Jason Zuffranieri Ends His 19-Game Run on 'Jeopardy!'

Jason Zuffranieri’s 19-game Jeopardy! winning streak came to an end Thursday when Washington, D.C.-based researcher Gabe Brison-Trezise won the match with $22,400. Zuffranieri finished second with $19,500.

“My mentality for 25 years was that I wasn’t meant to be on the show for whatever reason: not smart enough, not camera-friendly, not interesting, whatever,” said Zuffranieri, who auditioned for Jeopardy! eight times before making it on the show on his ninth attempt. “To finally get a chance on that stage was a dream come true, and the level of good fortune I received is truly beyond anything I ever considered could happen.”

Over the course of his 19 wins, the math teacher from Albuquerque, N.M., earned a total of $532,496 in prize money, making him the third-highest money winner in regular-season play. Zuffranieri follows only Ken Jennings, who won $2,520,700 over his record-setting 74 wins, and James Holzhauer, who won $2,462,216 over his 32 consecutive wins last spring.

In terms of consecutive wins, Zuffranieri is tied for fourth with David Madden, behind Jennings, Holzhauer and Julia Collins, who won 20 straight games.

Jeopardy! is produced by Sony Pictures Television and distributed domestically by CBS Television Distribution and internationally by CBS Television International, both units of CBS Corp. Harry Friedman executive produces, while Alex Trebek hosts.

Paige Albiniak

Contributing editor Paige Albiniak has been covering the business of television for more than 25 years. She is a longtime contributor to Next TV, Broadcasting + Cable and Multichannel News. She concurrently serves as editorial director for The Global Entertainment Marketing Academy of Arts & Sciences (G.E.M.A.). She has written for such publications as TVNewsCheck, The New York Post, Variety, CBS Watch and more. Albiniak was B+C’s Los Angeles bureau chief from September 2002 to 2004, and an associate editor covering Congress and lobbying for the magazine in Washington, D.C., from January 1997 - September 2002.