thing, but they didn’t end up using it.
As Drew Carey on Whose Line Is It Anyway would say: Welcome to the ToC Exhibition Match, where everything’s made up and the points don’t matter.
Outfit Details
Wow, I really love this mint green color on Amy. Bright pink was her signature color but she did have some green blouses as well. Did not wear this blazer before though. Still wearing the pearls, and she is wearing glasses now!!
I have always loved seeing Matt in a sweater, and this argyle is wonderful! Very nice monochrome look. I saw Matt earlier at this taping and my first reaction when I saw his argyle sweater was "This is nice!!" (he said he was glad I approved haha)
Mattea brought their signature layered style with this black blazer over cream button down and mockneck shirts. Can't see well in this pic, but they have their signature Scorpio earrings as well
This is a tie that Ken has worn before (and he has a few similar ones.) So he must have only gotten new ties for the quarterfinals.
Vibe Check
Amy - confident
Amy came into this tournament as the top seed and it was evident in her vibe, even in this warm-up game. She knows she’s good at this game and has nothing to prove.
Matt - “on” (i.e. in performance mode)
Matt is pretty unassuming off stage, but when he steps onto the Jeopardy! stage, he turns on the charm! He was definitely in performance mode during this game and seemed very comfortable in front of an audience.
Mattea - relaxed
This will come as no surprise, but Mattea’s vibes are *impeccable*. Mattea radiates a youthful energy, but they are very mature at the same time. Their gameplay is so relaxed and carefree, but also dominant.
Game Recap
I was so engaged with watching this performance, I don’t have a lot of notes from this game! But there were a few moments that stood out.
When Matt buzzed in and said “Hi Ken!” I lost it! He is such a huge fan of Ken (I know the feeling!) and this moment was precious. They had actually met the previous evening at Jeopardy! Honors, but this was the first time they shared the Jeopardy! stage and I’m so glad Matt had the presence of mind to commemorate it in his own nerdy way.
This clue is just begging to be turned into a viral moment of Matt saying “What’s… Booty”
“Number, Please” was a very clever category, but board-hopping kind of ruined the effect (even before Ken’s profanity-inducing misstep). Watching in the studio I did not catch the theme until Ken explained it, but even then I couldn’t remember what the clues had been. Even watching on TV today, I was confused why he only said 4 numbers (23, 38, 40, and 74) when there were 5 clues, and had to check J-Archive to realize that “to infinity and beyond” was the $1000 clue.
I am still floored by the fact that they actually aired Ken’s “Oh SHIT!” moment. I LOVE this very human emotion from Ken, the contestants’ reactions, and the fact that everyone in the studio could not stop laughing about it. I don’t think it would have been impossible to edit out, but it may have made an awkward transition with all the laughter. If this had been a regular game, this would have been a HUGE issue, since Ken revealed the answers before the last clue. Usually the writers have an extra clue for each category ready to go in case of emergency, but in this case a substitute clue would have ruined the entire category gimmick. Fortunately, this was just a practice game, so the game continued regardless.
Sarah Foss, Amy, Matt, and Mattea discuss this moment (and many more!) on tonight’s episode of Inside Jeopardy!
Side note: This was the only big profanity I heard from Ken during the taping. Other than this, the most he cursed was an occasional “dammit!” Also, someone asked him during a break “How does it feel to curse in front of your parents?” (His parents were in the audience at taping.) He replied, “It’s nothing they haven’t heard before!”
This was a lovely category honoring Alex on the 2nd anniversary of his death on November 8, 2020. I thought it was especially fitting that Mattea was able to answer the one about Alex’s hometown. (Also, I was sitting next to Kit Kat Queen Cindy Zhang and almost screamed when Kit Kat was the answer to the last clue!)
Overheard Segment
Jeopardy! actually posted this one, so I don’t have to rely on my notes! I had written down the part about Matt trying out multiple times because he was “working on [his] personality.”
During one of the breaks in this game, Ken walked across the stage and shaded his eyes against the bright lights to scan the audience. “Lilly!” he called to me. “Steven the wardrobe guy wants to meet you, but we’re figuring out logistics. Don’t go anywhere.”
Will I get to talk to Steven? Will I finally record the podcast? How will I get back to my hotel? Tune in next time to find out!
This is the last game I was able to see taped, but I’m planning to have a few more things to post through the semifinals at least!
Software - Hardware joke... once a computer geek, always a computer geek! Coming from Ken (aka 'Watson's B*tch' on Reddit) funny. I had a feeling Cindy was going to be excited about the Kit Kat clue. I know I perked up! Thanks for the game recap.
Do you know who was the person who YELLED out at Ken from the audience to point out that he kinda screwed up that "Number, please" category??? Female voice I think?
Cliffhanger!!!! 😁❤️