Matthew Barnett Jackson (born June 24, 1992) is an American paralegal and former contestant on the syndicated game show ''

Jeopardy! ''Jeopardy!'' is an American game show created by Merv Griffin. The show is a quiz competition that reverses the traditional question-and-answer format of many quiz shows. Rather than being given questions, contestants are instead given ge ...

'' who is known for winning 13 consecutive games and earning $413,612, the ninth-highest games streak all-time as of April 22, 2022. His 13-episode streak ended with a loss on October 14, 2015. Jackson's total winnings place him tenth on the all-time money-winning list in regular (non-tournament) games as of November 27, 2022.

Early life and education

Jackson grew up in

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

and attended

Georgetown Day School Georgetown Day School (GDS) is an independent coeducational PK-12 school located in Washington, D.C. The school educates 1,075 elementary, middle, and high school students in northwestern Washington, D.C. Russell Shaw is the current Head of Sc ...

. He is the son of

Amy Berman Jackson Amy Sauber Berman Jackson (born July 22, 1954) is an American attorney and jurist serving as a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the District of Columbia. Early life and education Amy Berman was born on July 2 ...

, a judge on the

United States District Court for the District of Columbia The United States District Court for the District of Columbia (in case citations, D.D.C.) is a United States district court, federal district court in the District of Columbia. It also occasionally handles (jointly with the United States Dist ...

, and lawyer Darryl Jackson. His mother is Jewish and his father is African-American and Christian. His middle name comes from his maternal grandfather, Barnett Berman, a physician at

Johns Hopkins University Johns Hopkins University (Johns Hopkins, Hopkins, or JHU) is a private research university in Baltimore, Maryland. Founded in 1876, Johns Hopkins is the oldest research university in the United States and in the western hemisphere. It consiste ...

whom Jackson cited as an early influence in becoming well-read. Jackson majored in philosophy at

Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Sta ...

and graduated in 2014.

Career

At Yale, Jackson was a key player on the university's quiz bowl team, which won several national tournaments, including Academic Competition Federation nationals in 2011 and 2012 and the

National Academic Quiz Tournaments National Academic Quiz Tournaments, LLC is a question-writing and quiz bowl tournament-organizing company founded by former players in 1996. It is unique among U.S. quiz organizations for supplying questions and hosting championships at the midd ...

Intercollegiate Championship Tournament 2013 (Division I); he served as president of the

Partnership for Academic Competition Excellence The Partnership for Academic Competition Excellence (PACE) is a United States based 501(c)(3) non-profit organization that promotes high school quiz bowl and runs the National Scholastic Championship (NSC), an end-of-year national tournament fo ...

(PACE), a nonprofit promoting the spread of quiz bowl, in 2014–15. Jackson works as a paralegal in D.C.

''Jeopardy!''

Jackson was encouraged to apply for the show by his friend Sam Spaulding, who won $50,000 after finishing second in the fall 2010 College Championship. After two unsuccessful attempts to enter the college tournament, he auditioned for the regular show in 2014 and was selected as a contestant. Jackson said that he repeated, "I am not throwin' away my shot," a line from the musical '' Hamilton'', for inspiration while preparing for the show. He studied by reading previous champions' books on the experience, such as

Ken Jennings Kenneth Wayne Jennings III (born May 23, 1974) is an American game show host, author, and former game show contestant. He is the highest-earning American game show contestant, having won money on five different game shows, including $4,522,70 ...

’s ''Brainiac'' and Bob Harris's ''Prisoner of Trebekistan.'' Jackson initially drew attention for his slow smile while being introduced at the beginning of each show. After his first victory, he began using his fingers to display the number of wins in his streak. Jackson also became known for his buzzer speed and for quickly moving onto the next question after giving a correct response. In his third game, when Jackson said "Boom!" after correctly answering a Daily Double, fans and media quickly proclaimed the exclamation his signature catchphrase, but he never repeated it. Jackson's 13-episode streak ended with a loss on October 14, 2015. In his 14 episodes he earned $413,612. At the time his 13-win streak was the fourth highest in ''Jeopardy!'' regular-play history, trailing only

(74 wins in 2004), Julia Collins (20 in 2014), and David Madden (19 in 2005). He was also fourth-highest in total regular-play earnings. In 2019, first James Holzhauer had a 32-game winning streak, moving Jackson to fifth place in both consecutive games won and total regular-play earnings, then Jason Zuffranieri had a 19-game winning streak, moving Jackson to sixth place in both consecutive games won and total regular-play earnings. In 2021, Matt Amodio had a 38-game winning streak, bumping Jackson to seventh place in consecutive days won and total money earned. In 2022, first Amy Schneider had a 40-game winning streak, moving Jackson to eighth place, then Mattea Roach surpassed Jackson with 23 wins, moving Jackson to ninth place in both consecutive games and regular play earnings. Jackson returned in November 2015 for the ''Jeopardy!'' Tournament of Champions. On the November 11 episode he won his quarterfinal game and moved on to the next round. On the November 18 episode he won his semifinal game to advance to the finals. In the two-day final aired on November 19 and 20, Jackson finished second, behind Alex Jacob, winning $100,000. Jackson appeared in the show's "All-Star Games", which aired from February 20 to March 5, 2019. His teammates were captain

and 2012 College champion Monica Thieu. The team took second place.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jackson, Matt 1992 births Jeopardy! contestants Living people People from Washington, D.C. Yale University alumni African-American Jews American television personalities Male television personalities Georgetown Day School alumni Paralegals 21st-century American Jews