Last night’s pivotal third night of Jeopardy! The Greatest of All Time was a huge opportunity for all three players. For Ken Jennings and James Holzhauer, it was a chance to get to the cusp of a victory, as they had split the first two matches in the first-to-three-wins-competition. For Brad Rutter, it was a chance to get even with the competition.
In the end, it was Jennings who took advantage of the opportunity, easily dispatching his opponents after a strong first game, which he won by nearly doubling Holzhauer’s score and nearly tripling Rutter’s, and a second game in which a costly missed Daily Double hurt Holzhauer and allowed Jennings to go into Final Jeopardy with an insurmountable lead. Rutter, as he has been throughout the competition, wasn’t much of a factor.
Since the match was effectively over, Holzhauer and Rutter took the opportunity to have a little fun in Final Jeopardy! Holzhauer wrote a tribute to Alex Trebek, calling him the GHOST (greatest host of syndicated TV) while Rutter scribbled a compliment for Jennings (“Who Ken es el hombre”) and “Eagles Super Bowl LII Champs,” which is exactly what your cousin from South Jersey would write if he ever made the Jeopardy! stage.
The next episode of Jeopardy! The Greatest of All Time doesn’t air until Tuesday night, so we’ll have to wait four days to see if Holzhauer or Rutter can extend the competition at least one more day. If they can’t, Jennings will win his third match, the competition, $1 million, and, most importantly, the title of greatest Jeopardy! champion of all time. But don’t feel too bad for the eventual runners-up; it’s clear that everyone is having the time of their life up there (and it’s not like they haven’t won a ton of money on Jeopardy! already).
