The nation wondered, would Ken Jennings beat audacious professional gambler James Holzhauer? Or would Brad Rutter's bad luck streak from last week somehow change bringing him to the front? These were the questions fans of the game show "Jeopardy!" had all night as the show's three greatest contestants faced off to determine who would be named the "Greatest of All Time."
Coming into Tuesday night’s broadcast, Jennings needed to win just one more match to take home the trophy and $1 million. After the first game on Tuesday, Jennings found himself firmly in the driver’s seat with a big lead.
It seemed the only hope Holzhauer had of holding off Jennings would be a massive win in the night's second game.
When Final Jeopardy! got underway, it looked like Holzhauer had a shot at winning Tuesday's match because Jennings wagered nothing in the round.
Holzhauer wagered it all, but got the question wrong...giving Ken Jennings the win and the title of "Jeopardy! Greatest of All Time."
And while Holzhauer lost the title to Jennings, he did win the night when it comes to mocking the other contestants.
Before the second game got underway, Holzhauer took a jab at Brad Rutter.
“Hey Brad’s score is still on there,” Holzhauer joked, referring to Rutter’s score of zero halfway through the show.
The episode ended quickly with Jennings holding a golden trophy.
The "Greatest of All Time" tournament has proven to be a big hit for ABC in prime-time. The Nielsen company said each of the first three matches were seen by about 15 million people, with the audience growing each night.
While it has been gratifying for ABC executives, they can't honestly say it's a surprise. They're now considering future "Jeopardy!" special events, but don't want to dilute the success by making them less special.
Earlier on Tuesday ABC's "The Goldbergs" actor Wendi McLendon-Covey tweeted, "Tomorrow night: if the Jeopardy Greatest of All Time tournament has wrapped up by 8:00PM, this episode will air!" Covey included a preview video from her show. The tweet had some wondering if the tournament would go a day longer into Wednesday night...or whether she had mistakenly spoiled Tuesday's outcome ahead of time.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
