Naperville native James Holzhauer will be heading back to the Jeopardy! stage that first propelled him into the national spotlight, in a new iteration of the game.
Holzhauer part of the all-star crew in Jeopardy! Masters
Holzhauer will take part in Jeopardy! Masters, a primetime version of the popular ABC game show. The Hollywood Reporter said ABC has ordered up the series for the new season.
The series will pit six of the recent best Jeopardy! players against each other in what ABC refers to as a “Champion League style” competition. Those include Holzhauer, Matt Amodio, Sam Buttrey, Andrew He, Mattea Roach, and Amy Schneider.
Episodes will be an hour long, and each will feature two games, with different match-ups of the all-star competitors.
The show’s host will be Ken Jennings, who holds the titles of best all-time win streak and highest winnings during regular season play in Jeopardy!
No premiere date or air time has been announced.
Holzhauer’s history with Jeopardy!
Holzhauer became known as “Jeopardy James” back in 2019, when he racked up more than $2 million on the program, winning 32 consecutive games. His technique of selecting the highest value clues first set him apart from other contestants.
He holds the single-game winnings record, at $131,127. What’s more, he also holds the next nine spots for best single-game winnings. He ranks as fourth for all-time consecutive wins.
His total winnings of $2,462,216 in his original 2019 run landed him as the second highest money winner in regular season play, behind Ken Jennings, who hauled in $2,520,700. He and Jennings are the only two contestants to top the $2 million mark during a regular-season run.
Holzhauer returned to the game for Tournament of Champions in November 2019, winning the $250,000 top prize. He then came back for the prime-time Jeopardy! The Greatest of all Time in 2020, where he was bested by Jennings, coming in second.
Naperville News 17’s Kim Pirc reports.
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