Brayden Smith, the five-time Jeopardy winner has died at the age of 24.
Smith was hailed by fans as “Alex’s Last Great Champion” for his flurry of victories during some of Trebek’s final episodes.
Smith died February 5 in Las Vegas, but his family announced in an obituary in the Las Vegas Review-Journal Friday.
He’d been hospitalized for several days but the cause of death is not known at this time.
Smith’s mother, Deborah Smith, paid tribute to her son on Twitter saying he
“passed away unexpectedly. We are so grateful that Brayden was able to live out his dream on @jeopardy.”
The show described Smith as
“kind, funny and absolutely brilliant.
Our deepest condolences go out to Brayden’s family. He will be missed.”
James Holzhauer, who dominated Jeopardy in 2019, said he was “absolutely devastated by the tragic loss,” describing Smith as one the show’s
“finest players and Las Vegas’s finest humans.”
According to his obituary, Smith graduated from the University of Nevada last year with a degree in economics and was planning to
“attend law school and become an attorney for the federal government.”
He earned more than $115,000 during his five wins on the show and had been looking forward to competing in its Tournament of Champions.
Trebek, the longtime host of the show, died at 80. His final episodes were filmed in October as he received treatment for pancreatic cancer.
Smith’s six episodes aired until Jan 6 and Trebek’s final episode was broadcast two days later
Absolutely devastated by the tragic loss of one of Jeopardy’s finest players and Las Vegas’s finest humans.
— James Holzhauer (@James_Holzhauer) February 13, 2021
Please consider a donation to Brayden’s memorial fund for Southern Nevada students. I will match the first $10,000.https://t.co/qjUKJXi8RY https://t.co/dE0reoR9CQ
(via HuffPost)
