After the trash-talking, the walking had to happen, and in front of one of the biggest audiences for the TV gameshow ever, Jeopardy! saw its ‘Greatest of All Time’ edition crown Ken Jennings as the winner at the expense of poker player and recent Jeopardy! champion James Holzhauer.
The Las Vegas based sports bettor and sometime poker live tournament player Holzhauer had his work cut out in the final, up against the old guard of Ken Jennings and superstar series winner Brad Rutter.
In recent weeks, the Twitter banter has been absolutely sensational, and taken over how fans have viewed the hype, in-game action and aftermath of the ‘GOAT’ series of Jeopardy! All three men have embraced it fully and helped the show to an unprecedented amount of worldwide media attention.
Holzhauer was up against both men, with a million dollars on the line, and while each of the three men were confident, it seemed like Holzhauer was talking the talk better than anyone. After an insane streak in the regular series, Holzhauer had put together an unbelievable run of risking it all and winning single games like no-one in the show’s history, averaging over $75,000 per game – way more than many jackpot winners would win on other television gameshows.
Rutter, who would finish third, had won the most tournaments of anyone in Jeopardy! history, having racked up 5 tournament wins. In the aftermath of the result, Holzhauer reminded viewers of just how great Rutter is.
Congrats to Ken on breaking that last-place tie, but look at that number next to Brad’s name. It was an honor to share the stage with a true #Jeopardy legend. https://t.co/mcftG6JRtu
— James Holzhauer (@James_Holzhauer) January 15, 2020
Ken Jennings was the more mature contestant, and in the end, his experience told. With the most consecutive games won in Jeopardy! history – 74 games in total – his background, Jennings was able to see it out, and won the $1 million top prize, and the bragging rights of the century.
With a first-to-three structure, both Jennings and Holzhauer couldn’t be separated after the first two days of the series. Jennings booked a win in the next match, before revealing the daily doubles in match #4, meaning he went into the Final Jeopardy! with the lead, sealing the deal when two wrong answers from his opponents saw Jennings crowned champion. Holzhauer, as you can see, was gracious enough to credit his opponent when Jennings mimicked the poker player’s signature ‘all-in’ move.
.@KenJennings went ALL IN 🙌 😆 #JeopardyGOAT pic.twitter.com/bs68FINqTh
— ABC (@ABCNetwork) January 15, 2020
Statistically speaking, Holzhauer actually had a slightly better rate of answering questions correctly, at 93% with Jennings on 93%. Rutter hit a disappointing 84% and was third-rate compared to his two highly-decorated foes.
As ever, Ken Jennings was as gracious as he was successful at the game after being crowned the Greatest ever Jeopardy! player of all time.
Buzzing against both of them at once was a Jeopardy nightmare, but also the best time I've ever had on TV. They're just great and, should I ever be unable to fulfill my duties, I deputize them as co-GOATs.
— Ken Jennings (@KenJennings) January 15, 2020
