Jeopardy! King Ken Jennings Loses His Title to Brad Rutter
In the biggest tournament ever of Jeopardy! champions, the game’s most popular star player came in second for the first time.
Ken Jennings became a beloved public figure last fall, when the country watched eagerly every evening as he continued to pile up dough, eventually becoming the biggest TV game show winner in history with the longest run of wins. His total winnings of $2,520,700 couldn’t help but raise the question in many people’s minds: “How would he do playing against other Jeopardy! champions?” This curiosity set the course for the Ultimate Tournament of Champions that has taken place over the last few weeks. Hailed by Trebek as the “Quest for Ken,” the tournament kicked off in February and brought together nearly 150 past Jeopardy! champions from all around the globe, all jockeying for a spot at taking on the legendary Jeopardy! braniac, Ken Jennings.
For 15 weeks millions of people watched the tournament, including the players awaiting their turns, as the field was narrowed down to just two players to meet head-to-head with Jennings. The three-day final showdown finally arrived, with Jennings facing Brad Rutter, a 27-year old former record store clerk who now hosts InQuizitive, a local Pennsylvania TV quiz show. The two were competing against Jerome Vered, a Los Angeles-based writer. All three seemed intent on winning, but Rutter’s finger was faster on the trigger and his mind seemed more focused, because he was the winner of all three days of the tournament. And he’d had a lot of practice with that trigger, since his first win on Jeopardy! was in 2002, when he won $55,102 in a five-day run. That year he competed in the annual Tournament of Champions, where he walked away with an additional $100,000. Going on to compete in the Million Dollar Masters Tournament later that year, he became the show’s first millionaire winner. And then came Ken Jennings, whose months-long winning streak first made him the highest-earning winner playing in the regular game, and then the highest-earning winner in any game show ever.
In the largest single-day payoff in TV game show history, Rutter walked away with $2 million, Jennings won $500,000 in second place, and Vered earned $250,000. The win brought Rutter’s total Jeopardy! earnings to $3,255,102. “It’s an honor and a privilege to have won Jeopardy! ‘s Ultimate Tournament of Champions ,” said Rutter. “Meeting and playing against the biggest legends in Jeopardy! history has been more of a thrill than I can describe. I just hope I can be a good representative of Jeopardy! champions, past and present.” As for Ken Jennings, he had nothing but compliments for the heir to his throne. “I watched this tournament unfold, and I thought all the contestants would have been worthy opponents,” said Jennings. “Brad just played a really great game. He really wanted it.” Ever the good sport, Jennings knew he had been beaten before the final answer was even read, and he wrote “Go Brad” at the bottom of his response to the Final Jeopardy question. With their genuine smiles and humble attitudes, the two highest money earners in TV game show history also won the respect and admiration of the millions of viewers who cheered them on.
