LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: The ‘Jeopardy! Masters' Tournament 2023 is in full swing with Amy Schneider, Matt Amodio, Mattea Roach, Sam Buttrey, James Holzhaeur, and Andrew He fighting for the big prize of $500,000. The three-week primetime tournament is set for a grand finale on May 24, 2023, and will be hosted by the familiar face of Ken Jennings. But the heat of the competition is at an all-time high and the contestants have begun to use their hands, leaving the words behind once and for all.
In the latest episode of 'Jeopardy! Masters', the second game of the night was between the show’s self-appointed villain, James Holzhaeur (who was present with a custom-made Tournament of Champions belt hanging on his shoulder), Andrew He, and Sam Buttery. Given James’ history in the show, it was only natural for the fans to expect him to take an early lead and dominate but instead, he was lacking and Andrew He took a jab at him which only blew up in his face.
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James hit him with the belt
Andrew was cruising through in the game and landed on an early Daily Double. He said, “I'll bet all of it plus James’ points.” Andrew bet his $2,000 and was teasing James for not making any money on the night until that point. With his joke, Andrew reminded James of a comment that he made about Brad Rutter having $0 during the 2020 GOAT tournament. James smiled and looked down but Ken Jennings piled on James’ misery.
“I think James’ score is still on there actually,” Ken laughed as well at Andrew’s joke. This was enough to blow the lid and James didn’t take it well. Up until that point, James was smiling and speechless but as soon as Ken added to Andrew’s joke and the crowd reacted to it, James went over to Andrew and pretended to hit him with his ‘Jeopardy!’ Tournament of Champions belt. Fans watching the show couldn’t help but document the iconic moment with their comments. “Not James with the belt LMAOOOOOO,” one fan said while the other was happy for a different reason. “Hooray for physical comedy,” and the third was surprised to see a crossover, as they said, “I never in a million years would have thought wrestling and Jeopardy would have a crossover event, but here we are. James makes an exceptional heel.”
The joke is on Andrew
By the end of the night, James won by going all in on the remaining Daily doubles. By the end of the game show, James finished at the top with another three match points, taking his total lead to 12 points and four wins in the tournament so far. Andrew He sits in second place behind James with 9 points and two wins. The next time Andrew decides to take a punch at James, he might as well remember that when James left the show back in 2019, he took with him a hefty sum of $2.4 million, making him the second-best earner in the game show’s history.