Who is Mattea Roach? Toronto resident becomes Jeopardy! champion
Posted April 6, 2022 5:46 pm.
Last Updated April 6, 2022 6:10 pm.
A Toronto woman is $32,001 richer after winning big on Jeopardy!
That begs the obvious question: Who is Mattea Roach?
The 23-year-old was born in Nova Scotia but now considers Toronto home, having moved to the city to study.
Her big victory on Tuesday night’s episode of the popular game show helped erase all the student loans she amassed in the city.
“For anybody who watched the show, I was pretty overwhelmed and pretty emotional,” said Roach in an interview with CityNews. “I had not expected when I was going down that I was going to win a game.”
The episode was taped several months earlier but aired last night across North America. When Roach arrived in Los Angeles for the taping, she was happy to learn that she would not need to unseat any multiweek champions.
“I was really lucky and I was able to make it happen,” said Roach.
The appearance on Jeopardy! was even more special for Roach, given Canada’s long-lasting links to the game show.
“I was very proud to represent Toronto, very proud as well to represent Nova Scotia, and proud as well to represent all of Canada,” said Roach.
“Especially with Alex Trebek being the host of Jeopardy! for such a long time and him being a Canadian icon, I think it’s always very special as a Canadian to get to go and represent your country on Jeopardy! To go and to do that and to win is just the cherry on top.”
Trebek, a native of North Bay, Ontario, served as the host of Jeopardy! for more than 30 years before passing away from pancreatic cancer in 2020.
Roach will try to defend her title on Wednesday night’s episode but was unable to divulge whether she was able to cash in once again.
“You really won’t know when the last one is until you see the last one. It could be tonight, it could be way later. People will just have to tune in tonight and find out.”
