Rutter, Holzhauer, and Jennings to battle for the fate of the universe in ultimate Jeopardy! showdown
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Hold your loved ones close and start praying for mercy, because the gods (of trivia) are going to war and there’s no telling what sort of horrific destruction will be left in their wake. This comes from USA Today, which says that ABC has announced a new primetime Jeopardy! event called The Greatest Of All Time that will feature three of the quiz show’s most powerful combatants going head-to-head-to-head for the first time ever—and in a testament to humanity’s resilience, none of them are a robot this time. The three competitors in question are recent Tournament Of Champions winner James Holzhauer, 72-game winner Ken Jennings, and all-time prize money record-holder Brad Rutter (with Jennings and Rutter having previously competed against IBM’s Watson computer in 2011).
The special tournament is going to air on ABC in primetime, starting on January 7, and it’s going to involve an unusual structure. Rather than a one-off winner-take-all episode (or even a regular week-long event), each episode will have two back-to-back games, with the contestant who has the highest total prize money winning the match. Play continues until someone wins three matches, so it could last for anywhere between three and seven episodes—depending on if it’s a shutout or a more protracted battle where they each manage to win two before necessitating a final playoff game. The winner gets $1 million and the other two get $250,000, but the real prize is that the winner will become the master of all space and time (at least when it comes to trivia knowledge).
Jeopardy! host Alex Trebek is too smart to try and pick a favorite, but he implied to USA Today that Holzhauer’s tactic of racking up money from high-value clues before hunting for Daily Doubles might be a killer strategy, though Jennings and Rutter (who definitely know about that strategy) could easily derail him by going for the valuable clues before he can. Also, as Trebek says, “you have to be confident in your knowledge,” since it doesn’t matter what your strategy is if you can’t drop that serious Jeopardy! knowledge.
Holzhauer, Jennings, and Rutter have already begun (jokingly) trash-talking on social media, with Jennings noting that Holzhauer will hopefully be able to afford some proper TV attire if he wins:
Holzhauer is the one dropping real heat, though, offering some statistical analysis of why nobody has a shot at winning except for him (and making sure to remind Jennings that he’s the only one who never won a Tournament Of Champions):
Then there’s Rutter, who just seems happy to be there:
30 Comments
I really really really hope this is not goodbye, but it sure is set up for it.
The fact that this is being set up so quickly after the latest Tournament of Champions is telling. They wanted to ensure Alex could do it.
There can be only one winner and one Ultimate Showdown. We all know what and who it is.
I finally figured out what’s always bothered me about Holzhauer. Looks like at moment he’s going to start screaming about his Smash Holiday Movie Classic Jingle All the Vay!
The ultimate gameshow. Hope James comes out ahead but I’m sure it’ll be close.
Holzhauer is of course referencing one of the greatest wrestling promos of all time, courtesy of “Big Pappa Pump,” Scott Steiner. Hit ‘em with some math, Scotty!
They really needed a third guy huh
Which one is the third guy in your eyes? Jennings is probably the least likely to win but you kind of have to have him there.
well, they can’t put Watson on broadcast television any more.
……what? These are the top three winners in Jeopardy history.
How great was Rutter Holzhauer in Blade Runner. I mean, that speech in the rain!?! #chefskiss
Im sure he has gotten that joke many many times.
Scott Steiner was never my favorite wrestler, but he worked well as a heel. His muscles always freaked me out, though, because he looked like softballs were literally implanted in his biceps. Nice reference on Holzhauer’s behalf, regardless.Still, I think I liked Jenning’s taunt the best. Not overstated, just a nice cut.
This should be great to watch, but I’m also sad that they’re clearly rushing to do this for Alex while he still can.
You read my mind
Yeah it’s coming too close off the back of the latest tournament of champions for it to be normal scheduling.
Holzhauer smiles like he’s an alien who read a non-picture book about how humans smile, and this is his first solo attempt.
“’display teeth.’ Got it!”[Unblinking Grrrrrrrr Face]“Nailed it!”
You don’t learn that much trivia by being socially adept.
There’s tons of other Jeopardy champs who know just as much and don’t look like a wax dummy of a person.
He really looks like his name should be Rutter.
Pfft. Holzhauer is trying to run up the odds. He’ll then bet heavy against himself via a 3rd party broker then take a dive.Anybody else think it was kinda convenient that he finally lost in the same episode he likely would’ve passed Ken Jennings’ money total?“Fishy,” I sez.
I imagine this might end up being Alex’s final broadcast. What a drag. 🙁
Well I liked Jennings but anyone who knows Steiner math is a man after my own heart so I guess I’m on team Holzhauer.
it would honestly be pretty funny if holzhauer died or something
No, it would not.
What if he tried to smile and smoke started pouring out of his mouth?
There’s no need for this. Holzhauer dropped a bomb on everyone by busting out the Steiner Math. He’s already won
That’s a great joke from Andy. The idea of ‘insufferable nerd fest’ seems toxic on paper, but I’m kinda looking forward to this.