‘Jeopardy!’ EP Michael Davies Reveals Who Replaced James Holzhauer in ‘Masters’ & The Significance of It
The reason why James Holzhauer didn’t participate in this year’s Jeopardy! Masters was explained, but have fans wondered who was brought in as his replacement? Jeopardy! executive producer Michael Davies explained who was brought in instead and why it was such a significant pick.
Davies talked about the replacement on the Jeopardy! website in the J-Buzz article. Holzhauer is the 2023 Jeopardy! Masters champion, and the third-place finisher in the 2024 competition, but opted not to compete in the 2025 tournament, despite being invited back by Davies and Sarah Whitcomb-Foss.
During a live Inside Jeopardy! Podcast episode in April, the EPs explained, “As always, our top three Masters are guaranteed an invitation to the next Masters.”
“But, that might leave you wondering, there is another Master — our third-place finisher James Holzhauer,” Whitcomb-Foss said. “As we mentioned, it is an invitational tournament. We absolutely did extend the invitation to James, and he decided for this year, he was not going to compete.”
“Absolutely his right,” Davies said. “It’s an invitational. We invite the people we want to invite. We extended it to nine people this year to build more equity. We completely respect James’ decision.”
In the recent article, Davies said that after Holzhauer turned down the invitation, he picked who should replace him.
“Graciously, he recommended that we reach out to the person who has won more money playing Jeopardy! than any human (or computer) alive: Ken’s rival of 20 years, Brad Rutter,” Davies wrote.
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“So, when you saw that lighthearted exchange between Brad and Ken in the opening introductions — “I know you’re delighted to see me, Ken” — think about how many games, years, and decades went into the formation of that moment. Even a supercomputer was involved.
“Always a delight, Brad,” Ken Jennings replied to him.
During the interview round, Rutter said that he has been staying sharp, even though fans can’t tell because he hasn’t been quick on the buzzer. “Any other goals for the tournament?” Jennings asked him. “I think I want to make fun of you some,” he replied. “Fair enough. That’s why I’m here,” Jennings said. “I’m always looking for opportunities,” Rutter responded. “I’m sure I will give you many. It’s great to see you again, Brad,” the host said.
Rutter ended in last place with zero points after his first game despite riffing on Jennings. Rutter and Jennings have a long-standing feud after Rutter beat the host in the 2005 Ultimate Tournament of Champions. They then competed together in 2014 in the Battle of the Decades, where Rutter also won.
In 2019, Brad returned once again for Jeopardy! All-Star Games, teaming up with Larissa Kelly and David Madden to beat Team Ken and Team Colby Burnett in the final. One year later, the rivals competed in Jeopardy!: The Greatest of All Time, against James Holzhauer. This time, Jennings finally beat Rutter. However, Rutter is still the Jeopardy! contestant with the highest won earnings of all time.
When Rutter returned for Masters, Jennings was host, and he said that this was the first time he saw him on the other side of the podium. Their harmless feud made for good TV, and Holzhauer seemed to know what he was doing when he suggested Rutter.
Jeopardy! Masters, Wednesdays, 9 pm, ABC, next day on Hulu
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