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James Holzhauer

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James Holzhauer (also known as The High Roller) (born August 6, 1984) is a sports gambler from Las Vegas, Nevada. He was living in naperville when he appeared on The Chase. who is best known for becoming the second-highest money-winner in regular play on Jeopardy! behind Ken Jennings (and third-highest overall behind Jennings and Brad Rutter – both on Jeopardy! and on game shows overall).

Early Life[]

James appeared on the U.S. version of The Chase on September 2, 2014. In the Cash Builder round, he answered 12 out of 13 questions correctly. In the Final Cash round, he faced challenger Mark Labbett, whom he faced in the previous round, and beating him 26 to 9. He won $58,333.33 on that show.

He appeared on 500 Questions on May 22, 2015. He was unable to dethrone Steve Bahnaman, the incumbent champion, and therefore didn't receive any winnings.

Jeopardy! Run[]

Regular Game[]

  • In 2019, Holzhauer appeared on Jeopardy! starting on April 4, where he went on to win 32 games and accumulated a total of $2,462,216.
  • On April 9, he set a new one-day record with $110,914, breaking the previous record of $77,000 set by Roger Craig on September 14, 2010 (which, in turn, eclipsed the previous record of $75,000 set by Ken Jennings on July 23, 2004); and on April 17, he eclipsed his record with $131,127.
  • He is the first and only contestant to win $100,000 or more in a single game, accomplishing the feat six times.
  • He currently holds the top twelve spots for the highest single-day winnings records in regular play. In addition to his aggressive wagering strategy on Daily Doubles and Final Jeopardy! clues, he selects the highest-value clues on the board first to amass his totals quickly and increase his potential wager upon finding a Daily Double.
Game No. Air Date Final score Cumulative Winnings Additional Notes
1 April 4, 2019 $43,680 $43,680 The defending champion, Alex Koral, had previously defeated 5-time champion Steven Grade, who would face to Holzhauer in the semifinals of the 2019 Tournament of Champions.
2 April 5, 2019 $38,926 $82,606 James' first nonrunaway game.
3 April 8, 2019 $50,845 $133,451 He is the champion who won $100,000 just three times in just three years after Andrew Pau ($105,202), and it is the record for the most prize money in three consecutive victories after 6-time champion Roger Craig ($138,401).
4 April 9, 2019 $110,914 $244,365 First time Holzhauer broke the one-day record, and the first time anyone won $100,000 in one regular-play game.
This shattered Roger Craig's $77,000, and with a difference of $33,914, this remains the largest margin between one-day records.
This also breaks Austin Rogers' record for largest Final Jeopardy bet, with $38,314 to Roger's $34,000, and break the all-record before FJ! ($72,600), set at $55,000 by Jack Lechner (12/2/98).
5 April 10, 2019 $54,322 $298,687 Holzhauer breaks Frank Spangenberg's 5-day record of $205,194 (adjusted for double dollar values) by $93,493.
6 April 11, 2019 $27,190 $325,877 Only regular-play game in which Holzhauer failed to provide a correct response in Final Jeopardy.
7 April 12, 2019 $89,158 $415,035 The $22,012 won in this Jeopardy round is the highest record for that round (the previous record was Matt Jackson's $16,800 set on October 8, 2015).
8 April 15, 2019 $45,444 $460,479 Reached second-place on all-time Jeopardy! regular play winnings list (2nd place at the time: David Madden - $430,400).
9 April 16, 2019 $106,181 $566,660
10 April 17, 2019 $131,127 $697,787 Holzhauer breaks his own one-day record by $20,213 and his own Final wager record by $21,699.
This is also the first and only time anyone has wagered $50,000 or more on Final Jeopardy and responded correctly.
In addition, he set the maximum number of correct answers without giving a single wrong answer in one game (41 correct).
The previous record was 35 questions set by David Madden on July 11, 2005.
11 April 18, 2019 $74,133 $771,920
12 April 19, 2019 $80,006 $851,926
13 April 22, 2019 $90,812 $942,738
14 April 23, 2019 $118,816 $1,061,554 The previous record for fastest time to reach $1 million was in 30 games, set by Ken Jennings in 2004 (Jennings is now in fourth in this regard as Matt Amodio and Amy Schneider reached the same point after 28 games).
15 April 24, 2019 $73,621 $1,135,175 Moved into #10 on American game show winnings list.
16 April 25, 2019 $90,812 $1,225,987 Moved into #9 on American game show winnings list.
17 April 26, 2019 $49,600 $1,275,587 Only regular game in which Holzhauer did not find any of the Daily Doubles.
18 April 29, 2019 $54,017 $1,329,604 First game in which shoutouts were no longer allowed, James' second nonrunaway game, and the closest margin of victory ($18).
Adam Levin's $53,999 is currently the record for highest second place score.
The previous record for the runner-up was $44,400 by Michael Cudahy, the challenger during Ken Jennings' 18 consecutive wins, and when doubled, the record was Steve Hettinger's $46,000 (March 10, 1998).
19 April 30, 2019 $96,726 $1,426,330 Ties David Madden for third-longest winning streak and breaks his own record of most correct answers in a game without being incorrect one time (44 including Final).
Additionally, Holzhauer breaks Ben Ingram's record for most consecutive Final Jeopardy responses (12).
20 May 1, 2019 $101,682 $1,528,012 Ties Julia Collins for second-longest winning streak.
Moved up to #8 on American game show winnings list.
21 May 2, 2019 $80,615 $1,608,627
22 May 3, 2019 $82,381 $1,691,008 Ties his own record of most correct answers in a game without being incorrect one time.
After his win, James took a 2-week hiatus due to the 2019 Teacher's Tournament, which saw fellow ToC finalist Francois Barcomb take home the $100,000 prize (Barcomb is also only the second Teacher champion to make it to the third place of the ToC).
This recording was recorded on April 1st and 2nd, two months after James got off the recorder, and this was the day Steven had 4 or 5 consecutive victories on the broadcast.
23 May 20, 2019 $89,229 $1,780,237 Moved up to #6 on American game show winnings list.
24 May 21, 2019 $86,905 $1,867,142 Moved up to #5 on American game show winnings list.
25 May 22, 2019 $71,885 $1,939,027
26 May 23, 2019 $52,108 $1,991,135 James' third nonrunaway game.
27 May 24, 2019 $74,400 $2,065,535 The previous record for fastest time to hit $2 million was in 59 games, set by Ken Jennings in 2004.
In addition, he broke the highest record in the Jeopardy Round ($24,600).
28 May 27, 2019 $130,022 $2,195,557 Despite how the scores looked, Holzhauer could not safely break his own one-day record; the most he could've wagered is $58,821 to cover challenger Monica Foy's doubled score, which would bring him up to $130,843.
Moved up to #4 on American game show winnings list.
29 May 28, 2019 $59,381 $2,254,938
30 May 29, 2019 $69,033 $2,323,971
31 May 30, 2019 $58,613 $2,382,583
32 May 31, 2019 $79,633 $2,462,216
33 June 3, 2019 $24,799 $2,464,216 James' fourth and final nonrunaway game in regular season play.
Lost to Emma Boettcher (before James can break Ken Jennings's regular-season play winning record), who went on a 3-game winning streak, making her the first giant killer to win more than a single game.
The Combined Coryat score for the game of $53,200 is an all-time regular play record. The previous record was $53,000 on May 9, 1994 (1994 College Championship semifinal game 1, Before double clue value) and February 11, 2008 (2008-A Teen Tournament quarterfinal game 1). This is just a hypothetical theory, but if Jay had guessed the $400 Clue, it would've had an unprecedented perfect game.

End of the Streak[]

On June 3, 2019, he was defeated by challenger Emma Boettcher, falling short of Ken Jennings's regular-game winnings record by $58,484. one day ago, some station accidentally aired the Final Jeopardy! round from Holzhauer's last show. Over the weekend, video clips of that fateful Final Jeopardy! circulated over the internet. Coincidentally, the new champion was from the same local university that James attended. As a result, just before setting a record, he handed over his position to a junior from the same region.

Neither he nor Emma answered a single clue incorrectly for the entire game, and challenger Jay Sexton only gave one incorrect response, giving the trio a record Combined Coryat Score of $53,200. Emma found both daily doubles in Double Jeopardy, wagered aggressively on both, and answered them both correctly, giving her the lead going into Final Jeopardy at $26,600 to James' $23,400 (with Jay sitting in third at $11,000). Emma wagered $20,201 to cover him, while he wagered $1,399 to lock out Jay, securing second place and assuring a win if Emma was wrong and presumably wagered a large sum. All three players answered Final Jeopardy correctly, ending his streak. Coincidentally, he stepped down a day before Ken Jennings's first appearance date. Additionally, the day Julia Collins and Dan Feitel left the show was the first appearance of Ken Jennings.

Tournament of Champions[]

In the third quarterfinal game, he faced off against Alan Dunn and Lindsey Shultz. Throughout the first two rounds, he came up with 33/34 correct responses (including 1/1 Daily Double). He and Lindsey got Final correct. James advanced to the semifinals. Lindsey's $14,000 was enough to advance as wildcard, while Alan's $1 was not enough, taking home $5,000.

In the second semifinal game, he faced off against Steven Grade and Rachel Lindgren. Throughout the first two rounds, he came up with 27/28 correct responses (including 2/2 Daily Doubles). Nobody got Final correct, but James advanced to the finals via runaway. Steven and Rachel took home $10,000.

In the finals, he faced off against Emma Boettcher and Francois Barcomb. In the semi-final matchup, the results were exposed on YouTube before the broadcast. If it had been the same, 4-time champ Dave Leffler ($100,102) would have come up. Throughout the finals, he came up with a combined 58/64 correct responses (including 3/5 Daily Doubles). He and Emma got Final correct in both games. James won $250,000. It's a hypothetical theory, but if she hadn't accumulated a lot of points on the first day or hadn't guessed the last FJ, Emma would have come from behind to win.

The Greatest of All Time[]

He appeared in the Greatest of All Time Tournament against Brad Rutter and Ken Jennings. Throughout the tournament, he came up with 188/200 correct responses (including 5/6 Daily Doubles). He got 6/8 Final Jeopardy correct, but after losing to Ken, he and Brad received $250,000.

Jeopardy Masters[]

He played in game two of night one against Mattea Roach and Sam Buttrey. Throughout the first two rounds, he came up with 22/24 correct responses (including 3/3 Daily Doubles). He wrote a joke response in Final saying "Stop ducking a rematch, Ken". He earned 3 match points for finishing first in a lock game.

He played in game two of night two against Andrew He and Matt Amodio. Throughout the first two rounds, he came up with 27/28 correct responses (including 1/1 Daily Double). He and Matt were tied going into Final. Nobody got Final correct when he crossed out the right response. He earned no match points and still has 3 match points.

He played in game one of night three against Amy Schneider and Sam Buttrey. Throughout the first two rounds, he came up with 29/29 correct responses (including 2/2 Daily Doubles). He and Sam got Final incorrect. However, James's runaway gave him 3 match points for a total of 6 match points.

He played in game two of night four against Mattea Roach and Matt Amodio. Throughout the first two rounds, he came up with 25/28 correct responses (including 1/1 Daily Double). He was the only one who did not get Final and earned 3 match points for a total of 9 match points.

He played in game two of night five against Andrew He and Sam Buttrey. Throughout the first two rounds, he came up with 25/27 correct responses (including 2/2 Daily Doubles). He wrote another joke response in Final "If a Ken falls in the forest and no one's around, does it make a dad joke?". He earned 3 match points for a total of 12 match points.

He played in game two of night six against Matt Amodio and Amy Schneider. Throughout the first two rounds, he came up wit 35/36 correct responses (including 1/1 Daily Double). For the second day in a row, he wrote a joke response in Final "Is there NO ONE ELSE". He earned 3 match points for a total of 15 match points.

He played in game two of night seven against Andrew He and Amy Schneider. Throughout the first two rounds, he came up with 30/32 correct responses (including 3/3 Daily Doubles). He was the only player who attempted a response in Final but got it wrong. He earned 3 match points for a total of 18 match points.

He was joined with Matt Amodio, Mattea Roach and Andrew He. Sam Buttrey took home $50,000 and Amy Schneider took home $75,000.

He played in both games of night one. In game one, he faced off against Andrew He and Matt Amodio. Throughout the first two rounds, he came up with 23/26 correct responses (including 2/2 Daily Doubles). Everyone got Final correct. He earned 3 match points. In game two, he faced off against Andrew He and Mattea Roach. Throughout the first two rounds, he came up with 24/24 correct responses (including 1/1 Daily Double). He and Andrew got Final correct, and after a come from behind win, he earned 3 match points for a total of 6 match points.

He played in game one of night two against Mattea Roach and Matt Amodio. Throughout the first two rounds, he came up with 23/26 correct responses (including 2/2 Daily Doubles). Nobody got Final correct. He earned 3 match points for a total of 9 match points.

At the end of the semifinals, Mattea Roach and Andrew He tied for last with 2 match points. The first tiebreaker is the number of games won. Both have 0. The second tiebreaker is the number of correct responses during the semifinals. Mattea Roach won the tiebreaker (50-45). Andrew He took home $100,000.

He played against Matt Amodio and Mattea Roach. Throughout the finals, he went for a combined 39/43 correct responses (including 1/2 Daily Doubles). Everyone got 1/2 Final Jeopardy correct. With where the scores stood, he came from behind to win Jeopardy Masters Season 1.

He played in game two of night one against Yogesh Raut and Amy Schneider. Throughout the first two rounds, he came up with 20/23 correct responses (including 0/1 Daily Double). Everyone got Final correct. He earned 1 match point.

He played in game one of night two against Mattea Roach and Matt Amodio. Throughout the first two rounds, he came up with 23/23 correct responses (including 2/2 Daily Doubles). Everyone got Final correct. He earned 3 match points for a total of 4 match points.

He played in game two of night three against Victoria Groce and Mattea Roach. Throughout the first two rounds, he came up with 22/23 correct responses (including 1/2 Daily Doubles). Not only no one got Final correct, everyone had the same incorrect response "Who is Thomas More?". He earned 1 match point and a total of 5 match points.

He played in game two of night four against Victoria Groce and Yogesh Raut. Throughout the first two rounds, he came up with 17/18 correct responses (including 1/1 DD). He was the only incorrect respondent in Final. He earned no match points and still has 5 match points.

He played in game one of night five against Victoria Groce and Matt Amodio. Throughout the first two rounds, he came up with 21/25 correct responses (including 1/1 Daily Double). Everyone got Final correct. He earned 1 match point for and a total of 6 match points.

He played in game one of night six against Yogesh Raut and Matt Amodio. Throughout the first two rounds, he came up with 20/23 correct responses (including 1/1 Daily Double). He and Matt got Final correct. He earned 3 match points for a total of 9 match points.

He was joined with Victoria Groce, Yogesh Raut, and Amy Schneider. Matt Amodio took home $50,000 and Mattea Roach took home $75,000.

He played in game one of night one against Victoria Groce and Yogesh Raut. Throughout the first two rounds, he came up with 18/20 correct responses. He and Yogesh got Final correct. He earned 1 match point.

He played in both games in night two. In game one, he faced off against Victoria Groce and Amy Schneider. Throughout the first two rounds, he came up with 21/22 correct responses (including 1/1 Daily Doubles). He and Amy got Final incorrect; however, he made a $1,122 wager and earned 3 match points for a total of 4 match points. In game two, he faced off against Yogesh Raut and Amy Schneider. Throughout the first two rounds, he came up with 24/26 correct responses (including 2/2 Daily Doubles). Everyone got Final correct. He earned 3 match points for finishing first and a total of 7 match points.

He was joined with Victoria Groce and Yogesh Raut in the Finals. Amy Schneider took home $100,000.

He faced off against Victoria Groce and Yogesh Raut. Throughout the finals, he went for a combined 31/32 correct responses (including 1/2 Daily Doubles). He and Yogesh got both Final Jeopardy correct, but after losing to Victoria (in a runaway game), he received $150,000 and Yogesh received $250,000.

Evaluation[]

A document summarizing the evaluation of James. After Ken Jennings wrote the new history of Jeopardy in 2004, the James Holzhauer era arrived 15 years later, bringing a new wave of change.

After Ken's departure, it was rapidly leveled down, and the Warring States Period continued after Arthur Chu. In the middle, David Madden followed with a 19-game winning streak, but there was no Superchampion following him for a while. After that, he was recognized as the best player with just 5 wins in a row, and it was a difficult time to even win more than 6 consecutive wins.

After Arthur Chu, Superchampions came out at intervals of one year, and the number of female champions with more than 6 consecutive victories increased, but no champion surpassed Ken Jennings' stronghold. David Madden's Regular Game money record stood until James came along, and Julia Collins' record for longest winning streak stood for five years. Matt Jackson and Austin Rogers are superchampions who have accumulated similar prize money to Ken Jennings, but they also dropped out in the low $400,000 range.

In addition, Roger Craig after Ken recorded $77,000, breaking Ken's record for the most prize money in a single play by $2,000. But other than that, wins over $40,000 are rare, with Austin Rogers coming close ($69,000).

After James' appearance, all kinds of records were broken, and it even caused a topic. If he had more consecutive wins, he showed great skill in terms of prize money speed and skill to the extent that he could have broken not only Ken's regular game prize money, but also Brad's career prize money.

After his departure, eight super champions appeared in two years, including Jason Zuffranieri, Matt Amodio, Jonathan Fisher, Amy Schneider, Mattea Roach, Ryan Long, Cris Pannullo, and Ray Lalonde. In the Ken Jennings system, only 7 Superchampions came out in 15 years, but after James, 8 champions appeared in 2 years. Also, Superchampion under the Ken Jennings system did not win the ToC championship, but after James, Amy vomited the spirit of winning the ToC as a former super champion. Also, there are many broken jinxes after James. Not only the super champions, but also the champions who won 5 to 9 consecutive games played a big role.

After James, many talented people appeared, but the super champion who succeeded him unanimously said that it would be difficult to come out in the future. Among them, Amy and Cris are evaluated as similar, but they do not reach James' prize rate or correct answer rate.

In particular, accumulating more than $100,000 is a feat he has achieved, and it will be difficult to find a talented person who can succeed him in the future, but it can be said that he is another heyday of Jeopardy and a champion who has driven the wave of change.

Records[]

In a nutshell, a lot of great records came out during James's days, the records he set are as follows:

  • 4th longest winning streak in history (32 games), 3rd place is Matt Amodio's 38 games, 2nd place is Amy Schneider's 40 games, and 1st place is 74 games set by Ken Jennings.
  • One-day highest winning: $131,127 (4/9/19). This record even beats the record he set in his four-game winning streak of $110,914 again. Also, all of his records in 1-10 are his records, he currently holds 23 of the top 27 sing-game regular play totals of all time. For reference, in theory, the maximum prize money you can win in one game in this program is $566,400. In other words, James received about 23.15% of the theoretical maximum possible prize money.
  • Up to $100K+ (6-times)
  • Perfect Game (without any incorrect response in entire game) (11-times), 14 games including tournaments.
  • Most consecutive $30,000+ Coyrat score (7 times - from 19 game to 25 game). Then came Amy's 6 times (games 35-40) and Matt A's 5 time (games 30-34).
  • One-day 3rd-highest Coryat Score: $38,200 (5/1/19), 2nd place is Matt Amodio's $39,000 (8/10/21) and 1st is Ken Jennings's $39,200 (6/10/04), both recorded in their 7-game winning streak.
  • Most consecutive correct Final Jeopardy answer (28): From the 7th game to the ToC quarterfinal. If the correct answer had not been changed in the ToC semifinal, up to 35 consecutive correct answers would have been possible.
  • Maximum number of questions answered correctly in one round without giving a single wrong answer (including FJ): 44 (4/30/19, 5/3/19). The previous record was David Madden's 35, set on July 11, 2005. Even that record was broken again (41) after being achieved during a 10-game winning streak.
  • Most consecutive correct answers without incorrect answer (181)
  • All-time highest total Coryat Score: $53,200 (6/3/19)
  • Biggest 5-day Jeopardy! regular play winnings leader ($298,687). To some extent, this record is more than Seth Wilson ($265,002), who has 12-games, and Arthur Chu ($297,200), who has 11-games (including condolences). It also matches the career record of 16-game winning champ Ryan Long ($299,400).
  • Biggest Regular Daily Double gamble and earning: $25K (4/9/19, 4/17/19). Extending the scope to the tournament, the $25,600 set at the Masters on May 17, 2023, is also a record set by himself.
  • Biggest True Daily Double gamble and earning: $20,200 (1/14/20 from Greatest of all-time tournament)
  • Biggest Final Jeopardy! gamble and earning: $60,013 (4/17/19). In the 4th inning, he broke Austin Rogers' FJ wager record for a 6-game winning streak by $4,314 ($38,314), and in the 9th game, he broke the record with $40,000.
  • Highest Jeopardy! round score: $21,800 (5/27/19). For reference, it also holds the record for the 2nd to 6th places, and the next highest record is $18,600 recorded by Matt Amodio, Andrew He, and Amy Schneider.
  • Highest Jeopardy! round score: $22,012 (4/12/19)
  • Highest Double Jeopardy! round score: $72,600 (4/9/19)

Although buried in James, the challengers' skills were also great. During his tenure, there were 9 episodes with a team Coryat Score of $50,000 or more, and 3 episodes where no one, including FJ, gave a single wrong answer (5/1/19, 5/21/19, 5/28/19) Also, the last two episodes are the episodes where everyone got the second most correct answers without giving a single wrong answer so far (58). The best record was the College Championship semifinal game 1 on May 9, 1994, all but one question. Later, on 7/4/19, it was tied with this record.

He even broke his own records several times. He surpassed the record set during his 4-game winning streak four times, and continued to break records for the most wager in FJ as well as the most wager in DD, showing a true fight against himself.

Adam Levin, a loser in an 18-game winning streak, set the record for the best among contenders, and even left an all-time high Coryat Score of $53,200 when James dropped out. If Jay Saxton had answered the $400 question, it could have achieved an unprecedented Perfect Coryat score. Interest was very high, and during the time he was active, not only did the ratings rise quite a bit, but there were also spoilers before he left.

In particular, he was a champion who aroused overwhelming interest while maintaining his position as the champion for 32 games, and the main reason was his daring challenge in the Daily Double and his outstanding skills. Because of that, there were many reactions such as 'I want to see more of his skills' and 'I am looking forward to a match every time,' so there were many people who regretted his departure.

After his departure, the S35 also recorded various records, including two tiebreakers, and later S37 ToC winner Sam Kavanaugh and later Jason Zuffranieri joined Ultrachampion with 19 straight wins.

It can be said that it is another heyday of Jeopardy following the Ken Jennings reign, and many fans miss that time after COVID-19.

Here's a site that compares Ken, Matt A, and Amy's regular games to James'.

ToC Winner[]

Another record of his is that he became the first Superchamp to win ToC. Now, 20 years after the unlimited winning streak system was changed, among the super champions and champions who have accumulated more than the 2006 ToC winning prize money, there are only two ToC winners: he and Amy Schneider. Some people are of the opinion that he achieved this record because he was good at planning the bracket, but the bottom line is that this is absolutely not the case.

Because his skills are far superior to other ToC participants, all opponents he competes with are not easy opponents. First of all, among the participants who competed in the Quartfinal and Semi-final, Alan Dunn and Steven Grade are the contestants who won 5 games in a row before his reign, and there are only two people who have won 5 games in a row since Kyle Jones, who won 7 games in a row. Considering that it is the Warring States Period, it can be said to be a great record, and among them, Lindsey Shultz, who won 4 times in a row, and Rachel Lindgren, who won 5 times in a row after defeating an opponent who had beaten the champion who had won 5 times in a row, are also participants who showed good skills. Despite being overshadowed by his performance, Francois Barcomb is a talented player who set the record as one of only eight tournament winners to advance to the ToC finals.

In other words, his ToC bracket, which set various records, is by no means easy, and above all, it must be taken into account that in a large competition like ToC, the competition is so intense that even a long-term winning streak is not guaranteed to win.

Strategies[]

  • A typical player will hit from top to bottom, but James secures the high amount in the 5th row first to secure the wager he spent on the Daily Double.
  • On average, there is a high probability that Daily Double appears in the 4th row, so use it to secure his wager.
  • Based on the fan site database and various knowledge, it shows the Daily Double correct rate of 94.7% (72/76).
  • In the Final Jeopardy, even when the lock game already confirmed, he bet boldly. Occasionally adjust his wager to coincide with anniversaries.
  • Holzhauer's strategy is what he refers to as "strategically aggressive". He starts with the $1,000 clues and moves his way across the bottom of the board, then does the same with the $800 clues, and so on. This way, he could have as much money as possible when he hit a Daily Double. Upon hitting the Daily Double in the Jeopardy round, he would either wager everything he had, or an important date in his life, as most of his Daily Double wagers are, if he had a high enough bank. The average winning score in Season 34 was $20,022;
  • Holzhauer sometimes had more than that going into the Double Jeopardy round, with a record high of $24,600, set on May 24, 2019, the game he passed the $2 million mark. In his thirty-three games, Holzhauer found seventy-six (76.7%) of the ninety-nine Daily Doubles available and was correct on seventy-two of them (94.7%). Many champions have since adapted Holzhauer's strategy and tactics, including Amodio, who used them to the fullest extent in his 38-game run in 2021.

He took a two-pronged approach to play. He selected the highest-value clues first in an attempt to maximize the money he had available to wager when he hit a Daily Double. This strategy does not always work, as a Daily Double is more likely to be behind a high-value clue, and often he hit the Daily Double before accumulating a large sum to wager. On Daily Doubles and during Final Jeopardy! clues, Holzhauer bet aggressively; his average wager on Daily Doubles was $9,000.

While aggressive betting is disadvantageous if a player responds incorrectly, Holzhauer was correct on 72 of the 76 Daily Doubles he hit (94.7%). This strategy was not entirely new; Roger Craig and Alex Jacob. This tactic has also been used since then by Sam Kavanaugh, Matt Amodio, Andrew He and others. They say that they try to finish the game before FJ by walking when DD comes out to widen the gap. Also, in FJ, leaving funny answers is a bonus. On the other hand, if True DD fails, the game is twisted. While there are many failure cases among them, James has succeeded in all DDs of more than $10K so far. Thanks to that, we can write a lot of all-time records.

In his case, if he fails to hit the DD or loses the DD to another player, there are many cases where he wins or loses by the edge. In the regular game, in the case of non-lock games, it is the case of taking 1 or hitting 1. (4/5/19 (1/1), 4/23/19 (1/2), 5/23/19 (1/1)) I also took the early DDs when I got off, Emma Boettcher took two DDs from the DJ While taking all of them, he was frustrated at the threshold of the great record. In Emma's rematch, in the second round of the ToC finals, she was in danger of being reversed by failing one of the two, but was able to win thanks to accumulating a lot of points in the first place. His failure to win at GoAT is also attributed to his failure to take many DDs. With the only exception, on 4/26/19, I had a landslide win despite not taking a single DD. In other words, it was mostly thanks to DD that he was able to continue his record.

Holzhauer's Average coyrat score of $30,800 during his 32-episode winning streak (57% of the $54,000 available in each game) is higher than the $28,786 averaged by Jennings, who was far more conservative in his wagering.

Holzhauer considered it more logical to make large bets that will usually pay off, since, during the first 25 episodes of his winning streak, he averaged 35.5 correct and only 1.04 wrong responses per game. On the episode he lost, he did not respond to any clues incorrectly.

Although Amy and Matt A, who later became Millionaires, are similar to James, only Coryat and Average Right/Incorrect are both below James.

  • Matt A: R - 33.46 / W - 3.12 / C - $27,913
  • Amy: R - 32.609 / W - 1.87 / C - $26,946

He credited reading fact books written for children, with their heavy use of infographics, with allowing him to learn vast amounts of information in an easily digestible manner. He took a year off from his occupation as a sports gambler to study for Jeopardy! Many champions have since adapted Holzhauer's strategy and tactics, including Amodio, who used them to the fullest extent in his 38-game run in 2021, and Cris Pannullo, who did so in his 21-game run in 2022.

Speed of Total Winnings[]

After his departure, a total of 7 ultrachampions appeared by 2022. In particular, from 2021 to 2022, as many as six people appeared, of which Jonathan and Amy won 5 consecutive wins or more and became ultrachampion. Even so, no champion has emerged that surpasses the stronghold of Ken or James. Matt A, Amy, and Cris are the ultrachampions who received a somewhat similar evaluation to James, but they are also evaluated as being relatively behind compared to James.

As you can see, in just 20 games, except for Ken, he surpassed all the Total winnings of Superchampions. Even then, Ken Jennings was less than half the record he had set ($622,760), so you can see just how great his Total winnings record is:

Quiz Skill[]

He is a champion who left a strong impression among the Super champions, and a participant who has been solo for a long time since Ken Jennings. In particular, unlike other champions, he was able to earn money quickly, and he showed a skill that surpassed Ken Jennings.

To some extent, his five-game winning streak of $298,687 beats Arthur Chu's 11-game winning streak ($297,200) and Seth Wilson's 12-game winning streak of $265,002.

Also, when senior Ken Jennings raised $1 million and $2 million in 30 and 59 days, respectively, James did the job in 14 and 27 days. That's twice as fast as the 28 days of Matt Amodio and Amy Schneider, who have since become millionaires.

It was none other than the Daily Double that he was able to break multiple records in a short period of time. His Daily Double earned him a whopping $654,416. This record is almost double that of Matt A, the next highest DD earning record ($304,200). Also, there are only 7 contestants (including tournaments) with $100K+ DD net earnings so far (Ken Jennings, Matt Amodio, Amy Schneider, Matt Jackson, Roger Craig, Austin Rogers). What's more, he's failed a Daily Double in only 4 of 76 regular games. Especially when you gave the wrong answer 4 times, it was Jeopardy! It was a round, and there is an opinion that if he gave the wrong answer in Double Jeopardy, which had a lot of money, he would not have been able to hold the championship for long.

In his case, like a gambler, he bet big on Daily Double and Final Jeopardy, and he did a great job winning most of them. Others are safety-oriented and bet only a small amount when they enter the safety zone, but he bet at least $10,000, and most of them got it right.

It was the DD that made him stand out. In the meantime, the DD wager was within $10K, no matter how high. Usually, it was mostly $2-6K, and $10K was occasionally seen in event specials such as ToC rather than regular games.

On the other hand, in the case of James, he often bet more than $10K (usually $11,914 often), and in some cases more than $20K. During his career, 32 out of 90 DDs were over $10K, and 4 times were over $20K. Including the special tournament, there are a total of 38 times ($20K+ - 6 times). Also did $10K+ DD twice in one episode in 8 times. Occasionally, the only case where you bet $1K is when DD comes out from the beginning. Even better, he never missed a single $10K+ DD. It's then well ahead of Roger Craig, Matt Amodio, and Andrew He's 7 times. Here, Matt is a regular game only, and the other two are all inclusive, both of whom have had a losing career.

In FJ, like DD, He bet a lot of Wager, and the success rate was high. In a regular game, there are only 5 times for less than $10K, and only 9 times in total. In addition, from 7 games to 32 games, he wagered a FJ wager of at least $10K, and all of them were correct. Along with James, another person with a high DD success rate is Cris Pannullo, who has been successful in all but 4 out of 45 attempts. FYI, contrary to James, all the failures came from the DJ.

Another thing that sets him apart from other Regular millionaire is his extremely low amount of incorrect responses, with just 36 throughout the entire 33 games of his streak; for reference, Jennings, Amodio, and Schneider clocked 109, 103, and 62 incorrect responses through the same point in their respective streaks. He also achieved 212 consecutive correct responses and is the only champion to have 3-straight perfect games (i.e., games where no incorrect responses are given at any point).

The reason why he stood out in Jeopardy following Chase is because the formal systems of Chase and Jeopardy are similar. Both are trivia quizzes in speed format, and since he had already adapted from Chase, he was able to play a big role in Jeopardy, which has a similar format. For this reason, there are many cases in which Jeopardy participants later participate in The Chase and show good results. Including him, Brad Rutter, Ken, Victoria Groce, Buzzy Cohen, etc. are active as chasers, and it is a program where jeopardy graduates use their strength.

Because he performed so much better than Ken Jennings, people expected a match against Ken Jennings, and there were many people who expected that he would break Ken Jennings' regular game and winning streak record, as well as the all-time cash record set by Brad Rutter on Jeopardy.

However, even for him who set such a great record, Ken's winning streak and prize money were not allowed. On June 3, 2019, he, who had been on a long winning streak, handed over the title of champion to Emma, ​​and his glorious history came to an end. People expressed disappointment that the result could have been different if James did not pick the Daily Double at the beginning of the jeopardy round at this time, but picked it midway. On the other hand, there was an opinion that it was fortunate that he did not meet a talented person like Emma in the beginning.

Nevertheless, his activity continued even after the regular game. In the ToC, he won the ToC, which was not even a champion with more than 10 wins, and in the meantime, many contenders came up, but no one was victorious, so Ken won the battle between Brad's.

All in all, he was better than Ken Jennings, but unfortunately, he didn't have luck at the crucial moment. There was also an opinion that the result would have been different if he had hit more Daily Doubles when he was playing against Ken on GOAT.

Anyway, it is not an exaggeration to say that he opened a new paradigm as a person who changed the history of Jeopardy 15 years after Ken, and later challengers who achieved more than $70,000 such as Matt and Amy appeared.

Matt Amodio and Amy Schneider later joined the ranks of millionaires, dropping their winning streak to fourth place with 38 and 40 wins, respectively. Still, it maintains the 2nd place with the most prize money in a regular game.

Because of that, there are a lot of fans who regret that he left early. On the other hand, there were also opinions that it was fortunate that I did not meet a talented person like Emma sooner.

Television Rating[]

Nielsen ratings for Jeopardy! rose 11% nationally during the first two weeks of Holzhauer's run and as much as 50% in select local markets, with a continuing upward trend over the course of his streak; by the fourth week of his run, ratings were up 30% nationwide and had doubled in select markets.

Former Game Show Network executive Bob Boden said the ratings would help compensate for any short-term financial losses Holzhauer's run caused, and that the show's profitability up to this point (both Jeopardy! and sister program Wheel of Fortune combine to generate approximately $125 million in revenue while costing $100 million) would allow them to absorb the increased payouts. It was also noted that the improved ratings would not immediately allow the show to increase advertising rates, since those are set on a season-by-season basis as part of long-term ad buys.

The highest-rated episode during Holzhauer's run was his final one, which at 14.5 million same-day viewers was the highest-rated episode since Jennings's last episode in 2004, the highest-rated episode of a syndicated show that season and the third-most-watched episode of a running series in the 2018–19 season (behind only the series-ending "The Stockholm Syndrome" episode of The Big Bang Theory and an episode of 60 Minutes that had led out of an NFL on CBS contest), not counting DVR or streaming views, the latter of which Jeopardy! does not offer.

The episode had been spoiled several hours before it aired on most affiliate stations; Sports Illustrated credited the spoilers with creating buzz, counteracting the conventional wisdom that people would not tune in without the element of surprise. Even if the result had not been spoiled, Holzhauer was on pace to break Jennings's regular play record that day had he won, which might also have had a part in the increased ratings.

Aftermath[]

As time goes on, he is being re-evaluated, not only himself, but also Emma and Francois, who reached the finals together. Since then, there have been 7 champions with more than 10 wins in a row, but at ToC, Ryan Long (x16) and Jonathan Fisher (x11) were eliminated from the qualifiers, Jason Zuffranieri reached the semifinals, but lost to Ryan Bilger and Jennifer Quail respectively, and even Matt Amodio. They also failed to beat Professional winners Sam Buttrey and John Focht in the semifinals. Mattea Roach even lost to Andrew He who defeated Jonathan Fisher. Among them, Amy Schneider saved her pride by making it to the finals. In fact, when the Top 3 at the Exhibition showed unexpectedly sluggish performances, some netizens thought that it was a practice game and that they were deliberately not showing their skills, ut that ominous feeling has come true, and in the end, she won after a fierce battle with Andrew He and Sam Buttrey. In addition, Cris Pannullo also failed to reach the semifinals, he who has maintained his pace so far and won the ToC, as well as the other two finalists, are being re-evaluated. In fact, not only them, but also the winners of 3 or 4 consecutive wins who performed well in the ToC are being reevaluated.

In less than three years since his departure, there have been eight Superchampions, and that is why some people want a showdown between James and them. However, as contestants are barred from competing on the show if they know someone who works for the show, Ken's duties as consulting producer and guest host have effectively disqualified both Brad and he from competing on the show again.

Because of that, many people are expressing regret that the rule was created. Ken and Brad have been active for 20 years, but he has to show up for only 9 months due to that rule, and it is a big regret because of the great success he showed.

However, during those 9 months, he made a new history for Jeopardy, and in his 2-month regular, he performed very well, setting several new records.

A 32-game winning streak isn't short, but it may feel relatively short as Matt Amodio later won 38 and Amy Schneider won 40. Nevertheless, considering his achievements, it is highly likely that no one else will change the history he left behind in Jeopardy for a while. Some believe that his activities were short and thick. also, since he is said to be working as a Chaser in The Chase, let's support him as he dreams of a second challenge in the future.

Three years later, he reappeared at the Jeopardy! Masters Tournament.

Common with Other Champions[]

Ken Jennings[]

  • In their first appearance, they beat the male champion who beat the ToC entrant (Ken - Anne Boyd).
  • Among the contestants who competed, the contestant who competed in their 18th game was the best recorder.
  • When reached best record, we competed against two female challengers. Ken at 38th game and James at 10th game.
  • Continuous FJ! The record of correct answers is more than 10 times.
  • Both became millionaire on Tuesday.
  • Both handed over the championship titles to a female challenger.
  • The two men's fates were split over a Shakespeare Question, which led Ken to win his best and GOAT competition, while James came up short of Ken's regular game record break and handed over his GOAT win.
  • Both broke the highest one-day winning at the time of their appearance. The difference is that Ken only accomplished the feat once ($75,000) and James did it twice ($110,914 and $131,127) had Ken responded correctly in FJ! in his 30th game, he would have broken the one-day record with $60,000 and then broken his own record with $75,000 in his 38th appearance.

Dan Pawson[]

  • Like James, he wrote various records. Among the champions with 6 consecutive wins or more, there is a record of the only win under $1,000, the first ToC winner with 6 consecutive wins or more, and the first among those who received ToC top-seed, a champion whose prize money was not ranked first.
  • Both broke their six-game winning streak as champions, which lasted over 100 games. James finished with 123 games, and Dan finished with a whopping 370 games.
  • They both beat the new champion who dethroned a five-time winner to become the new champion themselves and have competed against the five-win champion in the ToC. The only difference is that James met in the semifinal match (Steven Grade) and Dan met in the quarterfinal match (Cora Peck).
  • After losing in the regular game, there are participants who got a chance to try again and advanced to ToC (Dan - Tom Morris, James - Ryan Fenster).
  • In the semifinals, we faced two people who had advanced to WC.
  • Both were awarded top seed among ToC participants, and all finalists advanced to their own without WC.
  • Both were assigned top seeds in ToC, and both won 10 years apart from the previous top seed winner. Dan's ToC, however, was Larissa Kelly's highest prize winner.
  • They broke their group's championship drought. Dan is in 17 seasons since Bob Blake (S7), a member of Group 1, and James is in 22 seasons since Dan Melia (S14).

Roger Craig[]

  • Both hold records of over $70,000, and their three-game winning streak received a prize money of $130,000+. In the case of Roger in particular, he is the champion who made over $100,000 in just two games. Expanding to the whole, there is only Mark Runsvold ($103,000), the champion of the four-game winning streak.
  • Both Roger and James also set one-day cash records early in their runs. Roger set the record with $77,000 in his second appearance (breaking Ken Jennings' record of $75,000), and James broke the record with $110,914 in his fourth game (he went on to break his own record with $131,127 in his tenth game).
  • When both of them set their first highs, Jeopardy! Round score was $13,000 (Roger: 2nd, James: 4th).
  • Each of the new female champions who defeated them received prize money of more than $30,000. The difference is that the new winner on Roger's new champion only won by a single.
  • In the ToC They participated in, there was only one female champion with 5 consecutive wins.
  • Roger was the best of Highest 5-game total on Jeopardy!, first 5 games (unadjusted), Highest single-game total on Jeopardy!, Largest true daily double bet (unadjusted), Largest daily double bet (unadjusted) until James appeared. He was the champion who held the record.
  • Both achieved a Coryat Score of over $30,000 in the ToC in the quarterfinal round (Roger: $32,000, James: $31,200), and the champions they competed with at the time won 4 and 5 consecutive wins, respectively.
  • All of the ToC finalists, including themselves, advanced on their own. Additionally, the runner-up opponent also had experience winning over $40,000 in Regular Game.
  • They are both ToC winners, and in the first day of the two-day finals DJ!, the first bet $9,000 and the second over $10,000, both successful. ($9,000 / $18,000 and $9,812 / $10,600 respectively). It is the same as winning the Lock Game before the deciding game. However, the difference is that James defeated Emma in a rematch while Roger defeated Tom Nissley and Buddy Wright.
  • both of them tried True DD in succession and succeeded. The timing is also similar to Roger: 7, 8 / James: 8, 9, Roger was used in the ToC final game 1 and James was used Jeopardy! Master QF Game #2.
  • Based on the broadcast date, they won ToC on the same day (November 15th).
  • Both have had previous matches against Ken Jennings and Brad Rutter, with James claiming one win over them.

Julia Collins[]

  • Both had their first win against a champion who had beaten a champion with five or more wins in a row (6-time champion Sandie Baker and 2-time champion Frédérique Delaprée).
  • The airing dates were from mid-April to early June, and both took a two-week break due to a tournament held in May. The only difference is that Julia's streak was interrupted by the Battle of the Decades (special reunion tournament) while James' run was interrupted by the 2019 Teachers Tournament (an annual tournament). Also, after winning two weeks after the tournament, the defeat day was the first Monday of June.
  • Both were in second before the last FJ in their regular run. The difference was Julia dropped to third.

Matt Jackson[]

  • Both are super champions and maintained first place until the end, except when they dropped out. The difference is that Matt J maintained first place until his departure.
  • Both were placed in Group 3 and faced the winner of the Teacher tournament. Matt J in the Quarterfinals and James in the Finals.
  • All of the finalists, including themselves, advanced on their own and competed against people from Illionis. The difference is that Matt J was completely defeated and James won.

Ben Ingram[]

  • Both have more than 10 consecutive correct answers for FJ! (12 for Ben and 28 for James).
  • New champions who dethroned them advanced to the ToC (Mark Japinga and Emma Boettcher). Also, if the two had been the same, they would not be eligible to participate in the ToC, but due to the circumstances of one contestant, they were an alternate. Mark went into a pinch after five-game champion Jerry Slowik caused a crime, and Emma went into a pinch after the death of Larry Martin, winner of the 2018 Teacher Tournament.
  • Both have narrowly won the regular game. Ben won by $1 in his 2nd, 4th, and by $2 in 8th games, and even co-champion for the 3rd game.
  • Both won the ToC, and another champion won the ToC in the same season they participated in (Ben - Colby Burnett, James - Sam Kavanaugh). The difference is that Colby's ToC victory and Ben's original run occurred during Season 29. On the other hand, both James's and Sam's original runs took place in Season 35; however, James won the ToC in Season 36, and Sam won his ToC in Season 37.
  • Their ToC contest is closely related to the teachers. As mentioned above, the two people who appeared in the same season and also won the ToC were teachers at the time of appearance. The two also faced Teachers Tournament winners during their ToC appearances (Ben in the quarterfinals and James in the finals).
  • The female finalists faced the College Tournament winners in the semi-finals (Julia Collins - Terry O'Shea, Emma Boettcher - Dhruv Gaur), all of whom advanced to the semi-finals on their own.
  • Both of them are the most prize winners of the season.
  • Both ToC Last FJ was a city/country related question.
  • Ben, like Ken and James, was also heavily influenced by Shakespeare, who won the ToC even though he didn't get it right.

Buzzy Cohen[]

  • Both of them obtained ToC qualifications like the contestants they competed against. Buzzy defeated his then opponent (Andrew Pau) to become the new champion, and James handed over the title to his opponent. Also, both appeared in April.
  • Both gave way to women's champions whose first names begin with the letter E (Erin Delaney), and both went on to win streaks.
  • Both of them had multi-week hiatuses due to tournaments and special events. In the case with Buzzy, he had to wait three weeks due to both the Teachers Tournament followed by Power Players Week. Also, They met and competed with the winner of a tournament that took place during they streak hiatus at ToC. Buzzy in the semifinals (Jason Sterlacci) and James in the finals.
  • In the ToC where the two participated, there was a contestant who died before participating in the ToC. (Buzzy - Cindy Stowell). This performer died 9 days before her broadcast, James - Larry Martin). For reference, in the 2021 ToC, which was hosted by Buzzy, a performer (Brayden Smith), who was about to appear in the ToC, died.

Austin Rogers[]

  • The first game was Lock Game, and it stayed at number one until both got off. Jason Zuffranieri and Cris Pannullo have won the first game with a lock game like these two among the champions who have won more than 10 consecutive wins so far.
  • Both performed big on Daily Double and Final Jeopardy, with big bets. Also, in both regular game FJ!, they got all but one question right.
  • Both men have broken their own records. Austin at 5-6 wins, James at 4 and 10 wins. Besides, James is FJ! up to wager.
  • Both faced the men's champion named Alan in the ToC qualifiers.
  • Even though they couldn't play a lock game, they set a record of over $50,000. Austin in the 6th, James in the 18th and 26th.
  • Both were placed in entry 3 in the ToC, where the same person competed twice. Despite losing to Alan Lin in the quarterfinals, Austin made the semifinals as a wild card, where he defeated Andrew Pau and Lilly Chin. In the finals he landed a rematch with Alan, but he finished as the second runner-up, again failing to defeat Alan; and Buzzy Cohen won the ToC. On the other hand, James relieved his disappointment by winning the ToC after Emma ended his winning streak. Austin later appeared as a team member in an All-star game and competed against Team Alan, again losing to Team Alan, demonstrating that they are natural enemies.

Alan Dunn[]

  • They both defeated the champion with the first name of Alex and became new champions.
  • Both lost their positions to champions whose names start with E, and each of their successors won three times in a row. The difference is that James' successor champion also advanced to ToC.

Sam Kavanaugh[]

  • The person who competed together advances to the ToC. James lost to the opponent and Sam won (Ryan Bilger).
  • In the ToC where he appeared, champions with more than 10 consecutive wins came out, and the champion with 3 consecutive wins was not qualified as it was, but they appeared for various reasons. The former is at the discretion of the production team, and the latter is the death of the person scheduled to appear on the ToC.
  • Both of them have competed twice with the same person in the ToC. The difference is that James competed in Regular and ToC and Sam competed in the same ToC.
  • The semifinals were won with the Lock Game.
  • Both College Championship winners advanced to the semi-finals, and both lost to the runner-up female performer (James: Dhruv Gaur - Emma Boettcher / Sam: Nibir Sarma - Jennifer Quail).
  • Both participated in S35.
  • Both of them have competed against librarians twice. However, Sam practically competed with Jennifer.
  • They are believed to have ever averaged more than $10,000 a game on Daily Doubles in regular play. Sam’s average net gain on Daily Doubles in his original run was $11,040, while James’ average was $20,419.
  • The second FJ! in the ToC final was both a matter of European country names.
  • In the first regular game held after their ToC, returning champions (Amanda Ganske, Andrew Thomson) who started with A handed over the champion to challengers (Jones, Hirsh) whose surnames were Kevin, and all of them ended up with single wins.

Matt Amodio[]

  • Both went for the higher value clues first in order to amass as much money possible with which to wager on a Daily Double. In the case of Matt however, he wagered more conservatively on Daily Doubles during the Double Jeopardy! round unless he was trailing or in a close game.
  • Both had over $40,000 in their first game. For reference, these are the only Superchamps to date who have won more than $40,000 in their first game.
  • Both broke the $100,000 mark in three games.
  • Both have records of over $80,000.
  • Shakespeare-related questions were asked in his Regular Play FJ, and both were correct. Matt is sixth, James last.
  • Both dropped off on Monday, and the winning opponents have all succeeded in winning streak. In addition, both have qualified for the ToC, and among the champions with 10 or more wins, only three of them are the only ones. The former (Emma Boettcher) was ineligible but made a special appearance.
  • Both finished second runner-up in a Jeopardy Masters Tournament.
  • They both competed against the teacher (professor) tournament winner from ToC. the difference being that Matt lost.

Andrew He[]

  • Both broke over $80,000 in the second episode and over $100,000 in the third.
  • Both won over $40,000 in their first match.
  • In a match where both men won over $50,000, the runner-up is also over $50,000, a close margin. It's a $2 difference from Andrew (Dane Reighard - $51,999) and an $18 difference from James (Adam Levin - $53,999). In addition, the runners-up are ranked 1st and 2nd, respectively, for the most records among the runners-up.
  • Both lost their place to the women's champion and later faced off again in the ToC finals. The difference is, James won and Andrew lost to that contestant.
  • Both faced the winners of other tournaments in the final, who both finished third.
  • In the confrontation that won DD, everyone bet as much as they could and they all succeeded. James in Master game #2 and Andrew in the 2022 ToC semifinals.

Mattea Roach[]

  • The time of the first activity is similar, and Mattea participated a day late.
  • Both broke their jinx. James broke the jinx that anyone who wins 10+ won't get a repeat champion, and a 10+ win champion won't win the ToC jinx, Mattea has 6+ wins in a row that Who played FJ alone, and among the ultrachamp, on Friday was the first to lose.
  • Both have won by narrow margins, with James winning by $18 in his 18th game and Mattea winning by $1 in her 17 game. Mattea lost by a difference of $1 when leaving.
  • All of the newly born female champions succeeded in winning streak.
  • Both got off on the first week of the new month. When they left, the opponents who defeated them went on winning streaks.

Ryan Long[]

  • The departure time is on Monday, and both of them got off in the first week of June.
  • All the new champions have succeeded in winning at least three consecutive games. The latter (Eric Ahasic), like Jonathan Fisher, has succeeded in winning six consecutive games. In particular, in the latter case, Megan Wachspress, who defeated Eric Ahasic, also won six consecutive victories, making it a case in which all three players who competed for the third time in history advanced to the ToC.

Adriana Harmeyer[]

  • They became the new champion by defeating the champion who had defeated the champion who had confirmed his advancement to ToC.
  • FJ holds the record for correct answers more than 10 times in a row in regular-season play alone.
  • All subsequent champions qualified for ToC.

The Chase[]

Holzhauer appeared on the American version of the quiz show The Chase on September 2, 2014, internationally produced by ITV Studios. In his first round, a one-minute round called the Cash Builder, he correctly answered 12 questions out of 13 posed by host Brooke Burns; the last question was asked just before time expired and was quickly passed on by Holzhauer. His score set a record for the Cash Builder that was never surpassed during the show's run.

In his second round, he faced Mark Labbett to determine whether he would advance to the final round and add money to the team prize pool. Holzhauer had a choice of three amounts to play for: $60,000 based on his score in the Cash Builder, $30,000 to reduce the difficulty of the round; and $120,000, which would increase the difficulty. He chose to play for $60,000; after the show he said that the odds did not favor playing for the maximum amount and that it was not worth the gamble.

The Chase was played head-to-head, with the players using hidden buttons to select multiple-choice answers. Holzhauer advanced to the finals and added to the prize pool with a score of five right and one wrong. Labbett scored a perfect five, with his final answer not revealed since Holzhauer had already achieved the necessary points to win the round.

In the Final Chase round (as team leader with two other contestants also participating), Holzhauer's team defeated Labbett by a score of 26 to 9, earning him a $58,333.33 share of the $175,000 team prize pool. By answering 19 questions correctly for his team, he set a Final Chase record, which was also never surpassed.

Bob Boden, the producer of The Chase, was impressed by his performance and had Holzhauer audition to join the show as a colleague of Labbett. In July 2020, Holzhauer and several other famous game show contestants were said to be in negotiations to become chasers for a potential reboot of The Chase, which would be produced for ABC. The reboot starring Holzhauer, Ken Jennings, and Brad Rutter premiered January 7, 2021 on ABC. Labbett still refers to Holzhauer as the toughest opponent he’s ever faced on any version of the show.

Trivia[]

  • He has a nine-year-old daughter named Natasha, though he affectionately refers to her as "Booger".
    • He credits Natasha for helping him study for reoccurring topics on The Chase by bringing him books about topics that come up on the show, like sea creatures.
  • He holds 16 of the top 20 one-day records for Jeopardy, and 20 of the top 25.
  • He is often affectionately referred to on the show as "Jeopardy James".
  • He was the last Tournament of Champions Champion in the Trebek era, as the next winner, Sam Kavanaugh, played his ToC with Buzzy Cohen as the host.
  • The longest standing record he broke was the record for largest successful Daily Double wager - prior to James, the record was set by Bob Beers in 1988, with a pre-doubled $20,000. James equaled or surpassed this record five times, one of which was during the GOAT tournament.
    • Bob Beers's record has since been broken once again by Troy Meyer, who successfully converted a $21,800 True Daily Double in the second finals game of the 2024 Tournament of Champions.
  • He took the online test thirteen times and made it to an audition two times before finally making it on the show.
  • He changed his signature for the GOAT tournament every game, as opposed to Ken (changed every match) and Brad (did not change that much throughout).
  • He was the first ultrachampion (10 or more wins) to go on to win their respective Tournament of Champions, and remained the only one to do so until Amy Schneider (40 wins) won the 2022 Tournament.
  • According to thejeopardyfan.com, he was making an average of $21,430 per game through Daily Doubles alone. (For reference, the average combined score of his two opponents throughout the entire game was $11,322.)
  • He is the second person to have at least two of the top ten single day winnings spots; the first was Austin Rogers, who put up $65,600 and $69,000 on back to back days on October 2 and 3, 2017. Prior to James, those scores would have stood at #3 and #4, respectively; now, along with Matt Amodio and Amy Schneider, those two scores stand at #28 and #31. ($65,600 would be placed at #33 if Andy Richter's $68,000 on Celebrity Jeopardy and Skyler Hornback's $66,600 on Kids Week are counted.)
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