Smart guys for $200, Alex
Top three all-time Jeopardy! winners preparing for a January showdown
The best of the best are set to go head to head on Jeopardy!
ABC announced this week that the top three contestants in the game show’s history will face off in January on Jeopardy! The Greatest of All Time.
James Holzhauer, a professional gambler from Las Vegas who made headlines earlier this year with his 32-game winning streak, will go up against the show’s two other biggest winners — Ken Jennings and Brad Rutter.
Holzhauer won Jeopardy! Tournament of Champions last week by besting Emma Boettcher — the University of Chicago librarian who had beaten him in June.
Up until his defeat last summer, Holzhauer was on pace to eclipse Jennings’ regular-episode earnings record that he set during his 74-game winning streak in 2004. Holzhauer was $58,484 shy of the $2.52-million cash haul Jennings took home 15 years ago.
Rutter is the top winner in any game show, with $4.7 million in both regular and tournament Jeopardy! competitions. He beat Jennings in an All-stars match in March and he has never lost to a human opponent (though both he and Jennings lost to the IBM computer Watson in 2011).
“When James had his run last year, a lot of people were wondering, well how would he do against Ken Jennings? How would he do against Brad Rutter? (They’re) our two most successful players in Jeopardy! history,” host Alex Trebek said in an exclusive interview with USA Today. “These three players have won close to $10 million in Jeopardy! prize money and (have) over 100 games among them, so it was logical.”
During his run, Holzhauer set the record for the most money won during one game, with $131,127, crediting his success to his love of children’s literature.
“They are chock-full of infographics, pictures and all kinds of stuff to keep the reader engaged,” Holzhauer told The Washington Post. “I couldn’t make it through a chapter of an actual (Charles) Dickens novel without falling asleep.”
He also showed no fear of making big-money bets if he landed on a Daily Double or in the Final Jeopardy rounds.
“I think it was a huge advantage that I don’t blink at gambling large amounts of money when I think I have a big edge,” he told The Post.
His bets usually had a personal connection. Holzhauer would make wagers related to dates: his wedding anniversary and the birthdays of his dad, nephew and daughter.
Holzhauer and his opponents are already trash talking one another on social media.
“I’m a genetic freak and I’m not normal! So you got a 25%, AT BEST, beat me,” he wrote in a tweet aimed at Jennings. “Then you add @bradrutter to the mix, your chances of winning drastic go down.”
Jennings replied with a jab at Holzhauer’s casual dress code, writing, “All proceeds go to buying @James_holzhauer a nice sport coat or blazer, and maybe even a necktie.”
Trebek, who is in the midst of battling pancreatic cancer, wouldn’t predict a winner. But he told USA Today that “Ken and Brad are going to be at a slight disadvantage. They won the majority of their monies 10, 15 years ago, so they’ve aged a bit. And are their reflexes going to be as good as James Holzhauer’s? Who knows? But we’re going to find out in this tournament. It’s going to be a blast. We’re all excited about it.”
Jeopardy! The Greatest of All Time begins airing Jan. 7 and a winner will be declared when one contestant wins three matches. The champion will take home $1 million and the title of the game show ’s “greatest of all time.” The runners-up will each pocket $250,000.