James Holzhauer’s incredible run on Jeopardy! got its biggest test on Monday as the 17-day champ entered Final Jeopardy up by just over $6,000.
The pro sports bettor from Las Vegas, who has dominated Daily Doubles throughout his now 18-day run to over $1.3 million, saw one of his competitors use his aggressive strategy against him. Adam Levin, a sports information director from Massachusetts, swiped the third Daily Double of the round and wagered $12,000 of his $13,000, correctly answering “False Flag” to the clue of “Ships of yore masked their nationality with this, now a term for any covert act designed to make another entity look guilty.”
Entering Final Jeopardy, Holzhauer, who missed the first Daily Double of the game and won over $10,000 on the second, had just a $6,517 lead at $33,517 to $27,000 for Levin. Both of them correctly answered the Final Jeopardy prompt of “The oldest of these business booster groups, formed in Marseille in 1599, uses “de” instead of “of” in the name,” correctly with “Chamber of Commerce,” and Holzhauer’s $20,500 wager was just enough to edge out his best challenger to date, who bet all but $1 of his total, by $18.
Holzhauer has often cruised into Final Jeopardy without any pressure on him, but this time he showed he can still nail the right answer with an opponent breathing down his neck. His total is now over $1.3 million, but as contestants recognize his strategy it will be interesting to see if anyone can beat him at his own game, as Levin nearly did.
(h/t Chicago Tribune)
