‘Danger!’ legends Brad Rutter, Ken Jennings and James Holzhauer compete for ‘Greatest of all time’, $ 1 million prize

LOS ANGELES (AP) – The Super Bowl is in a few weeks, but for “Jeopardy!” addicts, the big game is here: Brad Rutter, Ken Jennings and James Holzhauer, the best winners of all time, compete for the right to brag.

“The first person to win three games will be crowned the greatest of all time,” said executive producer Harry Friedman. The winner receives $ 1 million, with $ 250,000 for each finalist in the contest airing on consecutive nights starting at 8 p.m. ET Tuesday.

Host Alex Trebek gives the rookie credit for creating “Jeopardy! The greatest of all time ‘happen.

The tournament “was a natural one because of the appearance of James holzhauer“Trebek said.” Before that, there wasn’t a competitor who measured up, in the eyes of our viewers, to Ken Jennings or Brad Rutter. And this is James, and making more money faster than anyone else. had never done one on the show, and really caught America’s attention.

Friedman said there had been discussions with ABC about a rare prime-time foray into “Jeopardy!” But the format proved elusive until professional sports player Holzhauer made his way to glory in 2019 with his intelligence, skill and high-level Daily Double betting.

“There has been a lot of discussion online about, ‘Is he the greatest player of all time?’ “No, Ken Jennings, because he had that streak,” or someone would say, “I think it’s Brad Rutter, look how many times he’s won.” So it really fell into place, ”the producer said.

Trebek, who is being treated for pancreatic cancer as he continues to regularly host “Jeopardy!” matches, he was not asked directly if he was also ready to manage the championship series.

“We discussed the idea for this competition with him because we wanted to make sure he supported it as a concept, first and foremost. And he said, ‘Oh yeah, let’s go.’ With enthusiasm, ”Friedman said.

(“It’s part of my job,” Trebek said. He “struggled a bit” during the recording, he said, adding, “Well, that comes with the territory.”)

The large-scale competition took place in December. To keep the outcome a mystery, an ABC version runs it until January 16 “if necessary”.

For Jennings, knowing who he was going to face was both stressful – “usually everyone’s guessing who’s making the final” – and helpful.

“I could watch a tape of them, and they’re both extremely scary players, one of which (Rutter) I’ve played. He usually finds a way to win. So I knew these people were going to be the fastest, smartest people I had ever seen with a “Jeopardy!” “Buzzer,” Jennings said.

Holzhauer also did his homework.

“I studied more esoteric facts in the hopes that the writers would increase the difficulty of the question, but the great thing I did to prepare was additional repetitions of the buzzer practice, knowing that Brad and Ken are the two best in the history of the series on the signaling device, ”he said in an email.

It’s “crazy to be compared to the two best players who came before me, but I know I can hang out with them,” said Holzhauer. down.'”

Rutter considers the players to be equal in their skills.

“It’s really about timing and knowing the buzzer, and we’re all pretty good at it,” he said. I am a little too focused. … James is also ready with jokes, but he also has a good analytical sense. “

“But we all put a bunch of strategy into it,” Rutter said. Any chance he shares his? “Tap into knowledge.”

Rutter enters the contest as the first winner of any game show with $ 4.69 million in “Jeopardy!” to play. Jennings holds the record for winning streaks of 74 games and has grossed $ 3.37 million. Holzhauer set and broke over a dozen records for the biggest wins in one day, won the 2019 Tournament of Champions and took home $ 2.7 million in prize money.

Rutter is the veteran player, performing his first “Jeopardy!” Appearance nearly 20 years ago, in October 2000, when the champions were “retired” from the regular season after five wins. Jennings’ first game took place in June 2004, a year after the rules were changed to allow players to accumulate unlimited winnings.

Subsequent tournaments saw Rutter triumph on a regular basis. But Jennings can claim a qualifying victory on show: In a 2011 showdown with IBM’s Watson, the computer won, but Jennings passed Rutter to take second.

Applicants share obvious abilities – as well as gender. Could a future “Biggest” competition be more inclusive?

“Absolutely,” Friedman replied. The applicant pool is more diverse and includes more women since online testing was added to make the initial application process widely available, he said.

Associated content:

About Karren Campbell

Check Also

Mark Cuban’s genius trade: protecting $ 1.4 billion

One of the most famous derivative transactions during the dot-com era was performed by the …

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.