The former Princeton student from Lawrenceville, New Jersey, had accumulated $882,605 in winnings during his run. However, in his final appearance, Ding found himself trailing his competitor, Greg Shahade, with $16,000 to Shahade’s $32,600 going into the Final Jeopardy round. Ultimately, Ding finished in second place.

Reflecting on his last match, Ding remarked to People magazine, “I think my last game is unusual because I was a super champ, but I also lost in a runaway, which I feel like is the first time that ever happened.” Despite the loss, his performance remains a significant highlight in “Jeopardy!” history.

Fans of the show can look forward to seeing Ding again, as his impressive streak has secured him a spot in the season-ending Tournament of Champions, ensuring that his “Jeopardy!” journey is far from over.

“I think my last game is unusual, because I was a super champ, but I also lost in a runaway, which I feel like is the first time that ever happened,” Ding told People on Shahade beating him by 13,990 points.

This won’t be the last that “Jeopardy!” fans see Ding, as he earned a spot in the season-ending Tournament of Champions.

The only contestants to win more consecutive games than Ding are Holzhauer, Matt Amodio with 38 games in 2021, Amy Schneider with 40 games in 2022 and the all-time champ Ken Jennings with 74 games in 2004. Jennings has been sole host of the show since 2023.

Ding is also ranked No. 5 on the leaderboard for highest winnings in regular-season play and No. 7 for all-time winnings.

“Part of me is not OK and thinks that it would’ve been nice to go for more games,” Ding told People. “But on the other hand, it could have ended much earlier than it did. There were several people who were really strong and played well, and had a couple of things broken differently, I would have been done for weeks ago. So I’m both upset and pleased. Don’t cry because it’s over, smile because it happened kind of thing.”