You knew Jeopardy! phenom James Holzhauer couldn’t win forever.
In reality, he lost a while ago, since the show is taped in blocks months in advance. But today’s the broadcast, which makes it official by TV law: His reign of terror is over.
Going into Monday’s show, Holzhauer had destroyed all opponents in his path, won 32 straight games, and set several single-game records. He had earned $2,462,216—just $58,484 short of Ken Jennings’s all-time record for regular play. (Including tournaments, Brad Rutter is the all-time money leader.) Holzhauer was an anomaly, in part because he won with such astronomical totals in each game; Jennings won 74 straight games, 42 more than Holzhauer had won coming into today.
It’s over now, though. It’s already been on TV, in fact. A Final Jeopardy! clip leaked on Twitter Sunday night, and the actual episode aired this morning on KATV in Little Rock, Arkansas. (Fun fact: Jeopardy! airs at varying times across the country. There was a 9:30 a.m. CT airing in Selma, Alabama, but I didn’t have access to it.)
You still don’t know how Holzhauer lost, and to whom, which is the biggest part of the drama. If you would like to avoid that and wait to see how it happens when Jeopardy! airs in your market, stop reading now. For everyone else, here’s Final Jeopardy, courtesy of KATV:
Holzhauer led after the first round. But early in Double Jeopardy, Emma Boettcher bet all $7,600 of her stack on a Daily Double. She knew which city beginning with the letter A is home to the United States’ annual sailboat show.
The Final clue was easy enough that everyone got it correct, and therefore Emma Boettcher is your new champ. Holzhauer ends at No. 2 on the all-time money and wins lists for regular Jeopardy! games. And his daughter couldn’t be happier.