‘Jeopardy!’ star James Holzhauer shoots down one of so many conspiracy theories after loss
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:
Sure, I could stick around and play a game that pays me $150,000 per hour, but I'd really rather get toys thrown at my crotch for free https://t.co/xb6Fg6MMKP
Keep in mind, all of these are wrong, but fun:
Was #JeopardyJames cheating and Sony found out about it and forced him to take a fall? His wager made no sense. He didn’t say a word in the contestant interview. A scandal like that would have taken down the show. #JeopardyConspiracy
I'm not saying conspiracy theories are real or that I believe in them, and I'm also not saying that it was just a coincidence that the Final Jeopardy question in the game that ended James' streak was on Shakespeare – a subject on which the winner wrote her undergrad thesis. ??
Conspiracy Theory… James Holzhauer was presented with an offer her couldn't refuse to lose on #Jeopardy! He was bleeding Jeopardy dry. Plus Ken Jennings wasn't happy with him. #Jeopardy isn't what it seems to be. Now the question is who and how much!!!!!
Well I think the whole thing was fixed but I hope I'm wrong..I just thought with the Bad news about Alex Trebek they wanted to give the show some new attention again just me with my conspiracy theories. #Jeopardy#AlexTrebek
I'll add my own Jeopardy James conspiracy theory – he's about to get handsomely paid in some way, shape or form and had to bow out of Jeopardy now…
Jeopardy Conspiracy Theory: @James_Holzhauer ran out of fun facts about himself so he threw the game.
He lost on purpose. Somethings fishy. The intro with his daughter’s card was weird. His wager was weird. #JeopardyConspiracy
I believe the dude losing on jeopardy was staged. Ken Jennings knew he was getting close to his record so he paid off @ABCNetwork to guarantee he wouldn't win. This is now a conspiracy and I will no longer be watching jeopardy
James completely threw the game! The question is… was he paid off? Did he get homesick and just want to be done? Was he drunk? There’s a conspiracy here one way or another. His wager in that situation was perplexing… #Jeopardy
Conspiracy theory. Jeopardy guy lost on purpose and had someone bet on it for him!!!!!!!!!! pic.twitter.com/KGylh9jQd7
hot take conspiracy theory. james got bored winning jeopardy all the time and just took a dive
I’m not one for conspiracy but Jeopardy seemed to not want James to pass Ken. These were two of the toughest competitors we’ve seen, Alex basically forces the woman to correctly bet it all, and the FJ category was Shakespeare which James doesn’t do well on.
My conspiracy theory is I believe he was just a day or two away from potentially passing Ken Jennings on the career earnings list, so perhaps Jeopardy got (paid) him to fold before passing Ken?
Jeopardy guy definitely bet his all-time winnings on losing today and just doubled his money. This is a conspiracy and I won’t stop until I get to the bottom of it
I will be forever convinced Jeopardy James threw the game. Wagering just $1399 on the Final Jeopardy question? After he had $23,000+ banked and Emma was LEADING? I’m not convinced. Math says to wager it all. Put it near the top of the great conspiracy theories of our time!
I think he threw it and had some shady bet against himself for more than he would have won on Jeopardy. And no, I haven’t been drinking. Just a fan of conspiracy theories.
Let's start the conspiracy train!
Because there's no way to promote the result without giving it away, did #Jeopardy secretly leak the footage itself yesterday to jack up viewership for James' last game tonight?
You will never convince me that #Jeopardy didn’t force James Holzhauer to throw the game, oh, and apparently I’m a conspiracy theorist now.
Follow For The Win's Andy Nesbitt on Twitter @anezbitt.
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