Top 20 Best Jeopardy Players of All Time

#20: Nancy Zerg

She was only on the show two times, but boy, did she make a great impression. This Californian realtor debuted in November 2004, playing against college student David Hankins and the legendary Ken Jennings. Against all odds, she not only won her first game with a final score of $14,401, but she also ended Jennings’ 74-game winning streak. Zerg was, in fact, the first “Jeopardy!” contestant to ever end a contestant’s long winning streak. It was her only win, alas. She lost her next game, ending with only $2. Still, Zerg made history.

#19: Scott Riccardi

There are players who consistently win an incredible number of games, but also others who achieve massive earnings. Riccardi is the 18th-highest money winner on “Jeopardy!” as of this video, first appearing on the show in July 2025. He then went on to dethrone Jason Singer and Andrew Hayes. Riccardi had 16 wins during the regular season run, becoming the biggest winner of Season 41 with a total of $458,000. He lost in the Tournament of Champions to Paolo Pasco, but still received $75,000. This is a big winner indeed.

#18: Yogesh Raut

This Springfield blogger and podcaster had a terrific run. Beginning in January 2023 in the regular season, Raut went on to face Nick Cascone and Jake DeArruda in the Tournament of Champions. He got all the answers correct in the first two rounds and became the second three-time champion to win the Tournament. In “Jeopardy! Masters,” he faced off against Victoria Groce and Juveria Zaheer in the Season 3 Finals and also won spectacularly, becoming the sixth millionaire on the show. Raut now ranks high among the contestants with the most winnings. Bravo, indeed.

#17: Victoria Groce

Speaking of which, we have to talk about this Queen. Also a streak-ender, Groce made an excellent debut in 2005’s “Jeopardy!” by ending David Madden’s 19-game streak. Although she lost her second game in the regular season, Groce returned for the Invitational Tournament. There, she won a total of $100,000 against Amy Schneider and Andrew He in the finals. Although she lost to Raut in the Season 3 Finals of “Jeopardy! Masters,” she still took home $150,000. Wow. She is now ranked among the contestants with the highest all-time winnings. We must bow down.

#16: Eddie Timanus

This ‘90s contestant was not just a big winner. Timanus made history as the first blind contestant on the show, using Braille cards and a keyboard to type out his “Final Jeopardy!” responses. It was only in his appearance on the show that contestants began the show at the podium, instead of walking up to it, a convention that still exists today. His performance was also notable, winning five consecutive games in the regular season with a cumulative total of $69,700. He went on to play in the Tournament of Champions and even reached the Battle of the Decades, finally losing to Rachael Schwartz. What an inspiration.

#15: Mattea Roach

This Canadian writer was breaking records in their very first game. In 2022, Roach won with $32,001, breaking the record for the highest single-game winnings by a Canadian. Roach went on for a 23-game streak in the regular season, finally losing to Danielle Maurer on their 24th. They went on to the Tournament of Champions and finally “Jeopardy! Masters,” facing off against James Holzhauer and Matt Amodio in the Season 1 Finals, losing to Holzhauer. They are the first Canadian—as well as the first non-binary person—to win 10 or more games.

#14: Matt Amodio

This Ph.D. mathematician is one hell of a doctor. The third millionaire contestant on the show, Amodio, is the 10th highest-earning American contestant on any game show. He began with a 38-game streak in the regular season in 2021, defeated only by Jonathan Fisher in his 39th game. This earned him a cumulative total of over $1.5 million and made him one of the contestants with the longest winning streaks, behind Jennings and Amy Schneider. He went on to play in the Tournament of Champions and “Jeopardy! Masters.” Amodio really can’t be caught.

#13: Amy Schneider

When it comes to winning streaks, only one person surpasses this contestant. This Californian writer debuted on the show in November 2021, ending Andrew He’s five-game winning streak. Schneider went on to win no less than 40 consecutive games, losing only to Rhone Talsma. She took home over $1.3 million in cumulative earnings, ranking fourth highest in cash winnings for the regular season. She later won the Tournament of Champions, becoming the fourth female champion overall and the first in 15 years. Although she lost big in the semifinals of “Jeopardy! Masters,” she still brought home $100,000. Now that’s legendary.

#12: Jason Zuffranieri

We never suffer watching this New Mexico math teacher win big. Zuffranieri actually tried to get on the show nine times before he made his smashing debut on the regular season in 2019. He went on to win over $500,000 in a 19-game streak. After a brave showing in the Tournament of Champions, he finally lost to Jennifer Quail. He lost the Invitational Tournament as well. Even so, he became the first champion in history to win 10 or more games under $10,000, becoming one of the highest-earning contestants in general. Amazing.

#11: Jamie Ding

Ding is a modern “Jeopardy” success story. Starting in March 2026, viewers started to take notice of a streak developing, ultimately managing to get into the history books as 5th longest in the show’s history. He managed 31 incredible showings, in the process becoming the 20th super-champion, and even tying with Ken Jennings in getting the most correct responses in a game. During an April taping, Ding’s run finally came to an end, losing to Greg Shahade in a runaway. His final winnings? $882,605! Not bad.

#10: Austin Rogers

Just managing to crack the top 10 is this New York City bartender, who earned $411,000 during regular season play and $461,000 when taking into account tournaments. Rogers is something of a fan favorite because he doesn’t fit the archetype of “Jeopardy!” contestants. His mannerisms have drawn comparisons to Cosmo Kramer from “Seinfeld,” and given his propensity for striking a pose and various other eccentricities, we definitely see the similarities. Not only was Rogers 10th in terms of total earnings, but his performance ranked among the top 10 longest consecutive winning streaks. He also scored two of the 10 highest single-day winnings in the show’s history at the time of competing.

#9: Jerome Vered

Upon retiring undefeated from the regular season in 1992, Jerome Vered had already earned himself a place in the “Jeopardy!” record books. His winnings as a five-day champion, $96,801, placed him second only to Frank Spangenberg and his $102,597 run. By taking home $34,000 in just one episode, however, he set a new record for single-day winnings. In tournaments, including a third-place finish in the 2005 Ultimate Tournament of Champions, his total winnings have soared to $499,102. And “Jeopardy!” isn’t the only trivia-based game show on which Vered has excelled. He appeared on “Win Ben Stein’s Money”, where he became the first person to win all of it. The show subsequently hired him as a researcher.

#8: Roger Craig

With $530,200 in winnings to his name, this computer scientist is not only 8th on our list, but was once the contestant with the eighth-highest winnings in “Jeopardy!” history. In 2010, however, he further distinguished himself by earning more money in a single day than any contestant before him - a whopping $77,000. This is a record that he would hold for nearly a decade, until it was finally surpassed in 2019. Though his name might not be as instantly recognizable as some of those that we’ll be discussing later, it’s worth mentioning that in the 2014 Battle of the Decades, he finished third - behind only game show legends Ken Jennings and Brad Rutter.

#7: Matt Jackson

Don’t let his relatively young age fool you, Matt Jackson has got a headful of knowledge well beyond his years. Born in 1992, Jackson honed his trivia skills at Yale as part of the Quiz Bowl team, taking home the top prize at a number of national level competitions. It’s on “Jeopardy!,” however, that he really made a name for himself as one of the top trivia contestants in the country. The champion had a 13-game winning streak and went on to earn a total of $413,612 in the regular season alone. The 2015 tournament of champions saw him finish second, helping him to reach a total winnings of $611,612. Boom!

#6: Julia Collins

This supply chain professional is a bonafide “Jeopardy!” legend. With a bachelor’s degree double-majoring in art history and history, plus a master’s in logistics and engineering from MIT, Collins comes armed with a very well-rounded knowledge base. And she put it to good use! A 20-day champion, she once held the third-longest winning streak. Over the course of her epic 2014 run, she brought in a whopping $428,100, which was the fifth-highest regular-season winnings on record. At the time, that figure put her in third place behind only David Madden and Ken Jennings. That same year, she also came in third place in the Tournament of Champions.

#5: Larissa Kelly

Before Julia Collins came along, this academic and science fiction author held the title for the highest winnings by a female contestant in the regular season. Other records that she’s held include the longest streak of correct answers, longest winning streak by a female player, and (most impressively) the highest five-game total in the show’s history. These have all been surpassed in years since. Because of her performance in the 2009 Tournament of Champions and 2019 All Star Games, she was once the highest winning female contestant (including tournaments) and fifth overall with $660,930 in total winnings. Fun fact: “Jeopardy!” is actually a family affair for Kelly - both her husband and sister have competed as well.

#4: David Madden

“Jeopardy!” contestants come from a wide variety of backgrounds and professions. But there’s no denying that “art historian” is a good position to be in when stepping up to the podium. And in 2005, Madden certainly put his knowledge of art (among other subjects) to good use when he won 19 consecutive games for a total of $432,400. This once made him tied for the fourth most consecutive games won and fourth in regular season winnings. But wait… there’s more! When you add his various tournament winnings, David Madden was also fourth (now ninth) in total winnings with $763,733. So all things considered, we’d say that this “Jeopardy!” champion has earned his fourth place ranking! He’s since gone on to found the National History Bee and Bowl.

#3: James Holzhauer

This professional gambler and Illinois native might be third on our list, but he earns this spot by being first in many regards. In 2019, he broke the single-day winnings of the aforementioned Roger Craig by over $30,000. Since that day, he has gone on to top that record three times - most notably on April 17th 2019 with a staggering haul of $131,127. As of April 2026, Holzhauer currently occupies every slot on “Jeopardy!’s” ranking of the top 10 single-game winnings. His run lasted an impressive 32 consecutive games, which made him the second-longest running champion at the time, and the player with the second-highest earnings in regular season play with over $2.7 million.

#2: Brad Rutter

If Holzhauer is first and second in multiple key categories, how is it that Brad Rutter beats him out for second place on our list? Simple, Brad Rutter has made more money playing “Jeopardy!” than any other player in the history of “Jeopardy!” And quite frankly, with an all-time winnings of $4,938,436, it’s by a pretty significant margin. The funny thing is… he doesn’t crack the top 10 for consecutive games, regular-season winnings, or single-day winnings. He had an impressive 5-day run in 2000, but it only added up to $55,102. It’s the tournaments that have made Rutter a legend and a millionaire. Until the 2020 “Greatest of All Time” event, he remained undefeated in “Jeopardy!” against a human opponent.

#1: Ken Jennings

When you think of “Jeopardy!” icons, the next name that comes to mind after host Alex Trebek is Ken Jennings. Now, there are those that feel that Brad Rutter should be #1, and given that Rutter has won nearly $1.3 million more than Jennings, we can understand the argument. But here’s the thing: Jennings has the highest regular-season winnings of all time, and given the large cash prizes of the tournaments, this feels like a more honest metric of success. Plus, when you add to that the fact that his consecutive winning streak lasted 74 games (and that second place is 32 games), well… that’s a pretty solid argument. Lastly, his 2020 Jeopardy! The Greatest of All Time victory seals the deal.

Which “Jeopardy!” contestant is your favorite, the one you think is the best of the best? Let us know in the comments down below!