‘Danger!’ champion Brayden Smith died after complications from surgery: report

A few days after “Jeopardy!” Champion Brayden Smith died unexpectedly, his loved ones are shedding light on what caused his sudden death.

The 24-year-old died of complications from surgery, according to his family, who shared the news with a local CBS station in his hometown, Las Vegas.

Smith was a five-time winner of the game show and was known by fans as “Alex’s last great champion”, as he appeared in some of Alex Trebek’s final episodes before the host’s death.

According to the Las Vegas Review-Journal, the 24-year-old spent several days in a southern Nevada hospital before his death on February 5. TODAY reached out to the Smith family to comment on local reports, but there was no response. of this post.

Over the weekend, Smith’s mother, Debbie, posted a new tweet thanking the audience for their support during a difficult time for the family.

“The display of love for Brayden is overwhelming,” she wrote. “We cannot express how much your beautiful comments are comforting us during this painfully sad moment. Thank you.”

The surprising news of the young champion’s death came last week when Debbie Smith posted the ad to your Twitter page.

“We are heartbroken to share that our dear Brayden Smith recently passed away unexpectedly. We are very grateful that Brayden was able to live his dream on @jeopardy,” she wrote.

The quiz show also released a statement mourning the loss of the young competitor, who won more than $ 115,000 during his run.

“The JEOPARDY family! Is heartbroken by the tragic loss of Brayden Smith. He was kind, funny and absolutely brilliant,” said the program. “Our deepest condolences to the Brayden family. They will be missed.”

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Related: The young champion appeared in some of Alex Trebek’s final episodes.

To honor Smith’s memory, his family created a memorial fund dedicated to “promoting the educational aspirations of students in southern Nevada”. The funds will go to finance scholarships, seminar fees, research grants, conference fees and more.

The 24-year-old was scheduled to compete in “Jeopardy!” once again at the show’s Tournament of Champions and had plans to study law. His obituary describes him as “a lover of knowledge and a defender of justice”.