CT. Jeopardy! Contestant Predicts “Tourney of Champs” Winner

PROSPECT, CT – A Connecticut resident who appeared on Jeopardy! two years ago has a feeling she knows the winner of Jeopardy!’s “Greatest of All Time” contest that begins airing Tuesday night.

And Prospect’s Fran Fried also has a funny feeling that the much-anticipated prime time show could serve as longtime host Alex Trebek’s goodbye to television, as Trebek continues his fight against stage 4 pancreatic-cancer diagnosis.

The “Greatest” show will reunite the three best players to ever compete on the show — Ken Jennings, James Holzhauer and Brad Rutter — so they can duke it out quiz-bowl style to become the ultimate Jeopardy! champ.

This tournament, which has already been taped, won’t be airing in its normally scheduled pre-Wheel of Fortune slot on ABC. Instead, it’ll be taking up a full hour from 8 p.m.-9 p.m. ET.

Each tournament episode will consist of a set of two back-to-back games, hence the hour-long running time. The player with the most combined winnings from these two games wins the “match.” The play will then continue on each successive night until either Jennings, Holzhauer, or Rutter wins three matches — that means the tournament could end as quickly as three days or last as long as seven. So, we could potentially see the winner crowned on Thursday, January 9, or, if things really heat up, it could continue on into the subsequent week.

Fried, an editor, journalist and professional disc jockey, did well during her show appearance in 2017 - but unfortunately lost in Final Jeopardy.

As for tonight’s highly anticipated showdown, Fried said: “It’ll be really interesting to see how this shook out. Part of me is hoping Ken won, but that's more a matter of personality than anything (he has a subtly wicked sense of humor).”

“But I have a feeling James won the whole thing,” Fried added. “So much is won and lost on the speed on the buzzer, and during his run, James showed he was a master of speed and timing. Plus, being younger, you'd have to assume his reflexes are a bit faster.”

“However this shakes out, it's guaranteed to be great television,” Fried said.

The three contestants hold the top-three spots for Jeopardy!’s all-time winnings, with Rutter ($4,688,436), Jennings ($3,370,700), and Holzhauer ($2,712,216) in first, second, and third place, respectively.

It was during Holzhauer’s recent run that Jeopardy!’s ratings spiked as the young, professional gambler energized the show with his free-wheeling, “all-in” style.

That came several months after Trebek made his cancer diagnosis known and the outpouring of support he received since then from the show’s fans has captured the country’s attention.

Trebek talked about his cancer in a nationally televised interview with Michael Strahan last week.

His words in that interview has Fried wondering if Trebek’s nearly four decade run of host of the show is near.

“I wouldn't be surprised if this is Alex's swan song,” Fried said. “It's just the way he talked during the sitdown he did with Michael Strahan on the special he did last week. Strahan asked him what he planned to say when the time comes, and something about the way he answered made me think he's already said and done it. It would be a fitting ending: the GOAT of game show hosts, hosting a tournament of the GOATs from the GOAT of game shows.”

Photo courtesy of Jeopardy!