Brayden Smith, the last contestant who won the championship during Alex Trebek’s final episodes on “Jeopardy!” has died at 24.
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The show’s producers said in a statement that Smith died unexpectedly in Las Vegas, Nevada last Friday and his mother Debbie also confirmed the news on Twitter. She writes, “We are heartbroken to share that our dear Brayden Smith recently passed away unexpectedly. We are so grateful that Brayden was able to live out his dream on @jeopardy.” During his time on the show, Smith won five games consecutively and earned more than $115,000 last October.
According to the New York Post, Smith’s obituary reads that it has been a lifelong dream of his to participate in the game show. Before Trebek’s passing, Smith said the most enjoyable part of the show was spending time with the legendary host.
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“The best part of it for me was spending time with [Trebek]. Doing the questions and answers is almost incidental, I think, to spending time with somebody who I had cherished in my life for such a long period of time… I think back on it all the time and really savor each moment that I got to have with him.”
Smith’s cause of death is currently unknown and he is survived by his parents and siblings.