Jeopardy Legend Ken Jennings on James Holzhauer's Streak: 'It's Absolutely Insane'
James Holzhauer has taken Jeopardy! by storm with 11-straight victories and $771,920 in earnings, gaining the respect of the program's most notable former champion in the process.
Ken Jennings discussed Holzhauer's run on Friday, calling Holzhauer's performance, "absolutely insane."
"First of all, I’m just gobsmacked by James. It's absolutely insane what he's doing. Like, I thought I had seen everything on Jeopardy!" Jennings told Wired's Brian Barrett. And this is something I would have thought was just impossible, these numbers."
"Statistically, he’s playing at as high a level as anyone who’s ever played the game. And then he’s got these incredibly confident wagers. He’s maximizing money. He can make two or three times what any other player ever has with that same level of play, which again is top-shelf. He’s as good as anybody."
Holzhauer has a ways to go to catch Jennings, who sprinted to 74-straight wins and $2,520,700 in 2004. Jennings is second on Jeopardy!'s all-time earnings list.
The current Jeopardy! champion will attempt to earn his 12th-straight win on Friday. Holzhauer holds the top-three single-game performances in Jeopardy! history, topping out at $131,127 during Wednesday's victory.
