‘Jeopardy!’ Host Ken Jennings Says He’s “Terrified” Of James Holzhauer

Tasked with co-hosting Jeopardy!, Ken Jennings should, in theory, be without worries. It’s a solid position that many people vied for – and, Jennings admits, it keeps him from having to compete against James Holzhauer, who the game show host admits has him feeling terrified. Why?

2020 introduced audiences to the Jeopardy! Greatest of All Time tournament, pitting the biggest winners against each other. Among the contestants were Holzhauer, Jennings, and Brad Rutter. No one since has quite matched any of their earnings, but Jennings has misgivings about competing again. Here are his real thoughts on facing off against Holzhauer again.

Ken Jennings is glad he doesn’t have to face off against James Holzhauer, who leaves him “terrified”

In all areas of Jeopardy! history, Jennings remains a solid part of it and that doesn’t seem about to change any time soon. His place is cemented in the game show’s own website, as part of its Leaderboard of Legends for the greatest number of consecutive wins and the highest earnings. But Holzhauer is right behind him in the “highest winnings” category and, if they were to compete again, Jennings doesn’t think he’d come out favorably.

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Jennings spoke with Deseret News about his future as a potential competitor once again. In his discussion, Jennings teasingly confirmed it was all because of one James Holzhauer. “Let me be very clear and on the record here,” he emphasized. “It’s because I’m terrified of playing James because I think he would win.”

There’s actually a little more to it than that.

The rules are keeping him safe

As it turns out, though, competing is officially off the table for Jennings, as directed by the Jeopardy! rules. Technically, the most updated policies of the game show state that as soon as someone hosts the show, they cannot compete. However, executive producer Michael Davies, who replaced Mike Richards in 2021, said he would be willing to make an exception to see a full lineup of Jeopardy! greats challenge one another – and there is quite the lineup waiting to return to the game show, including Amy Schneider with 40 consecutive game wins to her name, and Matt Amodio, who places third in the “highest winnings” of regular season play category, with $1,518,601 in earnings.

Jennings, though, is willing to honor the original rule prohibiting him from becoming a contestant again.

“I’m very happy to be retired from Jeopardy! because I think I got away with one in the GOAT tournament,” he further admitted. “And I think there’s a very good chance that he would just wipe the floor with me if we had to play again. So I feel very lucky to be retired — ain’t gonna be no rematch.”

If this were to change in the future, would you want to see a rematch between James Holzhauer and Ken Jennings?

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