One of Jeopardy!’s former champions, and one who left the victor five times, passed away suddenly at only 24 years old, according to the contestant’s mother.
“We are heartbroken to share that our dear Brayden Smith recently passed away unexpectedly,” she tweeted. “We are so grateful that Brayden was able to live out his dream on.”
The show shared its condolences, “The JEOPARDY! family is heartbroken by the tragic loss of Brayden Smith,” the show tweeted. “He was kind, funny and absolutely brilliant. Our deepest condolences go out to Brayden’s family. He will be missed.”
According to his obituary, Smith loved to play saxophone and listen to musicians like Duke Ellington and the Beach Boys. He graduated from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas in 2020, and planned to attend law school and work for the federal government.
Brayden was not only a five-time Jeopardy! champion, but also one of the late Alex Trebek’s last winners before he passed away.
“I’m really grateful for everything, for all the opportunities that I had,” Smith told Trebek in a video the show posted to YouTube after he ended his five-game winning streak. “I’m just glad that … I was able to show what I was capable of.”
Trebek died from stage 4 pancreatic cancer in November of last year at the age of 80.
