“Jeopardy!” game show reacted Friday to the news that one of its young champions, Brayden Smith, had died at the age of 24.
“The JEOPARDY! family is heartbroken by the tragic loss of Brayden Smith,” the official account for the popular game series tweeted. (RELATED: Alex Trebek Announces He Was Diagnosed With Stage 4 Pancreatic Cancer)
“He was kind, funny and absolutely brilliant,” the statement added. “Our deepest condolences go out to Brayden’s family. He will be missed.”
The JEOPARDY! family is heartbroken by the tragic loss of Brayden Smith. He was kind, funny and absolutely brilliant. Our deepest condolences go out to Brayden’s family. He will be missed. https://t.co/aFQRt6KzPc
— Jeopardy! (@Jeopardy) February 12, 2021
Along with the post was a retweet from Brayden’s mom, Debbie Smith, who shared the news of his “unexpected” death.
“We are heartbroken to share that our dear Brayden Smith recently passed away unexpectedly,” Debbie tweeted, along with a snapshot of his time on the show. “We are so grateful that Brayden was able to live out his dream on @jeopardy.”
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. pic.twitter.com/e5x18xGcxV
— Debbie Smith (@debbieinlv) February 12, 2021
CBS 8News in Las Vegas has since reported that family members shared with them that Smith died “following complications after surgery.”
Brayden, who was known to fans online as “Alex’s Last Great Champion,” appeared in several of the late TV game show host’s final episodes, before Trebek lost his battle with pancreatic cancer in November. (RELATED: Alex Trebek Begins New Season Of ‘Jeopardy!’ After Completing Cancer Treatment)
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Smith’s five-game winning streak came to an end last month after he netted $115,000, according to USA Today. Brayden had been looking forward to competing in the Tournament of Champions and getting back on stage, the outlet reported.
“‘Jeopardy!’ is so much better than anything that I could even have imagined,” Brayden explained. “Every moment since I last was on the studio lot has been a moment that I’ve been wanting to get back on there.”
“Tournament of Champions was my favorite tournament every year since I was a kid,” he added. “These people are sort of my trivia idols, and to know that I’m going to be on the same metaphorical and literal stage that they were on is really something special.”