Jeopardy! fan favorite Mattea Roach reveals financial struggles before big win on show

Jeopardy! 's favorite contestant opened up about life before the show.

Mattea Roach appeared on Q with Tom Power and revealed that they were on government benefits before winning over $800,000 on Jeopardy! They first appeared on the hit trivia show in 2022 at 23 years old and went on to win 23 consecutive games, the fifth highest run in the history of the show.

The 25-year-old was a Law School Admission Test tutor from Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. Mattea – who goes by they/them pronouns – revealed that they were on E.I. (Canadian Employment Insurance), program that helps unemployed workers with temporary income support while they look for work.

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They said: "I had to file my little 'no no, no, yes, no' [form] while I was taping Jeopardy!, and I, of course, got docked for being out of the country, and they asked, 'Were you out of the country looking for work?'" They continued: "And I was like, In a sense,' I was out of the country chasing a fortune. But that’s not something the E.I. people want to hear, right?"

Mattea won $560,983 in Jeopardy! and also placed in fifth for all-time consecutive games won. They then returned for the famed Tournament of Champions and Jeopardy Masters Tournament and won more than $810,000 during their time on the show. Because of their financial situation, Mattea said that it wad the reason they did not feel "comfortable throwing around house money."

They said: "Because it meant something to me, really concretely... If you were more financially comfortable and used to wagering money, you would just realize the right thing to do is go big."

Mattea also admitted to using the prize money to improve their credit score.

It was announced on Tuesday, August 27 that Mattea will be hosting Bookends , a new Canadian Broadcasting Channel (CBC) radio show that's replacing Writers & Company's Sunday book program. Writers & Company was hosted by Eleanor Wachtel, who announced her retirement last year. Eleanor hosted the show since it started in 1990 and hosted her last episode on Sunday, September 1.

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