“Jeopardy!” paid tribute to one of its former champions.
During Friday’s episode during the game show’s Tournament of Champions, guest host Buzzy Cohen honored the memory of former five-time winner Brayden Smith, who passed away in February.
"You've now met all 15 of the players who qualified for the Tournament of Champions — well, almost all," Cohen said.
"Brayden Smith, the incredible young man who won five shows and $115,000 in January, passed away earlier this year. Brayden's family has established a fund in his name, and “Jeopardy!” will be donating to that fund. We want to express our best wishes and condolences to his family."
Smith died on February 5th due to complications from surgery. He was 24.
Following the on-air tribute, Smith’s mother, Debbie Smith, retweeted the clip and expressed her gratitude for the kind words and donation.
“Our family is deeply touched by Jeopardy’s ToC tribute to Brayden and its pledge to support the Brayden Smith Memorial Fund,” she tweeted. “What a formidable group of Champs. Brayden would feel honored to be counted among you.”
Brayden was one of the last champions to appear during Alex Trebek’s final episodes. The appearances were taped prior to Trebek’s death in November and aired in December.
During his run on the show, Trebek nicknamed Brayden "Billy Buzzsaw."
"[Trebek] did, I believe, really like Brayden," executive producer Mike Richards previously told EW. "I could tell that he very much enjoyed that young man, and that was fun to watch. I think that energized him."
“Jeopardy!” will wrap up this year’s Tournament of Champions on May 28th.
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