The long-running American quiz show, Jeopardy, has seen a myriad of players across the better part of 60 years that it has been on the air. And until recently, the incumbent champion Amy Schneider was proving to be one of the best and most immovable champions in the series’ history. Sadly Schneider fell just short of the outright records when her run was brought to an end on Wednesday.

The quizzing juggernaut was humbled in the end by Chicago librarian, Rhone Talsma who bested her by a considerable margin of more than $10,000. The shock defeat came just two days after Schneider broke the record for the second-longest run on the show, remaining in the hot seat for 40 episodes. Ken Jennings holds the outright record for the longest run on the show at a staggering 74 games back in 2003.

Jennings has since taken up the position of the show’s host alongside The Big Bang Theory star Mayim Bialik and was in fact hosting Wednesday when Schneider’s run came to an end. The contestant also fell short of an overall record for largest sum won on the show, ending with the fourth-highest score of all time. Outdone by only Matt Amodio ($1,518,601), James Holzhauer ($2,462,216) and of course Jennings himself ($2,520,700).

When interviewed after the show Schneider remained gracious in defeat praising her opponent and reflecting on her time on the show:

“I had thought that Rhone was going to be tough going into it. I loved hanging out with him, we had a great conversation before the taping, but I could tell that he was here to play and that he was going to be good. I still came very close to winning, but I did feel like maybe I was slipping a little bit. And once it was clear that he was fast on the buzzer, I knew it was going to be a battle all the way. It’s really been an honor. to know that I’m one of the most successful people at a game I’ve loved since I was a kid and to know that I’m a part of its history now, I just don’t know how to process it.”

Schneider wasn’t the only one shocked by the outcome with the show’s winner Talsma also expressing his delight at the chance to start a reign of his own after conquering the formidable foe:

“I’m still in shock. This is my favorite show. I was so excited to be here and I just wanted to do my best. I did not expect to be facing a 40-day champion, and I was excited to maybe see someone else slay the giant. I just really didn’t think it was going to be me, so I’m thrilled.”

Jeopardy has enjoyed a significant boom in popularity this past year, thanks in part to Schneider and also Amodio who now has the third-longest reign on the show after a stunning performance earlier in 2021. The show is currently averaging 9.4 million viewers per show making it the most-watched program on American daytime TV.