Who Will Knock Matt Amodio Out?

He's still steamrolling his way through Jeopardy victories—"Matt Amodio, the Ph.D. student from New Haven Connecticut." (Read Yale.)

Even falling behind, hitting zero dollars after a flubbed all-in Daily Double bet, even once in a negative amount, Matt prevails just by knocking off the answers before his opponents can even shake the buzzer. There is no Vegas wagering on Matt since the shows are pre-taped and the results are known to others, but the Jeopardy game within the game can be played by the viewer in tying to figure out who will do the deed and send Matt back to the lecture hall.

Will it be a guy in a suit and a tie, a woman, white, of color, Asian? What will be their profession? Librarian, computer nerd, lawyer, teacher, writer, student, physician, administrative assistant? And how old will they be? Not many people even seem to be even 50 on the show. I guess the only trivia those over that age know is where did Ralph Kramden and his wife Alice live? Name the street.

The closest anyone has gotten lately has been a woman who charts thoroughbred races for Arlington Park. And that job is going to disappear since Arlington is closing.

Matt was also on the ropes earlier in the week when his opponent on the extreme right bet the right amount to exceed Matt's total if Matt answered wrong in Final Jeopardy. They of course had to answer right, and Matt had to answer wrong for the champion to be defeated.

They didn't answer right, but neither did Matt, making it moot since the middle contestant answered correctly, but with no money to threaten.

It was a doozie of a clue: 

The Dip used to kill characters in this 1988 film consisted of acetone, benzene & turpentine, ingredients of paint thinner.

Who thinks of this stuff? I'd love to know more about the people who create these clues. Are they part of a permanent staff? Freelance work is solicited? I didn't know the answer: "Who Framed Roger Rabbit"

Google tells us: As of 2012 Jeopardy employs nine writers and five researchers to create and assemble the categories and clues. Billy Wisse and Michele Loud, both longtime staff members, are the editorial producer and editorial supervisor respectively. The president's speech writing staff probably numbers fewer.

And last night, Matt was in the usual position he's in when Final Jeopardy rolls around. He had more than twice anyone else's total, so unless he was reckless, he would win.

The clue was another doozie, and interestingly enough, the middle and right contestant answered the same.

96 miles in total during its 3-decade existence, the most well-known part of this was about the same length as an Olympic Marathon.

Appian Way was offered twice, and of course was wrong. Matt nailed it with a $3,000 wager: The Berlin Wall. Mayim Bialik offered the fact that the length of the wall separating East and West Berlin was about 27 miles, just a little over the Olympic Marathon distance of 26.1 miles.

Game, set, match. See you tomorrow Matt, as he ends Wednesday in 3rd place with the most consecutive wins, 26, and holding a money total of $929, 401. Matt's headed for a $1 million, and then will likely start getting news coverage throughout the day from all the media outlets.

But who will be the one who defeats Matt and what will they look like? Will we feel it before the match? And how long will they last?

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