Warning: There may be spoilers in the post below at any point after 8:00 PM Eastern.
Tonight’s the night for Match #4 of the Jeopardy! Greatest of All Time! Here’s tonight’s game recap (for Tuesday, January 14, 2020):
Today’s contestants:
Brad Rutter, currently on 0 wins
|
Ken Jennings, currently on 2 wins
|
James Holzhauer, currently on 1 win
|
This is currently a placeholder post which will be updated with Final Jeopardy! information and a game recap once it is known.
Preview: Ken is one win away from taking this tournament going into this absolutely crucial Game #4. Ken is running slightly better than James right now, and Brad may have some confidence after finally getting a pair of Daily Doubles at the end of Game #3. This game will definitely come down to the Daily Doubles and Final Jeopardy; the player who does the best on those will likely have the upper hand. With Ken on 2 wins, you might see James and Brad gang up (one player possibly laying off the buzzer if the other has a better chance of prolonging the tournament).
Are you going on the show and looking for information about how to bet in Final Jeopardy? Check out my new Betting Strategy 101 page!
(Content continues below)
Part 1, Final Jeopardy! category: IT’S ALL GREECE TO ME
Part 1, Final Jeopardy! clue: This area of Greece, home to Pan, is synonymous with a rural paradise; it’s a setting for Virgil’s shepherd poems the “Eclogues”
Part 1, Final Jeopardy! correct response: What is Arcadia
?
Part 2, Final Jeopardy! category: SHAKESPEARE’S TRAGEDIES
Part 2, Final Jeopardy! clue: He has 272 speeches, the most of any non-title character in a Shakespeare tragedy
(Content continues below)
Part 2, Final Jeopardy! correct response: Who is Iago?
Since Alex Trebek’s diagnosis of stage 4 pancreatic cancer, many community members have been raising money. The Jeopardy! Fan Online Store is as well! All proceeds from any “Keep The Faith And We’ll Win” shirt sold will be donated to the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network. To date, over $440 has been raised.)
In order to redesign our merchandise area to serve you better in 2026, all merchandise sales have been temporarily taken offline. Look for a return in early 2026! All previous orders will still be supported.
Game 1 results:
Brad 2,000 – 2,000 = 0 (What is Bucolia?)
James 22,800 + 11,381 = 34,181
Ken 32,800 + 32,800 = 65,600
Game 2 results:
Brad 1,400 – 0 = 1,400 (You’re the best, Alex!)
Ken 23,000 + 0 = 23,000 + 65,600 = 88,600 (Win #3)
James 44,000 – 44,000 = 0 + 34,181 = 34,181 (Who is Horatio?)
Daily Double locations:
1) THE GOOD DOCTOR 1000 (10th pick)
Ken 3800 +3800 (James 2200 Brad -400)
2) BRITISH STUFF 2000 (7th pick)
Brad 4800 -4800 (Ken 14000 James 9600)
3) THE ARTS 1600 (11th pick)
Ken 15200 +15200 (James 13200 Brad 0)
4) MATH TO ROMAN NUMERALS TO INITIALS TO NAMES 800 (3rd pick)
Ken 1000 -1000 (James 800 Brad 0)
5) VICE PRESIDENTS 2000 (5th pick)
Ken 8800 +5000 (James 9800 Brad 1000)
6) SURPRISE ME, TREBEK! 1600 (19th pick)
James 20200 +20200 (Ken 19800 Brad 1000)
Overall Daily Double Efficiency for this match: 157
Unplayed clues:
Game 1, J! round: None!
Game 1, DJ! round: None!
Game 2, J! round: None!
Game 2, DJ! round: None!
Total Points Left On Board: 0
Game Stats:
Ken 37,400 Coryat, 44 correct, 3 incorrect, 35.96% in first on buzzer, 2/2 on rebound attempts (on 2 rebound opportunities)
James 48,200 Coryat, 53 correct, 1 incorrect, 45.61% in first on buzzer, 1/1 on rebound attempts (on 3 rebound opportunities)
Brad 8,200 Coryat, 14 correct, 2 incorrect, 12.28% in first on buzzer, 1/1 on rebound attempts (on 3 rebound opportunities)
Combined Coryat Score: 93,800
Lach Trash: 9,400(on 7 Triple Stumpers)
Coryat lost to incorrect responses (less double-correct responses): 4,800
Cumulative Tournament Stats:
Ken 146,000 Coryat, 179 correct, 13 incorrect, 37.50% in first on buzzer, 11/13 on rebound attempts (on 20 rebound opportunities)
James 141,800 Coryat, 188 correct, 14 incorrect, 41.45% in first on buzzer, 6/7 on rebound attempts (on 18 rebound opportunities)
Brad 61,400 Coryat, 81 correct, 14 incorrect, 17.11% in first on buzzer, 7/7 on rebound attempts (on 22 rebound opportunities)
Combined Coryat Score: 349,200
Lach Trash: 34,200(on 24 Triple Stumpers)
Coryat lost to incorrect responses (less double-correct responses): 48,600
James Holzhauer, stats to date:
1,501 correct, 61 incorrect
44/48 on rebound attempts (on 94 rebound opportunities)
54.14% in first on buzzer (1379/2547)
83/90 on Daily Doubles (Net Earned: $716,588)
41/45 in Final Jeopardy
Average Coryat: $27,818
Ken Jennings, stats to date:
3,118 correct, 309 incorrect
118/146 on rebound attempts
57.14% in first on buzzer (3009/5265)
150/181 on Daily Doubles (Net Earned: $505,999)
60/91 in Final Jeopardy
Average Coryat: $25,864
Brad Rutter, stats to date:
777 correct, 94 incorrect
45/48 on rebound attempts
36.85% in first on buzzer (734/1992)
46/58 on Daily Doubles (Net Earned: $56,300)
18/32 in Final Jeopardy
Average Coryat: $16,886
Andy’s Thoughts:
- Ken’s ability to dominate in his original play style in 2004 combined with his ability to best adapt to match the modern play style of James Holzhauer makes him very deserving of the title of Greatest of All Time. Congratulations to Ken on a well-deserved victory.
- Kudos for Brad for staying out of the way in Game 2 to give James a chance to come back.
- Kudos to James for his Game 2 comeback to make Final Jeopardy! matter.
- Daily Double stats for the tournament: Ken 7/8 (+51,600), James 5/6 (+39,600), Brad 4/10 (-14,800).
- Credit to Pam Mueller for digging up this interesting fact: Iago is a variant name of James.
Contestant photo credit: abc.com
When commenting, please note that all comments on The Jeopardy! Fan must be in compliance with the Site Comment Policy.
If you are going to quote any statistics from this page or this website, attribution is required.
Does anyone know if tonight’s match was filmed over two days? Multiple times during the last FJ, Alex referred to the Game 2 scores as the scores “today”—seeming to imply that the Game 1 scores were attained on a prior day. (Although that might just be Force of habit from all other two-game totals being accumulated over two “days”…)
It appeared that each hour-long match was taped in real-time, just like the daily syndicated half-hours, as no one seemed to change clothes between game 1 and game 2 and because Ken alluded to the challenge of playing 60 minutes of Jeopardy! instead of the standard 30 minutes they have all been used to. They are very aware of ‘date’ references as they are taping, since shows can be taped up to three months ahead of the air date, but certain shows will be set to air on or near holidays or events, like Thanksgiving, Christmas or movie or TV premier dates. I think the continuous 60 minutes of play was the new wrinkle added to give these three a new challenge of endurance. Once you are past regular play and start getting invited back for tournaments, you only have to expect to play 4 games at the most, usually 1 on the first day of taping, and up to 3 on the second day, so this is not too different from what a new champ might face starting out, so these guys could especially get used to another round of 4 30-minute shows, so extending them to 4 60-minute games (or more) might start to prove exhausting. Given that format, I don’t think they would have taped more than 3 matches in a day, so the taping was probably over about 2 days. I think these were taped in December, after regular taping stopped for the holidays, and probably with a select audience of friends and family of the 3 contestants to maintain some secrecy about the outcome.
That was great entertainment! Ken was all out to win, and as Alex noted, his habit of intensely thinking about his DD response and sounding like it was a guess and getting it right over and over just made things more dramatic.
I thought Ken had it salted away, but James was poised to pull himself out of a 30k hole. He has been so good at FJ! (what is he, like 95%?) that a Shakespeare question didn’t seem like too tough an obstacle. When he didn’t answer Iago I almost fell out of my chair. I thought for sure we were looking at a 5th match. Like I said, amazing entertainment.
I know Alex will try to finish out the season, but I’m glad he was able to host such an event before he calls it quits. It’s a great note to go out on (even if it’s not his last game.) The accolades the three guys gave him during the matches (including the great one at the end there by Brad) were touching and well deserved. Great job all around.
Not sure whether James told Alex during Tuesday’s match if he wanted to or will work in the media in the future, but would anybody be surprised if he shows up on ESPN in some capacity on a gambling show? The nightly Daily Wager features personalities based in Las Vegas (James’ home) and ESPN has been ratcheting up its coverage of gambling since restrictions on it in this country were lifted by the Supreme Court. He’s also gained a fair amount of publicity on several of ESPN’s non-gambling shows, and the ESPN app is always adding new content.
From what I have heard James has fielded numerous offers to do sports gambling shows and has turned them all down. So far, anyway. I would imagine that a successful sports bettor doesn’t bet every day and doesn’t always bet that day’s big game. I’m guessing James doesn’t feel like wasting time giving out picks that he wouldn’t really bet big himself and also have people lose cash on his say so. That said, he will probably end up on TV in some capacity. Maybe teaching money management (something sadly ignored by most sports bettors.)
ESPN was formerly owned by ABC (which broadcasts Jeopardy! in most markets) until they were both acquired by Disney. Accepting a job from ESPN would presumably have precluded him from appearing in the GOAT games and any future Jeopardy! tournaments. The fact that Alex referenced the contestants not appearing again and James hinting he might do something in the media during the interview may indicate that he intends to consider offers made in the future. Now that the shows have aired those offers and negotiations can take place without affecting the perception of the shows integrity.
Despite the GOAT shows airing on ABC, Jeopardy! Is owned by Sony. As far as I can tell, after his shows aired, there was nothing stopping James from appearing on ESPN or FS1 or some online platform if he so chose. Jennings has appeared on “Best Trivia Show Ever” on GSN which is also owned by Sony, with no apparent conflict. (Working for Sony would disqualify you as a regular contestant, but this is obviously a special case.)
My prediction, following up my previous post, is Alex will announce his retirement before the end of the season and Ken will be the new host. If he’s interested, I’’d say the job is his. He’s universally loved and now respected more than ever.
Though Alex definitively declared that Ken, James and Brad had played their last Jeopardy! game, that doesn’t mean there won’t be any super tournaments going forward but anyone participating in one prior to GOAT likely won’t be invited, so Emma could be invited back or qualifiers like Jason Z, who hasn’t even been to a regular TOC yet.
We shall see!
To my great surprise, Ken is not universally loved. He is on these pages, but not on some of the social media and newspaper sites reporting on the GOAT tournament. I was shocked at the amount of venom directed his way and the attacks on his personality.
I’m not surprised….when someone’s the best there ever was at anything the knives always come out..it never fails…Nicklaus, Woods, Brady, etc.
Jealousy, pure and simple.
I seriously doubt we’ve seen the last of James. He’s got too much left in the tank plus he’s really popular. It will be a long time but I really think he’ll be back eventually.
They’ve created so many different tournament formats (Ultimate ToC, Million Dollar Masters, Battle of the Decades, and last years team tournament) that there is no doubt we’ll have some future event that will bring back James and a bunch of the usual suspects. These tournaments are popular, and Jeopardy! fans clearly enjoys seeing some of their favorite champions again.
What a great Tournament! Amazing game 2! As Alex cautioned, “it ain’t over til it’s over” and boy, did that Final ever prove him right. Shakespeare has often been a staple for Final in tournaments and can be either a king-maker or a dream-breaker and this was a little bit of both. Again, it’s not really if you know the answer, but rather how quickly can you recall it, and I could not come up with the answer, but when Alex confirmed it, you tend to say, “oh, yeah, that.” Would be intrigued to know if Brad actually knew the answer. They provide the contestants with scratch paper and a marker in case the telestrator pens ever quit working during Final, so that contestants could still write down an answer; kinda wish the producers could tell the contestants, especially in big events, to still write down a guess if they are going to write another message for their ‘answer’.
Also loved how long Ken and Brad hugged at the end of the game. Those two have really been through a lot together. I think they have probably faced each other in various tournament plays about 5 or 6 times, so they must have developed some kind of friendship over the years. Plus, they are, basically, the 21st century faces of Jeopardy! contestants, and the style of play now can in part be attributed to them. Nice, too, to see Ken start to adapt James’ “all-in” style of wagering, even if he seemed uncomfortable at times, or unsure if it was the right thing to do without hearing the clue. And good to see James loosen up a bit as this tournament progressed.
Still would have liked to see Brad win a game, and maybe a match, but he is still a big part of the games’s history, even if it may seem like he might be done with tournament play after this. Best of luck to all three of them in whatever new endeavors they find from this experience. It has been fun to watch you all play!
And, another thing to consider. Last year, at this same time, James may have just been getting his phone call to go to LA and tape an episode of the show! I think his shows were taped last March and April. What a whirlwind year it has been for him! Amazing cash windfall and instant celebrity status. And an amazing shot in the arm for the show, too.
Harry Friedman, who is leaving as EP at the end of this season, is responsible for both Ken and James’ success, because Harry lifted the 5-game cap on winners that had been in place, even from the old version with Art Fleming. Brad played his first games under the old system, so he only won about $ 50,000 during his initial 5-day run and won all the rest in Tournaments, including one big payout of $ 2 million that really boosted him ahead of the others.
So we have had most of this century to watch Brad and Ken through the years. Best of luck to all three of them in whatever new adventures await each of them.
During the 2nd half of the final game, Ken got the first daily double. Surprisingly, Ken did not select clues that could have gotten him the second daily double. Why did Ken allow James to take the second daily double?
James ended up taking the daily double, doubled his score and then had a chance of winning the game! Ken should have looked to pick up the daily double and then put a modest wager on it.
I was thinking about Andy’s “kudos to Brad for staying out of the way” thought. He was clearly aware that his finding a DD in match 3, game 2 was beneficial to Ken because it limited James’s ability to accumulate enough points to overcome Ken’s large lead from game 1 (made the “you’re welcome” aside to Ken after finding it). It’s an interesting quirk of the format that a player in Brad’s position of having no chance in the match because of the size of his deficit is incentivized get involved or get out of the way in order to benefit the player who hasn’t already won 2 matches in order to extend the contest. My initial thought was that this was a flaw because it creates a situation where all the contestants might not be fully competing, but considering the ratings that ABC was garnering I suspect that they would consider it a feature that a contestant might attempt to extend the competition by helping a particular opponent.
I think that Andy was sharp to discern this; and is probably correct. It would be equivalent to folding in poker with a good hand, to help out someone else at the table who really needed a win. All three of these players have class to match their talents. I wish them, all the best in their futures!
Going into the tournament, James had been dominant, doing things we had never seen before. Although a very good player (such as Emma) might occasionally be able to beat him in a single game if things broke right, I thought it improbable that anyone would defeat him in an extended competition format. But Ken responded to the challenge, raising the level of his game and adopting a more aggressive betting strategy. It took his very best to overcome James, and he was up to the task. Most impressive!
Despite his past successes, this was not a good tournament for Brad. He only buzzed in first 17.11% of the time. Even so, he drew more DDs than Ken or James, giving him an opportunity to build some points. But he only got 4 of 10 correct. He also was only 3/7 in FJ.
In the end, a remarkable and memorable clash of the titans. It’s great that Alex was able to host it, given his medical difficulties.
when will the statistics page be updated?
One more thing: Who remembers Adam Levin and Nate Scheffey??? For those who may not remember, Adam and Nate played against James during his run. Either could have prevailed, but James was fortunate enough to escape with a timely find of a DD, and the correct response. It makes me wonder how they–and others who may have been close to topping Ken and Brad–may feel. It’s sad that great players only get obscurity for having the misfortune of meeting one of the GOATS when they were picked to appear on the show. WOULDN’T IT BE GOOD IF NATE, ADAM, AND 13 OTHERS COULD HAVE A TOURNAMENT? (credit here for Andy for maintaining the recap archive, which helped me to remember Adam and Nate)
I am trying to come up with the rationale for James’ bet of 11,381 (just under half his total) for Match 4, Game 1. He’s trailing in the match and the game. He has to be way above 50% to get the question right (even if doesn’t love the It’s all Greece to Me category). He doesn’t need to worry about finishing 3rd rather than 2nd (payouts are the same for both). Doesn’t he need to go all in?
He doesn’t “need” to go all-in, but he knows that Ken likely will. Thus, if Final Jeopardy! is a Triple Stumper, James ends up significantly better off than if everybody’s scores resets to 0.
Also, for what it’s worth, even if James had gone all in, James still would have lost the match, as James would not have had a runaway match. going into Final Jeopardy! in Game 2.
Thanks Andy. I am not sure it’s likely that Ken is going all in (despite his fun in trying to copy James’ all in gestures). Ken could have wagered 15K or 20K and still maintained a lead if James doubled up. You are correct that it wouldn’t have mattered in the end (as James missed FJ in Match 4, Game 2), but the point remains that it’s a peculiar bet size for the situation (especially in light of James history of making big bets). James got out-Jamesed by Ken, no?
I suppose that James may have been confident about his ability to make up ground in Game 2, which he did (but based on the other 3 matches, that wasn’t a given).
I’d rather see James some day take over as MC of Jeopardy. He is very courteous and polite and has a good sense of humor. He doesnt brag about his winnings like the other guys. And he is young enough to be on the show for a very long time. GO JAMES!!
Can anyone explain why the Jeopardy! website has not updated the stats in their Hall of Fame page regarding amount of winnings of these three greatest players ever? This should have happened weeks ago.
There’s a contact section of their website where you can send them an email. I’d suggest trying that.
Thank you. I actually did that approximately 2 weeks ago, but got no reply. I assume that this tournament is going to count with respect to the contestants’ all time winnings. I notice the Watson tournament did not count even though Ken won $300,000 and Brad won $200,000. I’m not sure why it didn’t.