‘Jeopardy’ Record-Holder Ken Jennings Reacts to James Holzhauer’s Loss

After Monday night’s Jeopardy! episode, Ken Jennings still reigns as the longest-running and highest-winning contestant on the game show; James Holzhauer’s 32-game run finally came to an end, just $56,484 short of Kennings’ $2,520,700 record.

Jennings took to Twitter to pay respects to Holzhauer’s streak, which caught the eye of the nation thanks to his go-big-or-go-home game strategy. The 45-year-old Jeopardy! veteran shared an image of Thanos at the end of Avengers: Infinity War, likening him to Holzhauer at the end of his run Monday night.

Holzhauer, 34, also spent Monday night tweeting after the episode aired, playfully calling Jennings out. “To @KenJennings : You win this round. But if Jeopardy ever gives me 43 second chance games, look out!” he wrote, pointing out that his run was quite a few games less than Jenner’s historic 74-game winning streak.

Holzhauer’s run came to an end when Emma Boettcher, a user-experience librarian from Chicago, won $46,801 to defeat the professional sports gambler from Las Vegas.

“I never really believed I could win 75 shows, but I definitely thought I had a great shot at Ken’s cash winnings record,” Holzhauer said in a statement put out by the show.

He later tweeted, “CONGRATULATIONS to Emma on a world-beating performance. There’s no greater honor than knowing an opponent had to play a perfect game to defeat me.”

He then quoted those who predicted his eventual loss would come when he lost a large bet, correcting it to give Boettcher props for her win. “‘James will eventually beat himself by flubbing one of his big bets.’ Nope, James got his ass kicked straight up by an elite player who nailed her own big bets,” he wrote.

He finished his tweeting thread by thanking Jeopardy! fans who took interest in his run. “To everyone: Thanks for the support, and remember to be good humans.”

He told The New York Times that “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.”

The dramatic finish came down to Final Jeopardy, where both Holzhauer and Boettcher got the Shakespeare-themed question correct, but Boettcher had the funds to bet to win.

“What a game!” the famously reserved host Alex Trebek said with wide eyes after Boettcher won with $46,801. “Oh my gosh!”

Holzhauer later gave Boettcher a high-five.

“I lost to a really top-level competitor,” Holzhauer told the Times. “She played a perfect game. And that was what it took to beat me.”