‘Jeopardy!’ leaker who spoiled James Holzhauer episode is in big trouble

‘Jeopardy!’ leaker who spoiled James Holzhauer episode is in big trouble

06/05/2019

The answer: Polishing their résumé.

The question: How will a member of the “Jeopardy!” production team soon be spending their time?

“Jeopardy!” executive producer Harry Friedman said Tuesday that he thinks he knows who’s responsible for leaking the ending of James Holzhauer’s final episode, and that “very, very, very appropriate” action will be taken.

“We think we know where and who and how,” Friedman told the Washington Post, as he recounted the moment he learned on Sunday that a clip showing Holzhauer’s defeat in Monday’s episode was going viral.

“Somebody alerted us that they had seen it on YouTube,” Friedman told the paper. “By the time we saw it, it already had 2,000 views.”

The minute-long clip showing Holzhauer come up short in Final Jeopardy against Chicago librarian Emma Boettcher — putting an end to the 34-year-old professional gambler’s 32-game winning streak — quickly jumped to other social media sites, proliferating despite production’s efforts to tamp it down with copyright-strikes.

“I feel bad for the viewers. It’s not fair,” Friedman said of the spoiler. “I’m not sure what’s gained by doing something like that, other than some malicious intent.

“It doesn’t really benefit anybody.”

Friedman declined to identify his prime suspect, but said the perpetrator will be dealt with.

Even though the surprise moment of Holzhauer’s loss was ruined for fans, Friedman said he looks back fondly on the Las Vegas resident’s freewheeling, riverboat gambler style of play.

“I think it reinforces that excellence really has no limit, and that there are different ways to play the game,” said Friedman. “But your strategy is only as good as your ability to come up with the correct response once you hit that signaling button.”

Holzhauer had that ability in spades: Across his 33 games, he amassed $2,464,216, coming up just short of Ken Jennings’ all-time record for non-tournament play of $2,520,700 despite playing in less than half as many games.

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