Jeopardy! champion James Holzhauer will return to the game show next month for the Tournament of Champions. Legendary trivia game show Jeopardy!, consisting of host Alex Trebek, nuggets of knowledge, and blue box panels, has sported a fair share of champions over the years. Former contestant Holzhauer took the game show by a storm with his dominating gameplay and snagged 32 consecutive wins - putting him on track to surpass Jeopardy!’s all-time champion Ken Jennings.
Earlier this year, Jeopardy! became the talk of the town when Trebek revealed in a somber message that he’d been diagnosed with stage 4 pancreatic cancer. Unrelentingly, Trebek continued his hosting duties. Trebek’s grave announcement coincided with the game-changing antics of Holzhauer and viewers of Jeopardy! became enthralled by Holzhauer’s winning streak. In April, Holzhauer became the second person ever to surpass $1 million in non-tournament play. He attributed his vast array of knowledge to children’s literature - claiming those books were easier to mentally digest than adult reference books. However, Holzhauer’s time on Jeopardy! came to an end when he lost a game to librarian Emma Boettcher, albeit with the correct answer. Walking away with $2,462,216 in earnings, Holzhauer maintained his rapport with Trebek, donating a portion of his game show earnings to battle cancer in the host’s name. Now, the Jeopardy! podiums will, yet again, feature Holzhauer behind them.
Per The Wrap, Holzhauer will appear on Jeopardy!’s Tournament of Champions on November 6. Vying for a grand prize of $250,000, the 34-year-old professional sports gambler will compete against software development manager, Alan Dunn, and healthcare analyst, Lindsey Schultz. The special-edition of Jeopardy has also added Boettcher to the slate, setting up the two former champions to potentially face-off for a second time. The game will also feature winners from the College Championship and Teacher’s Tournament.
Holzhauer is the most recognized contestant, and tops the list with 32 games under his belt - the second highest is Josh Hill with 7 games. The ten-day event is set to air in syndication from November 4 to 15. Following Holzhauer’s stint on Jeopardy!, Trebek revealed his cancer was in remission, however, after an unfortunate set back, the host revealed he’s considering an early Jeopardy exit.
Trebek’s battle with cancer and Holzhauer’s winning streak turned season 35 of the seemingly docile game show into a hot commodity. Fans are eager to see Holzhauer gripping the buzzer once again, but the tournament would garner more buzz if Jennings were attached, especially after his comments regarding Holzhauer’s streak. Nevertheless, Holzhauer returning to the platform will generate a new level of excitement - and further boost chatter of Holzhauer replacing Trebek as the host of Jeopardy!.
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Source: The Wrap
