‘Jeopardy!’ fans consider brilliant contestant ‘a final gift to Alex Trebek’

“Jeopardy!” fans know how much deceased host Alex Trebek loved a champion, which is why they were so happy contestant Brayden Smith put on a show Thursday. The young man has been unstoppable throughout his three-day run. Much like fellow “Jeopardy!” star and Las Vegas native James Holzauer, Smith had an uncanny ability to find all the Daily Doubles, which Alex found fascinating.

“I don't think you've missed any of the Daily Doubles you've uncovered,” said Trebek, “and you've uncovered all of them in the games in which you've competed.”

With only a handful of Trebek’s episodes remaining, fans were glad Smith could bring him a little joy. One fan tweeted, “I’d like to think that Brayden was a final gift to Alex Trebek. He loved a great champion.”

Video Transcript

- And our returning champion, a policy intern from Las Vegas, Nevada, Brayden Smith, whose two-day cash winnings totals $66,000.

[APPLAUSE]

KYLIE MAR: "Jeopardy!" fans know how much Alex Trebek loves the champion, which is why they were so happy contestant en Smith put on a Show Thursday.

ALEX TREBEK: What a week this is turning out to be on "Jeopardy!" So I'm not going to say anything that might risk jinxing it.

KYLIE MAR: The young man has been unstoppable throughout his three-day run, though, you wouldn't guess it by his correct responses.

BRAYDEN SMITH: Who is Pele? Who is Luke Wilson? Who is black?

ALEX TREBEK: Yep.

KYLIE MAR: Much like fellow "Jeopardy!" star and Las Vegas native James Holzhauer, Brayden had an uncanny ability to find all the daily doubles, which Alex found fascinating.

BRAYDEN SMITH: What is Stonehenge?

ALEX TREBEK: You got it right.

[APPLAUSE]

I don't think you've missed any of the daily doubles you uncovered. And you've uncovered all of them in the games in which you've competed.

KYLIE MAR: With only a handful of episodes remaining, fans were glad Brayden could bring Alex a little joy. One fan tweeted, "I'd like to think that Brayden was a final gift to Alex Trebek. He loved a great champion." With almost a $30,000 lead heading into Final Jeopardy, the game was won before it even ended, leaving Alex with just one question moving forward.

ALEX TREBEK: A runaway game three days in a row. How much money will Brayden earn today?