Bradford Gates Rutter (born January 31, 1978) is the highest winner on the American television game show Jeopardy! and the second-highest winner on a game show.
Jeopardy! Run[]
Regular-Season Play[]
He first appeared on Jeopardy! on October 30, 2000, where he became a five-time undefeated champion (at the time, returning champions were limited to five games) and accumulated $55,102. In addition, he also won a pair of Chevrolet Camaros for his five consecutive wins.
| Game No. | Air Date | Final score | Cumulative Winnings | Additional Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | October 30, 2000 | $10,201 | $10,201 | Brad's first nonrunaway game. |
| 2 | October 31, 2000 | $14,000 | $24,201 | |
| 3 | November 1, 2000 | $10,601 | $34,802 | Brad's second and final nonrunaway game in regular season play. |
| 4 | November 2, 2000 | $15,200 | $50,002 | |
| 5 | November 3, 2000 | $5,100 | $55,102 | On top of winning five games, he also won a pair of 2000 Chevy twin Camaros. |
Tournament of Champions[]
In the fourth quarterfinal game, he faced off against Doug Lach and Bob Fleenor. Throughout the first two rounds, he came up with 36/38 correct responses (including 3/3 Daily Doubles). Nobody got Final correct, but Brad automatically advanced via runaway. Doug and Bob received $2,500 as their scores, $0 ($5,300) and $2, respectively, were not enough to advance.
In the third semifinal game, he faced off against Larry Cloud and Mark Eckard. Throughout the first two rounds, he came up with 22/23 correct responses (including 2/2 Daily Doubles). He and Larry got Final correct. He wagered $6,201 and advanced to the finals. Mark and Larry took home $5,000.
In the finals, he faced off against Tad Carithers and Rick Knutsen. Throughout the finals, he came up with a combined 35/39 correct responses (including 2/2 Daily Doubles). He and Tad got 1/2 Final Jeopardy! correct. Brad came from behind and won $100,000.
Million Dollar Masters[]
In the second quarterfinal game, he faced off against Claudia Perry and Kate Waits. Throughout the first two rounds, he came up with 26/30 correct responses (including 1/1 Daily Double). He and Claudia got Final correct. He wagered $7,001 and automatically advanced to the semifinals. Claudia's $17,400 was enough to advance as wildcard while Kate's $0 ($4,200) wasn't enough, taking home $10,000.
In the second semifinal game, he faced off against Leslie Frates and India Cooper. Throughout the finals, he came up with 33/37 correct responses (including 1/1 Daily Double). Everyone got Final correct. However, after Frates failed to make a cover bet, Brad came from behind to advance to the finals. Frates and India took home $25,000.
In the finals, he faced off against Eric Newhouse and Bob Verini. Throughout the finals, he came up with a combined 44/50 correct responses (including 2/2 Daily Doubles). Everyone got 1/2 Final Jeopardy correct. Brad became the show's first millionaire.
Ultimate Tournament of Champions[]
He was one of nine players to receive a bye into Round Two.
In the twelfth game of round two, he faced off against John Beck and Bruce Naegeli. Throughout the first two rounds, he came up with 36/38 correct responses (including 2/2 Daily Doubles). He and Beck got Final incorrect, but he advanced to the quarterfinals via runaway. Beck and Naegeli received $10,000.
In the first quarterfinal game, he faced off against Steve Chernicoff and Michael Rooney. Throughout the first two rounds, he came up with 17/21 correct responses (including 0/2 Daily Doubles). He was the only player correct in Final, and after a come from behind win, he advanced to the semifinals. Chernicoff and Rooney took home $15,000.
In the second half of the semifinals, he faced off against Chris Miller and John Cuthbertson. Throughout the semifinals, he came up with 60/66 correct responses (including 3/5 Daily Doubles). He and Chris were tied for second at the end of game one. Everyone got 1/2 Final Jeopardy correct. He came from behind and advanced to the finals. Cuthbertson received $30,000 and Miller received $20,000.
In the finals, he faced off against Jerome Vered and Ken Jennings. Throughout the finals, he came up with 65/69 correct responses (including 2/3 Daily Doubles). He got every Final Jeopardy correct and won $2,000,000 and the record for most money won on a game show (until Ken won $500,000 on Are You Smarter Than a Fifth Grader in 2008).
IBM Challenge[]
During the IBM, he faced Ken Jennings and Watson. Throughout the two games, he came up with 22/25 correct responses. He and Ken got Final correct in both games, but after losing to Watson, he received $100,000 for Lancaster County Community Foundation.
Battle of the Decades[]
In the fifth game of the 1990s, he faced off against Jill Bunzendahl Chimka and Michael Dupée. Throughout the first two rounds, he came up with 33/36 correct responses (including 2/2 Daily Doubles). Jill finished Double Jeopardy with $0 and could not play Final Jeopardy. Dupée is the only player who got Final correct and he got Final incorrect, but Brad advanced to the quarterfinals via runaway. Jill and Dupée received $5,000.
In the third quarterfinal game, he faced off against Mark Lowenthal and Dan Pawson. Throughout the first two rounds, he came up with 22/24 correct responses (including 3/3 Daily Doubles). Nobody got Final correct, but Brad advanced to the semifinals via runaway, while Lowenthal and Pawson received $10,000 as their scores $300 and $399 were not enough to advance.
In the second semifinal game, he faced off against Tom Cubbage and Leszek Pawlowicz. Throughout the first two rounds, he came up with 32/35 correct responses (including 2/3 Daily Doubles). Everyone got Final correct. Brad advanced to the finals via runaway. Cubbage and Leszek received $25,000.
In the finals, he faced off against Ken Jennings and Roger Craig. Throughout the finals, he came up with a combined 38/45 correct responses (including 3/4 Daily Doubles). He got 1/2 Final Jeopardy correct. Roger sat out Final Jeopardy in game one. Brad won $1,000,000.
All-Star Games[]
He played in Team Brad with Larissa Kelly and David Madden. In match one, they faced off against Team Buzzy and Team Colby. Throughout the match, they came up with 39/45 correct responses (including 1/1 Daily Double). They got Final correct in both games and advanced to the finals. Team Buzzy and Team Colby advanced to the wildcard match with their $26,200 and $21,800.
In the finals, they faced off against Team Brad and Team Colby. Throughout the finals, they came up with 49/49 correct responses (including 5/5 Daily Doubles). All teams got Final correct in both games. Team Brad's runaway made them the $1,000,000 winner.
The Greatest Of All Time[]
In the tournament, he faced off against James Holzhauer and Ken Jennings. Throughout the tournament, he came up with 81/95 correct responses (including 4/8 Daily Doubles). He got 3/7 Final Jeopardy correct, but sat out Final in the second game of second match. After losing to Ken, he and James received $250,000.
Jeopardy! Masters[]
He played in Game 1 of the 1st Knockout Episode against Victoria Groce and Yogesh Raut. Throughout the first two rounds, he came up with 8/11 correct responses in the game. He and Yogesh got Final incorrect. He earned no match points.
He played in Game 2 of the 3rd Knockout Episode against Neilesh Vinjamuri and Juveria Zaheer. Throughout the first two rounds, he came up with 21/22 correct responses. Nobody got Final correct. He earned 1 match point, pulling him into a tie with Adriana Harmeyer. He took 7th place via correct responses tiebreaker (29-23). However, Neilesh, Adriana and Brad all received the same consolation prize of $15,000 upon their losses.
Other Game Shows[]
In addition to Jeopardy!, Brad also appeared on the game show 1 vs. 100 as part of the show's "mob." He played four times: December 1, 2006, December 8, 2006, December 15, 2006, and February 9, 2007. In 2007, he appeared on the game show Grand Slam. Brad lost to Ogi Ogas (a Who Wants To Be A Millionaire contestant) in the second round. In 2011, he appeared as part of a six-person team on the game show Million Dollar Mind Game. His team won $600,000.