‘Jeopardy!’: James Denison’s Opponent Calls Champ ‘Buzzer Beast’ Amid ‘Uphill Battle’ Game
New Jeopardy! champion James Denison’s opponent, Jonathan Rosales, has spoken out after their amazing game which aired on Monday when Denison almost topped James Holzhauer‘s jaw-dropping two-day record.
Denison, from Alexandria, Virginia, played against Rosales, from Glendale, California, and Katie Hoppenjans, from Atlanta, Georgia, on Monday, March 9. He won the game after a dominant Double Jeopardy game.
Denison obtained a total of $45,599, making his two-day total $81,798. He was only $808 away from tying Holzhauer’s total at $82,606.
Despite losing, Rosales had nothing but positive things to say about his opponent. “Big congrats to James, an absolute beast on the buzzer, and an all-around great guy!” he said on Reddit. “And a pleasure to play against Katie and to meet all of the other amazing contestants coming up this week.”
“I was lucky enough to be the alternate for last week’s batch of episodes, so I knew it would be an uphill battle against James, but I accomplished my two main goals of making it to FJ and not completely embarrassing myself.”
Denison replied to Rosales, saying, “You’re the man, Jon! I’m glad we got to play, but I’m even more glad we got to meet! Hope you are enjoying that cruise, my friend.” Rosales revealed on the episode that he and his husband would be on a cruise when his episode of Jeopardy! aired. They wanted to have a watch party, but with the reception on the cruise, the two of them just had to watch the game show on his laptop.
“Likewise, champ! Looking forward to watching your third game (again) tomorrow. The cruise is great so far!” Rosales replied on Monday.
One fan said that Denison was a “monster on the buzzer.” “James is a monster! I mean this in the most complimentary way. Katie and Jonathan played well, but James ran away with the game,” a Reddit user said.
Rosales agreed, writing, “An absolute monster on that buzzer! You’re in for a good game tomorrow!” he replied.
Denison is set to face off against two new opponents on Tuesday — Tim Swankey and Sapana Vora. If the game is anything like Rosales promised, it is sure to be an interesting one.
Maybe the champion will be up to Roger Craig‘s two-day total— $114,000 ($77,000 in game two alone)— in his third game. Will he go on to be a Jeopardy! great?
Jeopardy!, weekdays, check local listings, stream next day on Hulu and Peacock
This… Is… Jeopardy!
Get absolutely everything about Jeopardy! in your inbox!
Watchlist Easy access to only the shows you care about — all in one simple place
Alerts Only important notifications — when a show is returning, when it becomes available to stream, and more.
Special Offers Exclusive products we release related to your favorite shows and streaming services