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Of all the tournaments in “Jeopardy!” history, the Greatest of All Time, televised on ABC on the nights of January 7, 8, 9 and 14, 2020, may be its most memorable and definitely, its largest anticipated. The show’s three most successful contestants in its 36-year history faced off: 2019 Tournament of Champions winner and 32-game champion James Holzhauer, 74-game champion and largest regular-season money earner Ken Jennings and top tournament earner (with over $4.6 million) Brad Rutter.
Each night consisted of two Jeopardy! games. The player with the highest combined score of those two games wins that night’s match. The player to win three matches earns $1 million and the title of “Greatest of All Time”; the remaining two contestants received $250,000.
“Jeopardy! The Greatest of All Time” lived up to hype (and then some) throughout each of the four nights, with a competitive battle of wits primarily between Jennings and Holzhauer. Viewers became engrossed with the competition and tuned in at figures dwarfing its competition, averaging more than 16 million viewers per episode (based on Live+3 data from Nielsen). Ratings like these have not come often for ABC in recent years, outside of the Oscars, the NBA Finals, an occasional NFL playoff game and the 2018 return of “Roseanne”.
Here are some of the tournament’s most memorable highlights:
Match One
(Jan. 7, 2020)
Introductory title sequence
Host Alex Trebek starts the proceedings
Brad Rutter admits it has become a bit tougher to recall things
James Holzhauer: “I’m sure I can get experience losing to Brad Rutter just as easily as Ken can do it.”
James Holzhauer to Brad Rutter: “Ha ha! What is Philadelphia?”
Ken Jennings on learning there are no more Daily Doubles in the round: “Thank goodness. I don’t think I could do that again.”
Alex Trebek remarks that the think music seemed to go a lot faster
Brad Rutter misses on the first Daily Double of the round
Brad Rutter misses on the second Daily Double of the round
Ken Jennings wins Match #1 by only 200 points
Match Two
(Jan. 8, 2020)
James Holzhauer: “I hate fun.”
Ken Jennings, while mimicking James Holzhauer’s “all-in” gesture at a Daily Double: “Has James copyrighted this?”
James Holzhauer, about Ken Jennings’ drawing of the former USSR’s hammer and sickle: “It’s pointing the wrong way.”
James Holzhauer: “What is Green Bay? Boo!”
James Holzhauer wins Match No. 2
Match Three
(Jan. 9, 2020)
Ken Jennings: “All in, baby!”
Ken Jennings: “Wow! I don’t want to do that again.”
What Ken Jennings concentrated on in preparing for this tournament
James Holzhauer discloses he was scouting the opposition
Ken Jennings: “I get to say it to Alex! What is ‘OK, Boomer’?”
Ken Jennings: “Christopher Plummer for 800. I just want to hear the voice.”
Alex Trebek: “What is bring your own device? Not your own booze.”
James Holzhauer high-fives Ken Jennings at the conclusion of the first game of the match
Final Jeopardy: 21st Century Oscar Winners
James Holzhauer writes down “What is the GHOST?”
Alex Trebek to James Holzhauer: “And you started to write Pat Sajak? Is that right?”
Alex Trebek: “Ladies and gentlemen, I’d like to welcome you to the Jeopardy! Comedy Hour.”
Ken Jennings: “I’m gonna do a tight five minutes on airline food before we…”
Match Four
(Jan. 14, 2020)
Alex Trebek: “If this were a sporting event, I would feel very comfortable in saying ‘we are about to go into sudden death overtime…'”
Category titles refer to ABC shows
Ken Jennings likes Alex Trebek’s reassuring voice
Alex Trebek comments that this is probably the last time that these three will compete on Jeopardy
Ken Jennings talks about his two children
James Holzhauer wants to reassure Ken Jennings about Ken’s son’s future
Ken Jennings makes his largest Daily Double wager of the tournament
Ken Jennings succeeds in his largest Final Jeopardy wager of the tournament
James Holzhauer: “Hey, Brad’s score’s still on there.”
Ryan Reynolds guest appears in a category about Canadians
Alex Trebek to Ken Jennings: “Your score is still up on the board!”
Ken Jennings: “There’s a case to be made for a small wager here.”; James Holzhauer: “No, there isn’t!”
Alex Trebek acts out the correct answer
James Holzhauer bets all his 20,200 points at a Daily Double
James Holzhauer earns a big double-up
Alex Trebek: “A one and two. Lawrence a-Welk-uh.”
Conan O’Brien presents a clue
Brad Rutter: “Who is (mumbles) Aaron Burr?”
Alex Trebek brings out the trophy “just in case we need it.”
Brad Rutter: “What is you’re the best, Alex”
Ken Jennings wagers zero points in Final Jeopardy
James Holzhauer bets and loses all his 44,000 points in Final Jeopardy
Ken Jennings — The Greatest of All Time
Brad Rutter and James Holzhauer lift Ken Jennings on their shoulders
