Forget Game Of Thrones, Jeopardy is what had American audiences glued to their seats last night. Even if you're not a regular watcher of the show, you've probably heard about James Holzhauer, the reigning champ with 32 consecutive wins and counting. Well, actually, we've stopped counting. Last night, his seemingly never-ending reign finally came to and end (although it was still just half of the 72-win record currently held by Ken Jennings). Holzhauer was toppled by 27-year-old librarian Emma Boettcher, who had been obsessed with the show all her life and even analyzed it in her in 70-page final college paper. While Holzhauer used professional gambling strategies to get to the top, Boettcher appeared to just use pure dedication — which is why some people thinks something else was going down behind the podiums.
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Specifically, people are confused why Holzhauer wagered such a low amount of money for Final Jeopardy — $1,399 USD. During the last round, he had $23,400 USD while Boettcher was leading with $26,600 USD. He could only win if Boettcher got the question wrong, causing some to speculate that Holzhauer lost on purpose.
This is compelling theory, considering Holzhauer had mentioned having a 4-year-old daughter at home who cried every time he won because she wanted him to come home and have the end-of-Jeopardy party he had promised. Some also wonder if he wanted to leave Jennings' record untouched out of respect, but he was still so far from breaking the record that this doesn't make sense either.
Instead, the truth is simple: Boettcher beat him!
“I knew I could only win if Emma missed Final Jeopardy, as there was no way she wouldn’t bet to cover my all-in bet,” Holzhauer said in an interview with the Action Network after the show aired. “So my only concern was getting overtaken by third place, and I bet just enough to make sure of locking him out. Betting big would have looked good for the cameras, but now I turn my straight bet (Emma misses) into a parlay (Emma misses, and I get it right).”
But there's no hard feelings. Boettcher told The New York Times that Holzhauer emailed to congratulate her and give some advice about her upcoming spotlight, warning her to expect a lot of attention and recommending a “game plan to get what she wants out of it.”
Now it's time for Boettcher's streak to begin.