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| Greatest of All Time on ‘Jeopardy!’? This Tournament Should Settle It | |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| Twenty years ago, Brad Rutter left the “Jeopardy!” studio having won more than $55,000 and two Chevy Camaros. Rutter hadn’t lost a match, but at that time in the game show’s history, contestants were kicked off after winning five straight games. | Twenty years ago, Brad Rutter left the “Jeopardy!” studio having won more than $55,000 and two Chevy Camaros. Rutter hadn’t lost a match, but at that time in the game show’s history, contestants were kicked off after winning five straight games. |
| So Rutter went back to his job at a record store in Lancaster, Pa., gave the green Camaro to his brother and kept the silver one for himself. But Rutter would eventually return to “Jeopardy!”: In 2001, he was invited back to compete in the Tournament of Champions; then again, in 2002, for a separate series. He would go on to amass $4.7 million in winnings, the most overall for any contestant. | So Rutter went back to his job at a record store in Lancaster, Pa., gave the green Camaro to his brother and kept the silver one for himself. But Rutter would eventually return to “Jeopardy!”: In 2001, he was invited back to compete in the Tournament of Champions; then again, in 2002, for a separate series. He would go on to amass $4.7 million in winnings, the most overall for any contestant. |
| Ken Jennings, who holds the longest streak in the show’s history with 74 consecutive wins, has also returned to the franchise numerous times: the Ultimate Tournament of Champions, the All-Star Games, the Battle of the Decades, a competition against I.B.M.’s Watson computer. And now, a series offering the lofty title of the “greatest of all time.” | Ken Jennings, who holds the longest streak in the show’s history with 74 consecutive wins, has also returned to the franchise numerous times: the Ultimate Tournament of Champions, the All-Star Games, the Battle of the Decades, a competition against I.B.M.’s Watson computer. And now, a series offering the lofty title of the “greatest of all time.” |
| Over its decades on air, “Jeopardy!” has become adept at finding ways to bring back its biggest stars, like “Star Wars” and Marvel do on the big screen. Last year, when James Holzhauer’s 32-game streak ended at the hands of the Chicago librarian Emma Boettcher, it was all but guaranteed that viewers would see him back again for tournaments. | Over its decades on air, “Jeopardy!” has become adept at finding ways to bring back its biggest stars, like “Star Wars” and Marvel do on the big screen. Last year, when James Holzhauer’s 32-game streak ended at the hands of the Chicago librarian Emma Boettcher, it was all but guaranteed that viewers would see him back again for tournaments. |
| Starting Tuesday, Holzhauer returns to the stage to go up against Rutter and Jennings in a tournament billed as being unlike any that came before it. The hourlong episodes, which will air on ABC, will each include two complete “Jeopardy!” games. Each contestant’s combined score in the two games will determine who wins the match, and the tournament will continue until someone wins three matches. The champion will receive $1 million and the sweeping title of “greatest of all time.” The runners-up will each receive $250,000. | Starting Tuesday, Holzhauer returns to the stage to go up against Rutter and Jennings in a tournament billed as being unlike any that came before it. The hourlong episodes, which will air on ABC, will each include two complete “Jeopardy!” games. Each contestant’s combined score in the two games will determine who wins the match, and the tournament will continue until someone wins three matches. The champion will receive $1 million and the sweeping title of “greatest of all time.” The runners-up will each receive $250,000. |
| “I think it really is a tossup between the three players,” said Andy Saunders, who runs a website called The “Jeopardy!” Fan that tracks players’ statistics. “All three of them have strengths and weaknesses. You never know what might happen.” | “I think it really is a tossup between the three players,” said Andy Saunders, who runs a website called The “Jeopardy!” Fan that tracks players’ statistics. “All three of them have strengths and weaknesses. You never know what might happen.” |
| The tournament airs on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday at 8 p.m. Eastern time, 7 Central and Mountain and 8 Pacific. It will continue into next week if no one wins three matches this week. | The tournament airs on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday at 8 p.m. Eastern time, 7 Central and Mountain and 8 Pacific. It will continue into next week if no one wins three matches this week. |
| Here’s a scorecard for each player. | Here’s a scorecard for each player. |
| Because he was limited to five games at first, Rutter didn’t get the same fanfare in the media as Holzhauer or Jennings. As a result, his name is sometimes forgotten in conversations about the “Jeopardy!” greats. A win during this tournament would certainly change that. | Because he was limited to five games at first, Rutter didn’t get the same fanfare in the media as Holzhauer or Jennings. As a result, his name is sometimes forgotten in conversations about the “Jeopardy!” greats. A win during this tournament would certainly change that. |
| “It bothers my friends a lot more than it bothers me,” Rutter, 41, said in an interview on Monday. “They’ll go ballistic about it.” | “It bothers my friends a lot more than it bothers me,” Rutter, 41, said in an interview on Monday. “They’ll go ballistic about it.” |
| Rutter quit his job at the record store after he won his first “Jeopardy!” Tournament of Champions in 2001, taking home $100,000. The next year, he multiplied his winnings at the show’s Million Dollar Masters tournament at Radio City Music Hall. He took home $1 million, the largest prize in the show’s history at that point. | Rutter quit his job at the record store after he won his first “Jeopardy!” Tournament of Champions in 2001, taking home $100,000. The next year, he multiplied his winnings at the show’s Million Dollar Masters tournament at Radio City Music Hall. He took home $1 million, the largest prize in the show’s history at that point. |
| The tournament invites kept coming — as the show’s biggest cash winner, Rutter was a natural choice. | The tournament invites kept coming — as the show’s biggest cash winner, Rutter was a natural choice. |
| “Every time a new challenger comes up, if someone gets hot in the media again, that probably means they’ll have another big all-star tournament, so I’ll get to play,” Rutter said. | “Every time a new challenger comes up, if someone gets hot in the media again, that probably means they’ll have another big all-star tournament, so I’ll get to play,” Rutter said. |
| “Jeopardy!” likes to say that Rutter has never lost to a human opponent, referencing his loss to Watson in 2011. | “Jeopardy!” likes to say that Rutter has never lost to a human opponent, referencing his loss to Watson in 2011. |
| Eventually, Rutter left Pennsylvania to pursue acting and producing in Los Angeles. He was involved with a couple of television pilots that never got picked up, like one about the misadventures of the employees at a poorly run fitness club. Rutter was also an executive producer on “The Bitter Buddha,” a documentary about the comedian Eddie Pepitone, which was selected for several film festivals. | Eventually, Rutter left Pennsylvania to pursue acting and producing in Los Angeles. He was involved with a couple of television pilots that never got picked up, like one about the misadventures of the employees at a poorly run fitness club. Rutter was also an executive producer on “The Bitter Buddha,” a documentary about the comedian Eddie Pepitone, which was selected for several film festivals. |
| With his frequent attendance at “Jeopardy!” tournaments, Rutter has the advantage of having faced some of the best players that “Jeopardy!” has ever seen, according to Saunders. But he also tends to win in narrow scrapes. At the 2002 tournament at Radio City, Rutter won by $1 after all three contestants got the Final Jeopardy question correct. | With his frequent attendance at “Jeopardy!” tournaments, Rutter has the advantage of having faced some of the best players that “Jeopardy!” has ever seen, according to Saunders. But he also tends to win in narrow scrapes. At the 2002 tournament at Radio City, Rutter won by $1 after all three contestants got the Final Jeopardy question correct. |
| Jennings, 45, is known for his endurance. His 74-game winning streak in 2004 remains unsurpassed. | Jennings, 45, is known for his endurance. His 74-game winning streak in 2004 remains unsurpassed. |
| Jennings, whose fans call him “KenJen,” has also held onto his record for the most winnings during a regular season, having amassed $2.5 million. Holzhauer could have overtaken Jennings on his 33rd game had Boettcher not defeated him. | Jennings, whose fans call him “KenJen,” has also held onto his record for the most winnings during a regular season, having amassed $2.5 million. Holzhauer could have overtaken Jennings on his 33rd game had Boettcher not defeated him. |
| Saunders has noticed that Jennings is particularly adept at more complex clues that require the contestant to make multiple connections in mere seconds. His weakness tends to be Final Jeopardy, which proved to be his downfall during his 75th game. | Saunders has noticed that Jennings is particularly adept at more complex clues that require the contestant to make multiple connections in mere seconds. His weakness tends to be Final Jeopardy, which proved to be his downfall during his 75th game. |
| The clue that felled him: Most of this firm’s 70,000 seasonal white-collar employees work only four months a year. (The answer is at the bottom of the story.) Jennings answered incorrectly, giving up his title to Nancy Zerg. | The clue that felled him: Most of this firm’s 70,000 seasonal white-collar employees work only four months a year. (The answer is at the bottom of the story.) Jennings answered incorrectly, giving up his title to Nancy Zerg. |
| Apart from his regular participation in “Jeopardy!” tournaments — which has increased his total winnings to $3.4 million — Jennings has turned his game-show stardom into the writing career he dreamed of when he was a 29-year-old working as a computer programmer to pay the bills. He has written a book about trivia culture, a history of humor, a children’s guide to Greek mythology and more. | Apart from his regular participation in “Jeopardy!” tournaments — which has increased his total winnings to $3.4 million — Jennings has turned his game-show stardom into the writing career he dreamed of when he was a 29-year-old working as a computer programmer to pay the bills. He has written a book about trivia culture, a history of humor, a children’s guide to Greek mythology and more. |
| “The main thing that the show got me, honestly, is that I don’t work a 9-to-5 anymore,” Jennings told The New York Times last year. | “The main thing that the show got me, honestly, is that I don’t work a 9-to-5 anymore,” Jennings told The New York Times last year. |
| Fresh from playing dozens of games just last year, Holzhauer, 35, has a natural edge. His most recent performance, in which he won a rematch with Boettcher, aired in November, and this tournament was prerecorded in early December. (Jennings and Rutter also appeared on the show in 2019 during the All-Star Games.) | Fresh from playing dozens of games just last year, Holzhauer, 35, has a natural edge. His most recent performance, in which he won a rematch with Boettcher, aired in November, and this tournament was prerecorded in early December. (Jennings and Rutter also appeared on the show in 2019 during the All-Star Games.) |
| It was Holzhauer’s ability to hunt down the Daily Doubles and successfully bet all of his money that seemed to fuel his streak. In April, Holzhauer set the record for the most money won in a single game ($110,914); he went on to beat it three more times. A hand gesture — as if Holzhauer was pushing his poker chips into the middle — came to signal to the host Alex Trebek that Holzhauer was going all in. | It was Holzhauer’s ability to hunt down the Daily Doubles and successfully bet all of his money that seemed to fuel his streak. In April, Holzhauer set the record for the most money won in a single game ($110,914); he went on to beat it three more times. A hand gesture — as if Holzhauer was pushing his poker chips into the middle — came to signal to the host Alex Trebek that Holzhauer was going all in. |
| Another thing that sets Holzhauer apart, Saunders said, is his buzzer strategy. Jennings and Rutter have both said that they track the cadence of Trebek’s voice to know when to push the hand-held button, but Holzhauer has said he focuses on visual cues — waiting for the lights on the sides of the game board to turn on, which indicates that the contestants can buzz in. | Another thing that sets Holzhauer apart, Saunders said, is his buzzer strategy. Jennings and Rutter have both said that they track the cadence of Trebek’s voice to know when to push the hand-held button, but Holzhauer has said he focuses on visual cues — waiting for the lights on the sides of the game board to turn on, which indicates that the contestants can buzz in. |
| That approach — which comes from the book “Secrets of the Buzzer” by Fritz Holznagel, another repeat “Jeopardy!” winner — could be advantageous when Trebek gives unusually short clues that defy the usual cadence of the question, Saunders said. | That approach — which comes from the book “Secrets of the Buzzer” by Fritz Holznagel, another repeat “Jeopardy!” winner — could be advantageous when Trebek gives unusually short clues that defy the usual cadence of the question, Saunders said. |
| Since winning big — he has earned $2.7 million in total — Holzhauer returned to his day job of sports betting in Las Vegas. | Since winning big — he has earned $2.7 million in total — Holzhauer returned to his day job of sports betting in Las Vegas. |
| But, like the game-show greats who came before him, Holzhauer may be ready to expand his celebrity past the “Jeopardy!” stage, noting in a recent tweet that his noncompete agreement with the show runs out this month. | But, like the game-show greats who came before him, Holzhauer may be ready to expand his celebrity past the “Jeopardy!” stage, noting in a recent tweet that his noncompete agreement with the show runs out this month. |
| (Answer: What is H&R Block?) | (Answer: What is H&R Block?) |