Jeopardy! Masters season 2 is officially underway, and it didn't take long for James Holzhauer to cause a stir among fans for his pop culture knowledge.
On the May 6 episode of the ABC quiz show, the season 1 reigning champion faced off against Matt Amodio and Mattea Roach (whom he also faced in last year's season finale) for a chance to continue on in the month-long competition. While James is known for cracking jokes with host Ken Jennings and his fellow contestants, viewers saw a different, more intense version of James heading into the game, ready to do whatever it took to get to the next round.
With this new approach on screen, James shocked everyone when he decided to bet $20,000 of his earlier earnings on the final Daily Double of the night, per TVInsider. To everyone's surprise, when he correctly answered the clue, his earnings went from $25,200 to a whopping $45,200 — the highest score in Jeopardy! Masters history before heading into Final Jeopardy. And when he correctly guessed that clue (which was in the category of "20th Century Leaders"), he managed to earn a whopping $46,108 (having bet $908) and win the entire game.
After seeing James' historic Jeopardy! Masters performance in real-time, viewers couldn't help but comment on what happened online.
"@Jeopardy Man what a dominating performance by @James_Holzhauer. No wonder why he's nicknamed the Final Boss. He had a so-so performance last week, but today he has brought his 'A' game. 3 match points for him," one person wrote on X (formerly Twitter). "Watching @James_Holzhauer on Jeopardy Masters pretty wild to see a professional sports gambler being one of the smartest trivia nerds on the planet," a different viewer remarked, referencing James' career. "Team James all the way," another penned on YouTube.
Although it's unclear if James will sweep the season and win Jeopardy! Masters for the second year in a row, one thing is certain: he's in it to win it!
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As the entertainment and news associate editor for Good Housekeeping, Adrianna (she/her) writes about everything TV, movies, music and pop culture. She graduated from Yeshiva University with a B.A. in journalism and a minor in business management. She covers shows like The Rookie, 9-1-1 and Grey's Anatomy, though when she’s not watching the latest show on Netflix, she’s taking martial arts or drinking way too much coffee.
