Get ready for the “Jeopardy!” rematch of the year — James Holzhauer has advanced to the final round of the 2019 “Tournament of Champions,” where he’ll face off against Emma Boettcher 5 months after she ended his 32-game winning streak.
Holzhauer secured his spot in the finals after accruing $30,156 in Tuesday night’s semifinal round. In a rare turn of events, he actually got the final question wrong — but because he bet only $310 on his answer and neither of his competitors got it right, he was safe.
The question was this: “In 2018, Forbes said this ‘belt’s demographic delight is’ this other ‘belt’s demographic dilemma.’” The answer? The Sun Belt and the Rust Belt. Holzhauer guessed the “Rust” part correctly, but went with “Bible” instead of “Sun.”
His competitors were Steven Grade, a sports industry consultant from Atlanta, Georgia, and Rachel Lindgren, and astronomy interpreter from Bend, Oregon.
Holzhauer’s win means that he and Boettcher will definitely have a rematch during the finals on Thursday and Friday.
Holzhauer’s success on “Jeopardy!” made him a household name earlier this summer, but his reign ended just shy of Ken Jennings’ all-time winnings record of $2,520,700 when Boettcher stopped the trivia-machine in his tracks on June 3, just $58,484 away from the record.
Boettcher won her first semifinal round of the tournament Monday, which means that she, Holzhauer, and the winner of Wednesday night’s game will all compete against one another for the grand prize. The winner will claim the $250,000 grand prize, while second-place earns $100,000, and third place takes home $50,000.
Wednesday night’s competitors will be Francois Barcomb, an 11th grade physics teacher from New Paltz, N.Y., Gilbert Collins, a university administrator from Princeton, N.J., and Lindsey Shultz, a physician’s healthcare analyst from Pittsburgh, Penn.
“Jeopardy!” airs in primetime syndication. Check your local listings for Thursday and Friday’s finale air times.