‘Jeopardy!’ Legend James Holzhauer Mocks Show’s Endless Tournaments
This… Is… Jeopardy!
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Jeopardy! is in the midst of a tense and chaotic Tournament of Champions, but one of the game show’s most iconic players is seemingly bored with all the recent tournaments.
Super-champ Jamez Holzhauer, who returned to the Alex Trebek Stage last year to win Jeopardy! Masters, took to social media on Thursday, March 7, to poke fun at the show’s recent tournament obsession.
Responding to a tweet that asked, “What’s a harsh truth that people don’t agree on?” Holzhauer quipped, “Jeopardy should have a First Chance Week sometime.”
The self-described game show supervillain was referencing the lack of new Jeopardy! contestants.
Since September, the trivia show has been in full-on tournament mode, with two editions of Second Chance, two instalments of Champions Wildcard, and now the Tournament of Champions. The inaugural Jeopardy! Invitational Tournament will follow the TOC.
Jeopardy should have a First Chance Week sometime https://t.co/i7vc7841Vx
— James Holzhauer (@James_Holzhauer) March 7, 2024
Many fans agreed with Holzhauer’s comments, with one person responding, “Right, has this year been like a really long tournament to nowhere?”
Another asked, “Will they ever go back to regular Jeopardy format? It’s getting tiresome.”
“I am so sick of the re-treads. What is going on there?! Is no one trying out for Jeopardy anymore?” wrote another.
“I am ready for regular Jeopardy!” added one commenter, while another wrote, “Anything to put an end to the Tournament of Tournaments.”
Another said, “I stopped watching after being an avid viewer for years with all this second chance BS.”
One fan even wondered if the show will have enough new contestants to fill out next year’s TOC. “I’m really unclear how there’s even going to be enough games this season in order to have a tournament of champions next season,” they wrote.
The reason for the influx of tournaments is last summer’s WGA strike. Rather than pause the show entirely, Jeopardy! chose to recycle old clues with former contestants. In addition, the TOC was delayed after many of the qualifiers refused to participate until the strikes were resolved. Regular episodes with new contestants are expected to be back in April.
After Holzhauer’s comment, the official Jeopardy! social media account fired back, responding, “Darn! wish we’d thought of that first.”
Darn! Wish we would have thought of this first https://t.co/rpYQcSjS1J pic.twitter.com/U2NDSR14sF
— Jeopardy! (@Jeopardy) March 7, 2024
Despite poking fun, Holzhauer, who won 32 games and a massive $2,462,216 in 2019, will be back for the second season of Jeopardy! Masters in May, which will air in primetime on ABC. Holzauer returns to defend his crown alongside Masters runners-up Mattea Roach and Matt Amodio. The rest of the bracket has yet to be announced.
What do you think? Are you tired of all the tournaments? Let us know in the comments below.
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