Adriana Harmeyer Is Coming for James Holzhauer’s ‘Jeopardy!’ Record
Adriana Harmeyer, the Jeopardy! champion, is on a winning streak. The archivist from West Lafayette, Indiana, has won every game for the past 15 episodes in a row. Her most recent victory puts her in second place behind one of Jeopardy’s most successful players of all time, James Holzhauer, and she won without the use of Daily Doubles.
This record is not tied to her overall winnings, but rather to her Final Jeopardy streak. In 15 games, Harmeyer has gotten 11 Final Jeopardy riddles in a row. She is only the second player to do this in normal game play. Holzhauer now owns the record, with 27. This is how the game went down.
Harmeyer faced out against Colleen Matthews, a speech-language pathologist from Portland, Oregon, and Mark Gagliardi, an actor and podcaster from Knoxville, Tennessee, on Tuesday, June 18. The scores were very equal at the first break, with Harmeyer at $1,600, Gagliardi at $2,200, and Matthews at $2,400. While Harmeyer trailed in the first round, she eventually took the lead and finished with $6,800, followed by Gagliardi with $2,800 and Matthews with $3,400.
Matthews found two Daily Doubles, while Gagliardi found one, although neither successfully answered the instructions. Matthews may have taken the lead in the final clue before the final round if she had responded properly. Going into the final, it was Harmeyer with $13,600, Matthews with $10,600, and Gagliardi with $7,200, far from a runaway game as Harmeyer had become accustomed to during her winning streak.
The final clue merely confused Gagliardi. Harmeyer ended the game with $23,600, Matthews with $14,600, and Gagliardi with $5. Harmeyer’s 15-day winnings total $349,600.
‘Jeopardy!’: Adriana Harmeyer Reveals Lucky Charm During Historic Run
Jeopardy fans on the show’s Reddit discussion board remarked on Harmeyer’s “unbeatable” status and the new milestone she achieved with her June 18 victory.
“In regular play, Adriana is the 2nd person in the show’s history to have at least 11 consecutive [Final Jeopardy’s] correct (James Holzhauer is 1st at 27),” a member of the public posted. A response stated that former champion Jennifer Quail achieved this milestone, although it was during a tournament rather than a regular season.
“Wow, even without runaways, Adriana seems unbeatable right now at this point,” according to a single comment. The comment reads: “I know someone who’s appearing this week and as much as I want to root for the person I know, I’m genuinely torn, hah.”
Another fan praised Harmeyer’s performance for more personal reasons. “Adriana does it again!” they wrote. “What I particularly admire about Adriana is that her playstyle is accessible to me as a fan. There is no DD seeking, all-in wagers, or other crazy stuff. It is basically buzzing in rapidly and knowing the topic extremely well.”
‘Jeopardy!’: See How Ken Jennings Teased Super-Champ Adriana Harmeyer After Shock Defeat
Jeopardy! Host Ken Jennings could not resist giving his best. Adriana Harmeyer, the 15-day champion, was defeated by veteran Survivor participant Drew Basile last week, prompting Jeff Probst’s impression.
In a newly revealed post-game footage, which was aired on the June 24 edition of the Inside Jeopardy! podcast, Jennings spoke with the contestants following last Wednesday’s (June 19) program, where Harmeyer’s dominant run came to an end at the hands of the ex-Survivor castaway.
Harmeyer was seeking for one more win to move into the top ten of the show’s all-time winning streaks. Unfortunately, she came up one episode short, but she still walked away with about $350,000.
In the video (about the 20-minute point), Jennings asks Harmeyer, “How does it feel to be a 15-game Jeopardy! Champion, do you know how the story ends?
“Of course, I would have liked to continue, but 15 is a good number, and I’m content with that,” the archivist from West Lafayette, Indiana, answered.
“You would like more,” Jennings replied, taunting her with, “but I guess the tribe has spoken.”
Of course, Jennings was referring to Probst’s iconic line, which he delivers to Survivor competitors after they have been eliminated. Basile is all too familiar with this term, having been voted out of Survivor 45 in sixth place after his own comrades turned on him.
The studio audience was taken aback by Jennings’ comment, but Harmeyer and her fellow contenders remained upbeat.
“Unfortunately,” Harmeyer replied.
‘Jeopardy!’ Champ Drew Basile is stunned with a shoutout from Jeff Probst.
Harmeyer will get her revenge against Basile, however, because both have qualified for the next Tournament of Champions. A player automatically qualifies for the TOC after five wins, and Basile won his fifth in a row on Tuesday night (June 25).
Speaking of Probst, Jennings stunned Basile during Tuesday’s game by revealing that he had contacted the Emmy-winning Survivor host about Basile’s accomplishment on Jeopardy.
“He said, ‘What a great kid!'” “He was amazing on our show,” Jennings said. “He was so delighted to hear you’re doing well here.”
“Wow. Basile said, “I don’t know what to say,” and went on to win his sixth game.
‘Jeopardy! Masters’: James Holzhauer Reacts After Shocking Finale Loss
Jeopardy! James Holzhauer, a Masters finalist, is “bummed” after losing his title. Hozhauer, the tournament’s reigning champion, faced Yogesh Raut and Victoria Groce in the Season 2 championship on Wednesday May 22. However, he was no match for Groce, who won the night and received a $500,000 cash reward. Click here to see a recap of what happened in the finale.
Following the finals on ABC, Holzhauer took to Twitter to congratulate his opponents.
“Huge congrats to Yogesh and especially Victoria for a brilliantly played final match,” the 39-year-old remarked. “The trivia community and fans of The Chase already knew Victoria is the best quizzer in the country—now fans of Jeopardy Masters know it too.”
Holzhauer finished third, trailing Raut, who finished second, and received $150,000. Raut received a cash reward of $250,000.
Holzhauer went on to voice his sadness at not winning the reward. He planned to donate to the charity Project 150, but his loss would not stand in his way.
“I’m obviously bummed that I couldn’t win the 100K donation for @project150l this time,” the woman, 39, said on Instagram, “but I’m sending a donation anyway to fund this year’s scholarships and I hope you will join me if you’re able.”
A link to give to Project 150, a Nevada-based nonprofit founded in 2011, was provided at the end of his Tweet.
The nonprofit organization’s mission is to “offer free support and services to homeless, displaced, and disadvantaged high school students in the Southern Nevada area.”
Grant DeYoung, a celebrity lookalike on ‘Jeopardy!’, has received positive feedback from fans in the comments section of his tweets.
“Way to go, James,” one user commented. “You’ll always be a favorite!”
“All three are fantastic…””I still root for you every time,” another commented. “But still a joy to watch great competitors.”
Others even praised his innovative Jeopardy! tactics.
“Hugely exciting match,” commented one person. “Congratulations for making it to the finals (again) and, more importantly, changing the way the game is played. #PushingChipsAllin”
‘Jeopardy! Masters’ Ends in a Stunner: Here is the Real ‘Final Boss’
The second season of Jeopardy! Masters concluded with a new champion of champions collecting the top prize. On Wednesday night’s conclusion, Victoria Groce, Yogesh Raut, and James Holzhauer played in two back-to-back, total score games to determine who was the actual master of this trio, and one competitor emerged victorious with a clear lead.
As was clear from the start of the season, Victoria Groce has emerged as the best of the best this time, defeating self-proclaimed “final boss” James Holzhauer and Yogesh Raut for the $500,000 grand prize.
Here’s how everything went down.
Game One.
The first round was a lively affair, with a category starring special guest Jason Kelce and several friendly side conversations regarding the appropriate pronunciation of proper nouns like Everest and Salt ‘N Pepa. Otherwise, it was quite equally balanced, with Groce starting Double Jeopardy with $4,600, Holzhauer following closely after with $4,400, and Raut in third place with $3,600.
Before Double Jeopardy began, each competitor discussed the organizations for which they were playing, with the winner’s choice getting a $100,000 donation from the show as a bonus. Raut revealed that he was playing for the Equal Justice Initiative, which fights racism in America; Holzhauer went local with his favorite high school student-aid organization, Project 150; and Groce supported Partners in Health, which provides healthcare resources to some of the world’s poorest countries.
Double Jeopardy, like the first round, was a close game. Groce made a big profit of $10,200 (a real daily double) in the “Health and Medicine” category by correctly identifying mesothelioma as the type of cancer that so many legal commercials seek clients for. Then, Holzhauer put his entire $10,400 on the table in the “Alliteration All Around” category, and it paid off – Baffin Bay is the body of water whose eastern shore is created by Greenland. From there, it was an absolute shootout between Groce and Holzhauer, while Raut kept himself in it.
Going into Final Jeopardy, Holzhauer led with $27,200, Groce had $25,200, and Raut had $9,600. And Final Jeopardy was far from decisive for any of them.
For the topic of “Politicians,” the suggestion was as follows: “This man was the 1st to be governor of one state & then senator from another; 173 years later, Mitt Romney became the second.” Raut and Holzhauer guessed properly, but Groce guessed incorrectly, however it only made a difference for Raut.
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With $9,600 on the line, Raut increased his final first-game score to $19,200; Groce’s fell by $3,800 to $21,400; and Holzhauer increased his score by a tiny $1,109 bet, bringing him to $28,309 and assuring that Game Two would be extremely important for everyone.
