James Holzhauer’s run on Jeopardy is over as he lost to Emma Boettcher, a 27-year-old librarian from Chicago, on Monday’s episode.
It all came down to the Final Jeopardy question, which Holzhauer got right but only wagered $1,399 and fell just short of Boettcher, who also got it right.
That small figure led many to wonder if Holzhauer threw the game or if there were other things behind the loss.
But all those are false, as our Ted Berg wonderfully broke down and how Holzhauer himself explained in an interview with Action Network on Monday:
“I knew I could only win if Emma missed Final Jeopardy, as there was no way she wouldn’t bet to cover my all-in bet,” Holzhauer told The Action Network. “So my only concern was getting overtaken by third place, and I bet just enough to make sure of locking him out. Betting big would have looked good for the cameras, but now I turn my straight bet (Emma misses) into a parlay (Emma misses and I get it right).”
But none of that has stopped fans from busting out a bunch of conspiracy theories.
Like this one that James shot down:
Keep in mind, all of these are wrong, but fun:
