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'Jeopardy!' legend Ken Jennings on match-up with James Holzhauer: 'It's gotta be inevitable'

Thursday, June 6, 2019

Jennings calls 'Jeopardy!' match-up with Holzhauer 'inevitable'

When it comes to one of the most anticipated match-ups ''Jeopardy!'' fans could imagine, it seems Ken Jennings has accepted the "inevitable."

Ken Jennings is one of the only people on Earth who knows exactly what "Jeopardy!" great James Holzhauer can expect for the near future.

"I just told him, you know, take some time to think about what it is you want to do because you do have a window," Jennings told ABC News. "Do you have a book idea? A podcast? You want to give a TED talk? What's on your list? Because now's the time."

Jennings and Holzhauer will be forever linked by their success on the show, especially given how dramatically close Holzhauer came to beating Jennings' record for most regular-season earnings. Holzhauer had been projected to overtake Jennings early this week, but instead on Monday he lost to librarian Emma Boettcher.

Holzhauer solidified his presence in the Jeopardy Hall of Fame over the course of his run, coming in second only to Jennings in regular-season earnings and consecutive wins.

His spectacular run begs the question: Will Jennings and Holzhauer ever face off in a tournament?

"It's gotta be inevitable," Jennings said, adding with a laugh, "Obviously I can't get 29-year-old Ken to show up with his sleek 29-year-old brain. It's gotta be me with my broke-down 44-year-old brain."

Jennings said that going up against Holzhauer would be very difficult.

"It's as close to Watson as you can get and still have, you know, a pulse," he said. "He is a machine. His accuracy is just unbelievable."

Jennings, who will be appearing this month on a new show on The Game Show Network, also shared that he recently stopped by the set of "Jeopardy!" He said he wanted to check in with host Alex Trebek, who was recently diagnosed with cancer.

"He was in good spirits," Jennings said. "He showed me some of the letters -- you know, hundreds of thousands of letters he's been getting -- and it really was touching how much it meant to him."

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