Prince George student wins on Jeopardy

Millions of people have played Jeopardy! at home, dreaming they could win it big.

A student from Prince George can now say he’s done the real thing.

Matthew Church, a Prince George native attending Queen’s School of Medicine, was victorious on the long-running game show Monday night, winning $24,000 and earning himself another game on Tuesday.

“It’s a thrill of a lifetime,” he says.

“I’m fairly young, so there’s lots of my life to go, but this is really exciting.”

Church decided to apply through an online quiz in January with 250,000 people. He was one of 3,000 people selected for an in-person quiz and interview, which happened in Toronto in July, before being told the next month he’d be flying to California to be a contestant.

“At every point through the stage I never thought I would get on the real show,” he said.

“Even when I went to California, I was there solely for the fun of the experience. But that’s all been blown out of the water now.”

Despite leading for most the game, Church admitted the experience wasn’t just fun and games.

“I was nervous the whole time. They come by at commercial to wipe the sweat off your head, and I needed it,” he said.

“But I had a Daily Double early on, and I knew I’d be remiss if I didn’t make it a true Daily Double.”

He got the question right – the answer was “What is the Hoover Dam?” – and after that, said Church, “I knew I had a shot to win.”

Church is returning home to Prince George tomorrow, but watched the show with around 50 of his classmates after his final exam.

“I play at home often, so I’m not used to a huge round of applause for every question I get right,” he said. “I kept it a secret from everyone for so long, so I knew it would be a lot of fun to sit on the edge.”

Church even got his Final Jeopardy question correct, but it didn’t help him since he bet zero dollars.

“I was ahead by enough that I would automatically win if I bet nothing, so I didn’t want to accidentally overwager by mistake,” he said.

Aside from helping to pay off his student loans – “and maybe making a donation to Wikipedia”, he quipped – Church isn’t sure yet what he’ll do with the money. And with the show’s confidentiality clause, he can’t say how long his run goes for.

But for the rest of his life, Matt Church can say he won on Jeopardy.