James Holzhauer won his tenth-straight match on Jeopardy! by breaking his own record along the way, but he still has a long-way to go to catch Ken Jennings and the GOAT’s record of 74-consecutive victories.
Holzhauer, a professional sports bettor from Las Vegas, has shaken up the Jeopardy! establishment with his ten-game winning streak.
“I don’t think the bookies in Las Vegas are going to be as willing to accept my action after this,” Holzhauer joked with host Alex Trebek.
Not only does Holzhauer employ the “Forrest Bounce” by bouncing around the board to hunt Daily Doubles, but he also aggressively wagers his bankroll. Holzhauer has been willing to go all-in and busto on Daily Doubles. It doesn’t happen often. He has only missed twice in Daily Doubles, while answering 21 correct times.
The 34-year old Holzhauer moved into fourth place in the Top 5 all-time Jeopardy! money list with $697,787. He won six figures three times. Prior to his arrival, no one had won more than $77K in a single game.
All-Time Jeopardy! Winnings:
1. Brad Rutter $4,688,435
2. Ken Jennings $3,370,700
3. David Madden $773,733
4. James Holzhauer $697,787
5. Larissa Kelly $660,930
** via JeopardyFan.com
That all-time money list, compiled by JeopardyFan.com, includes regular season matches plus Tournament of Champions and other special matches.
Even if Holzhauer doesn’t come close to winning 74 matches, he has a legitimate shot to snap Jenning’s regular season money record of $2.5 million. Holzhauer, who is averaging $69,700 per match, is winning money twice as fast as Jennings. Through his first ten matches, Jennings won approximately $341,000.
Ken Jennings vs. James Holzhauer
Instead of watching Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson slug it out on the golf course, we’d love to see a heads-up battle between Holzhauer and Ken Jennings. It might be too early to crown a new Greatest of All Time, but this is sort of like watching Tiger Woods in the late 1990s make an initial assault on Jack Nicklaus’ record 18 victories in major grand slam events.
For his tenth win, Holzhauer pitched a perfect game and did not miss one of his 40 responses. As a result, Holzhauer snapped his own record by winning $131,127.
Through ten matches, Holzhauer is outpacing Jennings. According to thorough research from JeopardyFan.com, Jennings won $341,158 through his first ten matches. Jennings edged out Holzhauer with 348 correct questions versus 341 for Holzhauer.
Jeopardy! Winnings*
Ken Jennings $341,158
James Holzhauer $697,787Daily Double Winnings*
Ken Jennings $26,400
James Holzhauer $218,199Average Victory*
Ken Jennings $34,116
James Holzhauer $69,778* Through 10 Matches
Holzhauer’s edge is his willingness to gamble it up during Daily Doubles. Through the first ten matches, Holzhauer correctly won 21 of 23 Daily Doubles, compared to 15-for-19 from Jennings. Jennings bet modestly on Daily Doubles and won only $26,400.
Holzhauer crushes the GOAT in that department with over $218,199 won on Daily Doubles. Holzhauer is winning more than ten times what Jennings won on Daily Doubles.
At the current win rate, Holzhauer will only need half as many victories to catch Ken Jennings. He is estimated to pass $2.5 million if he wins 36 matches in a row.
