Mattea Roach has become a household name in Canada, and for good reason. The Nova Scotia native, now a tutor in Toronto, has quickly climbed the ranks of Jeopardy!”s all time winners. But, how did Canadians fare before her stunning arrival on the scene? We looked into the history.
Turns out, Canadians appearing on the long-running game show were few and far between. Only four names had won more than once on the show, with the last streak happening over a decade ago. That honour belongs to Doug Hicton, a Toronto-based composer who won three straight back in 2007, and was subsequently a runner-up in that season’s Tournament of Champions.
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The year before saw Eric Dolansky, a two-time winner on the show. He managed to walk away with some $42,000 USD in earnings. These days, Dr. Dolansky is now an Associate Professor of Marketing at Brock University. Which leads us to the biggest Canadian names to have appeared on the show (before Mattea Roach, of course).
According to a Jeopardy! archive page, Michael Daunt, out of Oakville, was Canada’s only multiple-show winner for over 2 decades. His 5 game winning streak back in 1995 was enough to earn him a spot in the Tournament of Champions that year, as well as the 1997 International Tournament.
And finally, we arrive as the most memorable Canadian name on Jeopardy! before 2022. Way back in 1989 (and in only the show’s sixth season), Bob Blake briefly held the record for 5-day winning totals. Fun fact about that- Blake made so much money ($82,000 USD or so) that he actually surpassed the show’s then winnings limit of $75,000. Don’t worry though, he nabbed a cool $100k in the 1990 Tournament of Champions.
So yeah, if anything, this list goes to show just how much Mattea Roach has dominated the Canadian Jeopardy! scene.
The 23-year-old super-champion has officially become the show’s most successful Canadian player. Hopefully, we’ll see her continue to climb the ranks of the all-time winners, as well!
