‘Jeopardy!’ Champion Brayden Smith Dead At 24

Brayden Smith, a five-time “Jeopardy!” winner hailed as “Alex’s last champion” for his flurry of victories during late host Alex Trebek’s final episodes of the show, has died at the age of 24.

Smith died on Feb. 5 in Las Vegas, his family announced in an obituary published in the Las Vegas Review-Journal on Friday. The cause of death was not stated.

Smith’s mother, Deborah Smith, paid tribute to her son on Twitter.

“We are so grateful that Brayden was able to live out his dream” on the show,” she wrote:

“Jeopardy!” also honored its former contestant:

The show described Smith as “kind, funny and absolutely brilliant.”

“Our deepest condolences go out to Brayden’s family,” the show added. “He will be missed.”

James Holzhauer, who dominated the game show in 2019, said he was “absolutely devastated by the tragic loss,” describing Smith as one the show’s “finest players and Las Vegas’s finest humans.”

Smith had been looking forward to competing in the show’s Tournament of Champions, said his obituary.