After smashing numerous records and making game show history Jeopardy! champ James Holzhauer finally met his match. But Holzhauer's shocking loss has many fans questioning how and if the unbeatable champ was actually beaten.
For 32 straight games Jeopardy! champ James Holzhauer seemed like an unstoppable trivia machine, destined to dethrone Ken Jennings as the all-time winningest player.
On Monday though Holzhauer's record setting run was cut short just shy of the number 1 spot and a new Jeopardy champion was crowned.
Using many of the same game-winning strategies pioneered by Holzhauer, Emma Boettcher more than doubled James' score by the end of the game Monday and took down the "man who solved Jeopardy!"
Given how dominating Holzhauer was during his 32-game winning streak fans were understandably stunned by his unexpected defeat.
Holzhauer, who is a professional sports gambler, applied a number of betting strategies to Jeopardy! and broke the game wide open.
Unlike many players Holzhauer started with the highest-value clues to maximize his wager when he came across a Daily Double.
The strategy was so effective that by the end of his first week on the show James had already broken a number of Jeopardy! records including the highest single game total (winning $110,914 ) and the highest 5-game total (winning $298,687). But he didn't stop there.
James beat the previous highest single game total of $77,000, set by Roger Craig a total of 16 times and established the new all-time record of $131,127. During his run Holzhauer on average earned more per game than legendary Jeopardy! host Alex Trebek.
But a good strategy doesn't mean much if can't answer the questions, Holzhauer though was a trivia master. James answered 72 of the 76 Daily Doubles he hit, a more then 94% success rate. Overall James had a 97% response accuracy.
By every measure Holzhauer was a Jeopardy! winning machine which may be why instead of believing that he was actually beaten a number of conspiracy theories have popped up to try and explain Holzhauer's loss.
For one reason or another many seem to think that Holzhauer took a dive, ending his own win-streak on purpose.
Though others were convinced that behind the scenes the odds were stacked against Holzhauer who was costing the game show far too much in prize money.
But the most heartwarming conspiracy is that James just wanted to get home and see his daughter.
Whether it was a genuine loss or a set-up from the start we may never know what really ended James Holzhauer's record setting run as Jeopardy! champ.
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