Olivia Harrison
Staff Writer
For more than a month, “Jeopardy” contestant James Holzhauer had
become unstoppable. Holzhauer, a professional sports better from Las Vegas set
records for the most money earned each episode. Eleven times during his winning
streak, he went a whole game without buzzing incorrectly. In fact, Holzhauer
had reached a celebrity-esque status. In Clark County NJ, the county made up a
pretend holiday, Holzhauer day honoring the champion. The ratings for jeopardy
also rose by 27% and was awesome for the show and its producers. ,
However, some fans were wondering if he would pass the 2004 Jeoprady
champion Ken Jennings $2.52 million mark and 74-day winning streak. Sadly,
Holzhauer did not get a chance to break Ken Jennings record. In the pre-recorded episode that aired
yesterday, James’ championship came to an end in his 33rd game. He was $58,484 shy of
Jenning’s mark. Yesterday, $22,002 was the amount of money that separated him
from the new jeopardy champion Emma Boetccher. Nobody had expected someone
other than James to win and even host of jeopardy, Alex Trebak was stunned.
One
key to Emma’s success was that she attained both daily doubles in the show’s
second round. Her winning the double jeopardy’s deprived Holzhauer the chance
to bet large amounts of money against his contestants, a strategy used in his
previous games. In an email interview Holzhauer wrote: “By the time final
jeopardy rolled around I knew my goose was cooked if Emma answered correctly.
It’s a little like needing a team to miss a last second field goal. Nothing you
can really do but watch. I made peace with my fate before the clue for Final
was even revealed.” Holzhauer’s reign was indeed a good one but in the
end even Holzhauer himself said, “Nobody likes to
lose. But I’m very proud of how I did, and I really exceeded my own
expectations for the show. So I don’t feel bad about it.”
Update: Emma
Boetccher, a 27-year-old librarian from PA is no longer the reigning champion.
She won $97,002 on her three-day run on the show.
