'Jeopardy!' James Holzhauer: How does current contestant compare to Ken Jennings?
"Jeopardy!" host Alex Trebek said weeks ago that James Holzhauer had challenged his belief that Ken Jennings could never be beaten.
But what exactly does it mean to beat a past contestant on the show, and how close is "'Jeopardy!' James" to becoming the greatest of the great? The Jeopardy Hall of Fame has four categories: consecutive wins, regular season winnings, single-game winnings and all-time winnings. After passing Julia Collins' consecutive wins, Holzhauer has just two contestants ahead of him in any of the categories.
As Holzhauer approaches Jennings' record of most regular season winnings, let's take a look the stats and where he and other all-time best contestants stand.
James Holzhauer
First appearance: 2019; Currently on the show (Stats updated as of 5/30/19 episode)
Records: Single-game winnings ($131,127, won on April 17)
Holzhauer is the undisputed faster earner on the show, dominating this category. "'Jeopardy!' James" claims all top 10 spots.
Ken Jennings
First appearance: 2004
Records: Consecutive wins (74), Regular season winnings ($2,520,700)
Can Holzhauer surpass him? Holzhauer has won 31 games and more than $2.38 million. He would need to stretch his weeks-long streak into a months-long streak before he has the longest run ever on the show, but he's been quickly gaining in cash. If he keeps winning, he is expected to pass Jennings early next week.
Brad Rutter
First appearance: 2000
Records: All-time winnings ($4,688,436)
Can Holzhauer surpass it? Holzhauer has a long way to go to become the person with the greatest all-time winnings, though he is in a solid third place behind Jennings and Rutter. Since Rutter got most of his money winning multiple tournaments, it may be a while before Holzhauer even gets a chance to overtake him.
Julia Collins
First appearance: 2014
Records: Third place in consecutive wins (20)
When did he pass it? Holzhauer nabbed second place on the consecutive wins list, held for five years by Collins, on May 2. After he beat Collins, the show declared on social media that Holzhauer is officially #ChasingKen.
Check out more fun stats about James Holzhauer and other "Jeopardy!" contestants.
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