Friday’s episode of “Jeopardy!” gave whiz kid James Holzhauer his 32nd consecutive win, bringing him that much closer to breaking Ken Jennings’ all-time record of highest winnings in regular season play. As it stands, Holzhauer is only $58,484 away from matching Jennings’ 2004 record of $2,520,700.
Holzhauer brought his total winnings up to $2,462,216 by answering this question in Final Jeopardy: “It’s the last name of Alfred, Lionel, David, Emil, Thomas and Randy, who with 90 nominations are the most Oscar-nominated family.”
Holzhauer correctly answered: “What is Newman?”
At this point, it’s not so much a question of if he’ll beat Jennings, but when. Surpassing Jennings’ record on Monday’s episode shouldn’t be too difficult for Holzhauer. He currently holds the record for most single-game earnings with $131,127, so for him to win $58,000 in one game is entirely possible.
Here are some stats comparing the two biggest “Jeopardy!” champions in history. According to a video posted to Jeopardy.com last Friday, on average, Holzhauer’s responses have been 97% accurate, while Jennings’ were only 91% accurate. Over the 74 games Jennings played, his average daily winnings were $34,064 — as of Holzhauer’s first 31 games, his average daily winnings were $76,858. If Holzhauer beats Jennings’ record on Monday, it will have taken him 33 games — less than half the time it took Jennings.
Ratings for the syndicated game show have spiked by double-digit percentages since Holzhauer began his winning streak. Holzhauer will compete again on Monday’s episode as the returning champion — see what time “Jeopardy!” airs in your area here.
For the record: A previous version of this story incorrectly suggested that “Jeopardy!” aired exclusively on NBC.