Brayden Smith, from Las Vegas, was 24 years old when he died on February 5. The family did not disclose the cause of death.
“We are so grateful that Brayden was able to make his dream come true on @jeopardy,” said Smith’s mom, Debbie, tweeted Friday morning.
Smith won $ 117,798 on the program and his last performance was Alex Trebek’s last week. The shows were taped in October, and Trebek died of pancreatic cancer on November 8.
Smith’s six episodes aired December 15-18 and January 5-6.
“I’m really grateful for everything, all the opportunities I’ve had,” he said in a video posted on the Jeopardy website. “I’m just glad we were able to do it and I’m glad I was able to show what I was capable of.”
Smith was an intern at the Cato Institute in Washington, according to the obituary his family had provided to the Las Vegas Review-Journal, and he planned to study law to become a government attorney.
“He was a voracious reader and self-taught, a lover of knowledge and an advocate for justice,” read the obituary.
Smith graduated from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas in 2020.
“He was kind, funny and absolutely brilliant,” the producers of “Jeopardy!” tweeted Friday“Our deepest condolences go to the van Brayden family.”
In the video about his time on the show, Smith said he was looking forward to appearing at a Jeopardy tournament of champions.
“The tournament of champions has been my favorite tournament every year since I was a kid,” he said. “These people are some of my trivia idols.”