‘Jeopardy!’ Tournament of Champions crowns a new victor: ‘I feel amazing’

WARNING: This story contains spoilers from the Monday, Nov. 21, episode of “Jeopardy!”

Time to break out the Champagne and confetti because “Jeopardy!” has a new champion.

The long-running game show has awarded Amy Schneider as the victor of the Tournament of Champions on Monday, Nov. 21.

Andrew He followed in second place, while contestant Sam Buttrey came in third.

Schneider — who is the first openly transgender contestant to compete in the Tournament of Champions — nabbed the winning spot after six games and claimed the $250,000 grand prize.

“I feel amazing,” Schneider gushed in a statement. “Earlier in the finals, I had this sudden moment of seeing myself and being like ‘I’m on stage in the Tournament of Champions finals,’ and that was crazy. And I won! It’s a great feeling.”

She was also the first to win three games against He and Buttrey.

Buttrey cashed in by the end of the game with $50,000, while He walked away with $100,000.

Schneider, from Oakland, Calif., won the final game despite not earning any Daily Doubles. While Buttrey had three DDs, he was still behind both He and Schneider.

Heading into the Final Jeopardy! round, Buttrey, an associate professor, had tallied up $8,000, while He, a software developer, had $14,200, and Schneider was in the lead with $15,600.

The winning clue fell under the “Plays” category, with the phrase reading: “The January 12, 1864, Washington Evening Star reported on a performance of this ‘dashing comedy’ to ‘a full and delighted house.’”

The correct response was: “What is ‘Our American Cousin?’”

Buttrey wagered all of his money but provided the wrong answer; however, both Schneider and He responded correctly.

He’s wager was $2,801, finishing with $17,001, while Schneider gambled $13,000 for a top score of $28,600 to win the game as well as the tournament.

Schneider and He first crossed paths earlier in Season 38 when she ended He’s five-game streak and launched her historic 40-game run on the show.

Her renowned run of luck and skill earned her the No. 2 spot behind now-“Jeopardy!” host and former player Ken Jennings.

“I both wanted to [compete against him] and was afraid of facing him again,” Schneider explained. “I knew He was one of the top competitors in the field. He was definitely someone that I knew could beat me because he very nearly did before, and he did a couple of times here as well.

“Any of the three of us really could have won if a very small number of things had gone differently. I’m glad we got a really fair chance to test our skills against each other, and I’d love to play him again someday, somehow,” she continued.

“I’m going to keep going out there and being me,” she added. “Being in places where people like me haven’t been before, it’s a very powerful thing to do.”

Other contestants with high winning streaks who appeared in Season 38 included Matt Amodio and Mattea Roach.

Schneider first made history with her win in January when she won her 39th game, becoming No. 2 on the trivia show’s all-time consecutive wins list. She took home nearly $1.4 million at the time.

The former software engineer became the most successful woman in the show’s history.