‘Jeopardy!’ Star Brad Rutter Reveals Ken Jennings & James Holzhauer Secret

Martin Holmes July 7, 2023, 7:37 am

Ken Jennings, James Holzhauer, Brad Rutter — Frazer Harrison/Getty Images

Jeopardy‘s all-time highest earner Brad Rutter has been opening up about his time on the show, as well as his thoughts on fellow super champs Ken Jennings and James Holzhauer.

Speaking to the New York Post, Rutter said that his relationship with Jennings and Holzhauer is like a “brotherhood” but also “very competitive.”

The three men competed on 2020’s Jeopardy! Greatest of All-Time Tournament, which saw Jennings walk away with the victory — the first time he’d defeated Rutter in all their years of competition. Holzhauer finished as runner-up.

“If the three of us are in the green room at the GOAT Tournament, we’re being cordial to each other. We’re chatting, but we’re really focused and really intense, and it’s not much pleasantries,” Rutter explained. “Any kind of conversation we’re having is just really to make ourselves less nervous.”

While Rutter didn’t win the GOAT tournament, he remains at the top of the leaderboard for all-time winnings, with an overall total of $4,938,436. Jennings comes in second with $4,370,700 all-time winnings, while Holzhauer places third with $3,462,216.

The Chase star offered some tips and advice for future contestants hoping to mimic the success of Jennings, Holzhauer, and himself. In an interview with YouTube reporter Tyler Boronski, Rutter revealed that there are certain categories contestants can prepare for ahead of time.

“There is a lot of stuff that comes up all the time… there are some things you can memorize and be pretty confident that at least one of them is going to come up in some way. And that is Presidents, World Capitals, and Shakespeare,” he stated.

The former champ suggested memorizing all the U.S. Presidents by number in order, every world capital, and all the Shakespeare play titles, along with major characters and plot points. “If you know all those, you’ll have a big advantage going in,” he said.

Rutter also touched on the buzzer technique, which he said is wholly unique to Jeopardy, as there is “nothing else quite like the Jeopardy! buzzer.” He admitted there is no real way to practice for it until you’re out there on TV playing the game.

“The returning champion has a big advantage every show just because they have played at least one full game with that buzzer, and the other two people haven’t,” he added.

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Rutter is currently one of the five “Chasers” on ABC’s The Chase, along with his former Jeopardy foe Holzhauer. Unlike Jeopardy, the atmosphere on set is much more relaxed, at least as far as Rutter is concerned.

“Backstage on The Chase, we’re just joking around and having fun and making fun of each other,” Rutter told the NY Post. “On The Chase, I get paid either way. I’m still answering trivia questions, but I just want to get into a good frame of mind and banter with host Sarah [Haines] and the contestants, as opposed to Jeopardy! which is so intense on every clue.”

Speaking of The Chase, on Thursday (July 6) night’s episode, former Jeopardy! Teen Tournament winner Sharath Narayan and his teammate managed to outsmart Rutter and win the $110,000 prize. Narayan won the Teen Tournament in 2016 in dramatic fashion, as he claimed victory by a mere $1 lead over the runner-up.