Odds On Jeopardy Tournament Of Champions
To no one’s surprise, professional sports bettor and trivia savant James Holzhauer won the 2019 Jeopardy! Tournament of Champions (“TOC”). Now Holzhauer will take on the two winningest Jeopardy! Contestants ever – Ken Jennings and Brad Rutter – in a “Greatest of All-Time” tournament, starting January 7 th, 2020. Oddsmakers at Bovada have established Holzhauer as a slight. Holzhauer set and broke more than a dozen records for the largest single-day winnings, won the 2019 Tournament of Champions and earned $2.7 million in winnings.
Jeopardy’s annual Tournament of Champions is shaping up to be one of the most highly anticipated events in the history of the gameshow. The reason for this excitement is the rematch between “Jeopardy James” Holzhauer taking on the woman who ended his historic run earlier this year in Emma Boettcher.
On Tuesday, November 12th, James Holzhauer won his semi-final match with a total of $30,156 to advance to the tournament finals where he will face Emma Boettcher who ended his 32 game winning streak.
During his historic run, Holzhauer won over $2.46 million dollars and tallied the 16 highest single game totals in the history of this great show.
He came up $56,000 short of setting the all-time record for most money earned during non-tournament episodes. That record is held by the great Ken Jennings who won 74 straight games in 2004. Jennings is considered “The Babe Ruth” of Jeopardy with his impressive totals.
Holzhauer brought a flare to his playing and a systematic method for choosing topics unlike anything we’ve seen before. He became an instant attraction, a pop culture star, and brought increased ratings to the show. Holzhauer is a noted sports bettor who created this style of play based on his sports betting practices.
“The Rematch”: Holzhauer vs Boettcher
Emma Boettcher, a librarian from Chicago, won her semi-final match on Monday, November 11th, with a total of $29,601. After the victory, Holzhauer took to social media to praise his opponent and shoot down any critics:
Subsequent games won by “giant killers” who beat a 10+ time #Jeopardy champ:
Emma: 4 and counting
8 others (combined): 0
— James Holzhauer (@James_Holzhauer) November 12, 2019
His praise for Boettcher didn’t end there either. Holzhauer would also go on to state that she’s better than any other opponent:
Odds On Jeopardy Tournament Of Championship
“The only difference between Emma and any other opponent is that she’s way better at ‘Jeopardy!’. I just wanted to play my best, and I knew it wouldn’t help my concentration to be preoccupied with thoughts of revenge.”
Holzhauer was able to overcome the thoughts of revenge, but one has to wonder how he will feel if he loses to Emma again.
Jeopardy Tournament of Champions Betting Odds
At the beginning of the Tournament of Champions, James Holzhauer was heavily favored to win it all. According to BetOnline, Holzhauer was listed at -500 to win. Now, that he’s in the semifinals, Holzhauer is a -200 betting favorite.
There is value in picking against Holzhauer as he’s listed at +150 not to win the tournament. Considering he’s going up against an opponent he respects and who has already beat him, I would say that there’s value with this betting option.
Get ready for James vs. Emma: Part II. pic.twitter.com/1NyiJvLDF8
Odds On Jeopardy Tournament Of Champions 2019
— Jeopardy! (@Jeopardy) November 13, 2019
Who Will Win Jeopardy’s Tournament of Champions?
While everyone is talking about the rematch between James Holzhauer and Emma Boettcher, there is a third member of this tournament finals match and that’s Francois Barcomb. The high school physics teacher from New Paltz, New York, won his semi-final match on November 13th and had the highest total of the three semifinals at $34,801.
The buzz is rightfully centered on Holzhauer and Boettcher, but Barcomb is a strong opponent and could be a serious threat to upstage them.
The Tournament of Champions finals is a two day event where the person with the highest total over those two days will win the tournament and $250,000. The runner-up will take home $100,000 and the third place finisher will earn $50,000.
Social media is clearly on Holzhauer’s side due to how captivating he was during his 33-game run. However, Boettcher outplayed and outsmarted Holzhauer in their first showdown. She consistently beat Holzhauer to the buzzer and forced him to play from behind.
I believe Boettcher has the skills to beat Holzhauer again and I think she will. Her quick reflexes and librarian book smarts will prevail over the flamboyant sports bettor and the darkhorse physics teacher this week.
Next Jeopardy Tournament Of Champions
As for the Jeopardy prop bet, take the “no” option at +150 odds as I don’t believe Jeopardy James will win.