Jason Zuffanieri (b. November 27, 1978) is a math teacher at Albuquerque Academy in Albuquerque, New Mexico.
Jeopardy! Run[]
He first appeared on Jeopardy! on July 19, 2019 and went on to win 19 consecutive games and accumulate $532,496. He is the seventh-highest money winner in regular competition behind only Ken Jennings, James Holzhauer, Matt Amodio, Amy Schneider, Mattea Roach, and Cris Pannullo; and he is tied with David Madden in 7th place for highest number of consecutive games won, trailing Jennings, Schneider, Amodio, Holzhauer, Roach and Julia Collins. Similar to Holzhauer, he was affectionately referred to as "Jeopardy Jason" for the duration of his run.
Regular-season play[]
| Game No. | Air Date | Final score | Cumulative Winnings | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | July 19, 2019 | $26,600 | $26,600 | |
| 2 | July 22, 2019 | $18,600 | $45,200 | Jason's first nonrunaway game. |
| 3 | July 23, 2019 | $30,100 | $75,300 | Jason's second nonrunaway game. |
| 4 | July 24, 2019 | $30,000 | $105,300 | Jason's third nonrunaway game. |
| 5 | July 25, 2019 | $4,400 | $109,700 | Jason's fourth nonrunaway game. |
| 6 | July 26, 2019 | $26,600 | $137,300 | Last game of Season 35. |
| 7 | September 9, 2019 | $29,200 | $166,500 | First game of Season 36. |
| 8 | September 10, 2019 | $25,600 | $192,100 | |
| 9 | September 11, 2019 | $41,143 | $233,243 | |
| 10 | September 12, 2019 | $40,600 | $273,843 | Last player to become a super-champion in the Alex Trebek era. |
| 11 | September 13, 2019 | $58,400 | $332,243 | |
| 12 | September 16, 2019 | $24,400 | $356,643 | |
| 13 | September 17, 2019 | $5,300 | $361,943 | Jason's fifth nonrunaway game. |
| 14 | September 18, 2019 | $37,600 | $399,543 | |
| 15 | September 19, 2019 | $18,800 | $418,343 | First game where Jason did not find the Daily Doubles. |
| 16 | September 20, 2019 | $18,753 | $437,096 | Jason becomes third highest-earning regular game winnings. |
| 17 | September 23, 2019 | $35,000 | $472,096 | |
| 18 | September 24, 2019 | $30,000 | $502,096 | |
| 19 | September 25, 2019 | $30,400 | $532,496 | |
| 20 | September 26, 2019 | $19,500 | $534,496 | Second and final regular season play game where Jason did not find the Daily Doubles. Jason's sixth and final nonrunaway game in regular season play. Lost to Gabe Brison-Trezise. |
Tournament of Champions[]
In the first quarterfinal game, he faced off against Ryan Bilger and Sarah Jett Rayburn. Throughout the first two rounds, he came up with 16/18 correct responses. He and Bilger got Final correct, but after losing to Bilger (in a runaway game), he earned a wildcard with his $18,800, while Sarah's $0, was not enough, taking home $5,000.
In the third semifinal game, he faced off against Jennifer Quail and Nibir Sarma. Throughout the first two rounds, he came up with 23/27 correct responses (including 0/1 Daily Double). He and Jennifer got Final correct, but after losing to Jennifer, he and Nibir took home $10,000.
Invitational Tournament[]
In the second quarterfinal game, he faced off against Leonard Cooper and Larissa Kelly. Throughout the first two rounds, he came up with 16/17 correct responses (including 1/1 Daily Double). He was the only player who got Final incorrect, but after losing to Larissa, he and Leonard took home $5,000.
Common with Other Champions[]
Matt Amodio[]
- Like Ken and David, Both went on a winning streak over two seasons.
- Both recorded non lock games six times in their regular runs.
- Both have had rounds of regular games winning under $10,000. Matt's 11th game, Jason's 5th and 13th games.
- The 6th FJ that their solved was later resubmitted as another Superchamp's FJ. In Jason's case, it was resubmitted as Amy's 21st FJ (The Carpathia), and in Matt's case, it was resubmitted as Cris' 22nd (last) FJ (The Tempest).
- Not a single win in ToC. Also, the two who beat them in the semifinals were both runners-up. In addition, the first name of the finalist is Sam.
Cris Pannullo[]
- Both premiered on Friday.
- Including getting off, they maintained first place until FJ.
- 'New' is entered in the state in which they live (Jason: New Mexico, Cris: New Jersey).
David Madden[]
- Both won 19 games in their regular runs.
- Both went on a winning streak over two seasons.
Trivia[]
- In many ways, he has a lot in common with David Madden.
- It wasn't beyond his control, but after his departure, like Arthur Chu, no man had a four-game winning streak until Paul Trifiletti went on to win five in March 2020, while the women's eight-game winning streak was three (Jennifer Quail, Karen Farrell, MacKenzie Jones). The men came out, and the men's champion drought was so severe that the men's champion with six straight wins achieved in January 2021 by Brian Chang in one year and four months.
- He is the last champion with more than 10 consecutive victories under Alex Trebek and the last champion with 10 or more wins before without audience system due to COVID-19.
- Among the champions who reached the semifinals with WC, He was the only champions with 10 or more wins that did not advance to the finals. Julia Collins and Austin Rogers, two champions with 10+ wins, who advanced to the semi-finals with WC, both finished third.
- Same birthdate as S34 12-win champion Austin Rogers.
- He is the first champion in history to win 10 or more wins under $10,000, and the first champion with two or more wins under $10,000.
- Starting with him, there was a champion who won five or more consecutively over two seasons for four consecutive seasons. S36~37: Zach Newkirk (x6), S37~38: Matt Amodio (x38), and S38~39: Luigi de Guzman (x5). Of these, Zach is also the champion who passed the year as of the airing date, with his appearance on air in January 2021 due to Covid-19.
- Like super champion Seth Wilson, he is particularly unlucky in big competitions. In ToC, he suffered the humiliation of losing to Ryan Bilger, the 4-time champion, and Jennifer Quail, the 8-time champion, and is disappointed that he was not able to show off his skills, losing to Larissa Kelly at this JIT.
- He is originally from Depew, New York (where much of his family still lives), but he moved to Albuquerque during his childhood. He was a rocket scientist before becoming a schoolteacher.