During James Holzhauer’s 32-game winning streak on Jeopardy!, he posted insane final stats along the way earning over $2.4 million, and also set a record for the second-longest win streak in history behind Ken Jennings’ 74-game run in 2004.
Overall, Holzhauer won $2,464,216 during his 33 appearances on Jeopardy! The professional sports bettor from Las Vegas finished second on the all-time money list behind Jennings’ record of $2.52 million and fell short by $56,000.
“I never really believed I could win 75 shows,” said Holzhauer. “But I definitely thought I had a great shot at Ken’s cash winnings record.”
From his initial appearance back in early April, Holzhauer aggressively hunted for Daily Doubles and tilted purists with the ‘Forrest Bounce’. Holzhauer had one of the fastest buzzer response times in the history of the game. He practiced at home with a makeshift buzzer, which he crafted using masking tape and a click pen.
JAMES HOLZHAUER FINAL STATS
Wins: 32
Winnings: $2,464,216
Biggest Score: $131,127
Average Win: $76,944
Final Jeopardy!: 31 out of 32
It’s one thing to buzz in first, it’s an entirely different beast to actually answer correctly. He also had to know a lot of stuff ranging from Shakespeare to rivers to elements and pop culture.
During the winning streak, Holzhauer pitched 11 perfect games, which meant he did not miss a single question/answer including Final Jepopardy! He swept an entire category (5-for-5 correct) on 36 instances. In addition, Holzhauer nailed 4-out-5 in a single category 95 times. He also nailed the majority of a category with 3-for-5 clip on 122 occasions.
While running hot with stellar stats and breaking records, it seemed like Holzhauer would easily catch Ken Jennings on the money list and would give the Jeopardy! GOAT a close sweat for overall victories. Alas, a librarian from Chicago named Emma Boettcher played a flawless match and beat Holzhauer at his own game.
Record Highs for Holzhauer
According to TheJeopardyFan.com, Holzhauer locked up victories by the end of the Double Jeopardy round. Those are known as “Runaway Games” and nearly 90 percent of Holzhauer wins were via runaways.
it’s in those runaway games where he was able to maximize his overall profits. The bigger the cushion, the more he had available to wager in Final Jeopardy!
Not a single player ever went north of six digits… until Holzhauer crashed the party. He won six figures on six different occasions and won nearly $111K on his fourth episode. Holzhauer’s top ten scores were above $89,000 or more.
HOLZHAUER HIGHEST FINAL SCORES:
$131,127 – Episode 10
$130,022 – Episode 28
$118,816 – Episode 14
$110,914 – Episode 4
$106,181 – Episode 9
Holzhauer finished with $101,682 to secure his 20th consecutive victory. He set his own personal mark early into his run with a win on episode #10. He came close to eclipsing his own record with another $130K score on episode #28.
His average win total of $76,944 is just short of the previous all-time single-game high. In 2010, Roger Craig set the high-water mark with a $77,000 victory. Since Holzhauer joined the show, he now has the Top 16 single-day scores.
Almost Perfect Final Jeopardy
Holzhauer correctly nailed 32 out of 33 clues on Final Jeopardy! Ken Jennings only batted 67 percent during Final Jeopardy!
Holzhauer answered Final Jeopardy! correctly for the match he lost to Emma Boettcher. It was his final wager amount that will have Jeopardy! geeks and tin foil hat conspiracy theorists buzzing for decades to come.
“By the time Final Jeopardy rolled around, I knew I could only win if Emma answered incorrectly,” Holzhauer told ESPN. “It felt like needing a team to miss a last-second field goal. She didn’t miss, but I was still proud of my performance the whole way. I gave her a high five and smiled at how far I’d come.”
HOLZHAUER LOWEST FINAL SCORES (DURING STREAK):
$27,190 – Episode 6
$38,926 – Episode 2
$43,680 – Episode 1
$45,444 – Episode 17
$49,600 – Episode 3
On episode 6, Holzhauer missed the Final Jeopardy! clue. He won the match by his final tally of $27,910 marked his lowest score during his 32-game winning streak.
During his run, Holzhauer survived a couple of close shaves. He won one game by only $18.
Ratings Swoon, Baseball Calling?
Holzhauer boosted ratings since the earliest days of his streak. When Jeopardy! aired a two-week teachers tournament in the middle of Holzhauer’s streak, ratings dropped over 25 percent.
News of his loss leaked early on Monday because a TV station in Alabama airs Jeopardy! at 9:30am instead of its typical 7pm time slot. The spoiler of Holzhauer’s upset actually boosted ratings. According to Variety, Jeopardy! posted its highest rating in14 years, since Ken Jennings’ 74-game win run. Approximately 15 million viewers tuned in to watch Emma Boettcher pick off Holzhauer.
As one chapter ends, a new one begins for Holzhauer. He has become the face of modern sportsbetting in the era of Big Data. Holzhauer also wants a baseball job. After his sensational run on Jeopardy!, at least one MLB team has to be willing to take a flier by adding Holzhauer to their analytics team.
