Jeopardy! champ James Holzhauer dominates Emma Boettcher in the first round of their rematch

Jeopardy! champ James Holzhauer dominates Emma Boettcher in the first round of their rematch five months after she ended his record-breaking 32-game winning streak

  • Jeopardy! champion James Holzhauer has dominated the first half a final that included himself and Emma Boettcher on Thursday’s episode
  • Vegas gambler answered 23 clues correctly while his competitor only got 13
  • By the Final Jeopardy! round Holzhauer had $37,412 and Boettcher had $13,200 
  • Both answered correctly but he bid $11,914 and his grand total leaped to $49,326
  • Viewers can see who wins in Friday’s episode of the game show 
  • Holzhauer’s run came to an end after losing to Emma Boettcher after 32 games and 14.5 million people watched him lose Jeopardy! June 3
  • It was second most-viewed Jeopardy! episode behind Ken Jennings’ November 2004 loss at $2,520,700 after a 72-game streak with 18 million people watching 

Jeopardy! champion James Holzhauer has dominated the contestant who ended his 32-game winning streak five months ago, coming out on top for the first round of a highly-anticipated rematch that aired on Thursday night.

Holzhauer lost to librarian, Emma Boettcher, on June 3 and the episode was the third most watched regularly scheduled TV show of the 2018-2019 season with 14.5 million tuning in after it leaked she’s beaten him.

In this week’s episode the professional Vegas gambler answered 23 clues correctly while his competitor only got 13.

 

Jeopardy! champion James Holzhauer  (center) dominated the first half a final that included himself and Emma Boettcher (right) on Thursday’s episode

By the Final Jeopardy! round Holzhauer had a whopping $37,412 in the bank and Boettcher only had $13,200, approximately one third the amount.

Philadelphia woman Boettcher answered correctly with her all-in wager for the Old Testament Book category, where the clue was: ‘By Hebrew word count, the longest book bears this name that led to a word for a long complaint or rant.’

But Holzhauer also correctly responded: ‘What is Jeremiah?’

As his bid was $11,914, his grand total leaped to $49,326 and viewers took to social media with excitement after Holzhauer managed to get some of his credibility back.

Last month Holzhauer tweeted that he must get revenge on Boettcher.

He joked:’ Gambler James: ‘revenge game’ narratives are overblown Jeopardy James: MY PAST SELF MUST BE AVENGED.’

Viewers will see who won by tuning in on Friday to see the second half of the finals. 

Both Boettcher and Holzhauer correctly responded: 'What is Jeremiah?' in the Double Jeopardy! round

Boettcher only had $13,200 by the end of the show

Both Boettcher and Holzhauer correctly responded: ‘What is Jeremiah?’ in the Double Jeopardy! round. But Boettcher only had $13,200 by the end of the show

On Thursday the champ joked in a tweet that he was following in the footsteps of the Atlanta Falcons football team

On Thursday the champ joked in a tweet that he was following in the footsteps of the Atlanta Falcons football team

On Thursday the champ joked in a tweet that he was following in the footsteps of the Atlanta Falcons football team which was on a losing streak until mid-season then they finally won a game.

‘I’m letting Dan Quinn coach the second half,’ he joked about the football coach. ‘Hope nothing happens to that lead!’

With his $2,464,216 win earlier this year, Holzhauer failed to beat ultimate Jeopardy! champion Ken Jennings’ November 2004 accolade of winning $2,520,700 and 72 games in a row. 

But at least Holzhauer can say the top 10 episodes of Jeopardy from his season featured him in four of them. 

An average week saw 10.8 million views tune in. 

The professional gambler was just $56,484 shy of beating Ken Jennings’ winnings record from 15 years ago when he lost to Philadelphia woman Boettcher.

‘There’s no greater honor than knowing an opponent had to play a perfect game to defeat me,’ Holzhauer posted on Twitter on to congratulate Boettcher for her ‘world-beating performance’.

Holzhauer also drew more interest in the show as he called out critics who thought he would lose by flubbing one of his famous big bets.

Viewers can tune in on Friday to see who comes out on top of the competition

Viewers can tune in on Friday to see who comes out on top of the competition

Read more at DailyMail.co.uk