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Culture September 23, 2019

Meet new 'Jeopardy!' champ Jason Zuffranieri. Is he the next James Holzhauer?

WATCH: Meet new 'Jeopardy!' champ Jason Zuffranieri

"Jeopardy!" fans have Jason Zuffranieri fever!

The math teacher from Albuquerque has already clipped off 15 straight wins, collecting a whopping $418,343.

(MORE: Where does James Holzhauer fit into 'Jeopardy!' history? A look back at past champions)

Whether he continues his streak and becomes the next sensation like James Holzhauer remains to be seen. Holzhauer won 32 times in a row and left the show with $2.4 million.

In addition to Holzhauer, the new champ trails "Jeopardy!" icons like Julia Collins, Dave Madden and Ken Jennings, the show's all-time money and wins leader.

His next goal this week should be to pass Collins, whom he trails by $10,000.

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Next stop: half a million bucks! Tune in tomorrow to see if Jason can continue the streak.

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As for consecutive wins, he trails Madden by four and Collins by five.

From there on, it's an uphill battle to topple the giants Jennings and Holzhauer.

(MORE: 'Jeopardy!' host Alex Trebek says he is undergoing chemotherapy again after 'numbers went sky high')

The excitement over the new champ comes at a much-needed time for "Jeopardy!" fans, who were dealt a blow last week when legendary host Alex Trebek announced he is undergoing another round of chemotherapy for stage 4 pancreatic cancer.

In an interview with “GMA,” Trebek told ABC News' T.J. Holmes that his doctors have decided to have him undergo chemo again after he lost a large amount of weight after finishing his first round of treatment.

“I was doing so well. And my numbers went down to the equivalent of a normal human being who does not have pancreatic cancer. So we were all very optimistic. And they said, 'Good, we're gonna stop chemo, we'll start you on immunotherapy,'" he said. "I lost about 12 pounds in a week. And my numbers went sky high, much higher than they were when I was first diagnosed. So, the doctors have decided that I have to undergo chemo again and that's what I'm doing."