It’s not going to give him another chance at history, but “Jeopardy!” legend James Holzhauer was at least able to avenge his shocking loss and win $250,000 in the process in an episode that aired Friday.
Facing librarian Emma Boettcher — who ended his historic run earlier this year — in the two-day final of the “Jeopardy!” Tournament of Champions, Holzhauer held on to a sizable lead to capture what will surely be the first of many “Jeopardy” special event titles.
How Jeopardy James got back into the win column
The Las Vegas-based professional gambler grabbed a significant lead in Thursday’s episode, holding $49,326 to Boettcher’s $26,400 and the third contestant’s $1,800.
That lead would dwindle in Friday’s episode though, with Boettcher well within striking distance of Holzhauer if he failed to answer Final Jeopardy correctly.
The category of the decisive clue: “International disputes.” The answer: “A dispute over Etorofu, Habomai, Kunashiri & Shikotan has kept these 2 countries from ever signing a WWII peace treaty.”
All three contestants responded correctly with Russia and Japan, giving Holzhauer the win with $76,923 to Boettcher's $65,000. That gave Holzhauer the $250,000 grand prize, with Boettcher getting a respectable $100,000 for her challenge.
He did it! “JEOPARDY! James” Holzhauer took home the $250,000 grand prize in the Tournament of Champions. Watch the winning moment belowhttps://t.co/yZy5Ajmqrv pic.twitter.com/30CWcZMeLm
— ABC11 EyewitnessNews (@ABC11_WTVD) November 16, 2019
If anything, this proves Boettcher’s win over Holzhauer wasn’t a fluke. She really was the second-best player to hit the iconic show this year.
The tournament title will increase Holzhauer’s lifetime winnings to $2,712,219, putting him on his way to challenge Brad Rutter’s $4,688,436 and Ken Jennings’ $3,370,700 on the all-time total winnings leaderboard.
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