James Holzhauer prevails to edge Emma Boettcher in ‘Jeopardy!’ Tournament of Champions

James Holzhauer got his revenge and took home $250,000.

Holzhauer, who had a record 32-game winning streak on “Jeopardy!” this spring before losing to Chicago librarian Emma Boettcher, returned to the show and defeated his rival on the game show’s Tournament of Champions, The New York Times reported.

Boettcher, 27, the only player to defeat the 35-year-old Las Vegas sports bettor, won $100,000 for finishing second. Francois Barcomb, a high school physics teacher from New Paltz, New York, placed third and won $50,000.

The two-day tournament began Thursday, and Holzhauer entered the final day $22,926 ahead of Boettcher, ESPN reported. However, Boettcher stayed within striking distance, and the title was not decided until Final Jeopardy on Friday.

The final clue was from the category International Disputes: “A dispute over Etorofu, Habomai, Kunashiri & Shikotan has kept these 2 countries from ever signing a WWII peace treaty.”

Holzhauer bet $9,812, while Boettcher wagered $17,000. Both answered correctly with, “What are Japan and Russia?”

That gave Holzhauer the victory as he finished with $76,923 to Boettcher’s $65,000, ESPN reported.

“I’ve said all along that Emma is an all-time great player, and I’m proud it took that level of competitor to defeat me,” Holzhauer said in a statement Friday. “Now the world sees that I wasn’t just making excuses. But the whole point of the TOC is to play the best of the best, and Emma and Francois certainly proved that they belonged in the final three.”

Holzhauer has won $2,712,216 on “Jeopardy!” That puts him third on the show’s all-time earnings list. Brad Rutter won $4,688,436, and Ken Jennings earned $3,370,700.


Image Source:*David Becker/Getty Images

Source:wsbtv.com