Entertainment
Brad Rutter Returns to Compete on ‘Jeopardy! The Greatest of All Time’ — Meet the Game Show Star
Calling all Jeopardy! fans! The highly anticipated night is finally here and we can’t wait to tune in to watch three of the game shows’ biggest winners — Ken Jennings, Brad Rutter and James Holzhauer, compete against each other on Jeopardy! The Greatest of All Time.
The episodes — which is set to begin airing on ABC on Tuesday, January 7 — will consist of a series of matches between the three most iconic winners throughout the long-running game show’s history. Things are going to get a little interesting considering each contestant is just as impressive as the next!
While Ken, 45, and James, 36, have made headlines in recent months for their impressive runs on the beloved game show, it’s been a while since we’ve heard about Brad. Despite his lack of limelight in recent years, the 41-year-old — who first competed on the show in 2000 — has actually won more money than both of his competitors!
Brad’s journey to becoming the highest money winner of all time across any TV game show is actually quite incredible. At the time he first competed on the show in October 2000, there was a rule that each contestant who won five consecutive days would then retire undefeated and were guaranteed a spot in the Tournament of Champions.
After becoming a 5-day champ during his epic debut nearly two decades ago, Brad took home $55,102, a brand-new car and secured himself a spot in the 2001 Tournament of Champions. While competing in the show’s tournament, Brad won a whopping $100,000. The following year, he cashed in $1 million as the winner of the Million Dollar Masters Tournament. Amazing!
Brad’s bank got even bigger when he went up against Ken — who has a record 74-game winning streak and has won $3,370,700 throughout his Jeopardy! career — and Jerome Vered at the Ultimate Tournament of Champions in 2005. As the contestants went head to head, Brad came out on top and took home the $2,100,000 prize — this brings his overall winnings to $4,688,436. Wow!
Fans aren’t the only ones looking forward to Jeopardy! The Greatest of All Time. In an ABC Entertainment press release, the game show’s beloved host, Alex Trebek — who is currently battling stage IV pancreatic cancer — expressed his excitement for the prized program.
“Based on their previous performances, these three are already the ‘greatest,’ but you can’t help wondering: who is the best of the best?” the 79-year-old said.
Although James, who also holds the record for all 15 of the top single-day winnings records and has won $2,712,216, Brad and Ken are going to give each other a run for their money, no one is going to come out a loser! However, the first to win three matches will receive $1 million and the title of Jeopardy! The Greatest of All Time, while the two runners up will each take home $250,000.
Be sure to watch Jeopardy! The Greatest of All Time on ABC at beginning at 8:00 p.m. EST on Tuesday, January 7!
