'Jeopardy!' champ Brayden Smith, who competed on Alex Trebek's final shows, is dead at 24

"Jeopardy!" champion Brayden Smith, who competed in some of the last episodes hosted by Alex Trebek, has died, the game show confirmed Friday on Twitter. He was 24.

"The JEOPARDY! family is heartbroken by the tragic loss of Brayden Smith," the tweet says. "He was kind, funny and absolutely brilliant. Our deepest condolences go out to Brayden’s family. He will be missed."

The show also shared a tweet from Smith's mother, Debbie, who wrote that her son's death was unexpected, but gave no cause.

"We are heartbroken to share that our dear Brayden Smith recently passed away unexpectedly," she wrote. "We are so grateful that Brayden was able to live out his dream on @jeopardy."

His obituary from funeral service Dignity Memorial noted that Smith achieved his lifelong dream by becoming a five-time "Jeopardy!" champion. He won $115,000. The obituary said he died Feb. 5 in Las Vegas.

His appearances on the show were taped last October and aired in late December and early January. They were some of the last episodes hosted by Trebek, who died in November after a Stage 4 pancreatic cancer diagnosis in 2019.

"He was a voracious reader and autodidact, a lover of knowledge and an advocate for justice," Smith's obituary reads. "His room was bursting with books on political science, philosophy, economics and history."

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Smith graduated from the University of Nevada-Las Vegas with an economics degree in 2020 and planned on becoming a lawyer for the federal government.

He is survived by his parents, Scott and Deborah Smith, and brothers, Bryce, Brock and Brody.

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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Five-time 'Jeopardy!' champion Brayden Smith dies unexpectedly at 24