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The final five-time 'Jeopardy!' champ during Alex Trebek's tenure has died at age 24

(CNN)The final five-time champion of "Jeopardy!" while Alex Trebek was still host died unexpectedly last week, according to a statement from his mother.

Brayden Smith, of Las Vegas, was 24 years old when he died on February 5. The family did not release the cause of death.
"We are so grateful that Brayden was able to live out his dream on @jeopardy," Smith's mother, Debbie, tweeted Friday morning.
Smith won $117,798 on the program, with his final appearance taking place in Alex Trebek's final week on the air. The shows were recorded in October and Trebek died of pancreatic cancer November 8.

Link: https://www.cnn.com/2021/02/12/tv-shows ... index.html

I just read an unconfirmed tweet saying that he died after surgery for pancreatic cancer.

Very sad. I doubt it was pancreatic cancer or I would think the family would have made that public immediately to raise further awareness in honor of Alex and Brayden.

BackInTex wrote: ↑

Sat Feb 13, 2021 9:30 am

Very sad. I doubt it was pancreatic cancer or I would think the family would have made that public immediately to raise further awareness in honor of Alex and Brayden.

I agree it's very sad news. And whenever someone that young dies unexpectedly without any previous indications that they had been ill, the public speculates on the cause. But he's a private person who just happened to win a few games on Jeopardy. If his family wants to release details, that's fine, but. if not, they are entitled to privacy. Speculation can't do anything but hurt the family at a time of grief.

The family revealed last week that Smith died following surgery for an undisclosed condition. On Friday's episode of the Tournament of Champions, host Buzzy Cohen paid tribute to Smith and added that Smith's family had established a fund in his memory and that Jeopardy would be contributing to the fund.