James Holzhauer Reacts to His Stunning ‘Jeopardy’ Loss: “My Goose Was Cooked”

James Holzhauer was just $50,000 shy of making Jeopardy history when he lost it all. On Monday night, the Las Vegas native finally fell to Chicago librarian Emma Boettcher after amassing just shy of $2,500,000 during his historic 32-game win streak. Viewers were stunned when Holzhauer bet only $1,399 on Monday night’s Final Jeopardy question, prompting many to think that the professional sports gambler threw the game. In an interview yesterday with The Atlantic, Holzhauer disputed that train of thought. “By the time Final Jeopardy rolled around I knew my goose was cooked if Emma answered correctly,” he said.

But first, let’s back up. How exactly did all this go down?

Why Did James Holzhauer Leave Jeopardy?

Great trivia skills and some good luck combined to take down James Holzhauer. On Monday night’s episode, Boettcher landed both Daily Doubles, giving her a leg up heading into Final Jeopardy. For the first time in his 32-game streak, Holzhauer trailed going into final Jeopardy (he had $23,400 to Boettcher’s $26,600), and despite answering correctly — “The line ‘a great reckoning in a little room’ in As You Like It is usually taken to refer to this author’s premature death,” with the answer being Christopher (Kit) Marlowe — he couldn’t recover.

It didn’t help that Holzhauer wagered only $1,399, well below his usual sky-high bets, while Boettcher wagered $20,000. They both answered correctly, but thanks to his low wager, he came out with only $24,799 and ended up falling to Boettcher’s $46,801.

“Oh, gosh. What a payday!” exclaimed Trebek after Holzhauer’s win streak came to an end. “What a game! Oh my gosh!”

Did James Holzhauer Throw Jeopardy? Did James Lose Jeopardy on Purpose?

Many Jeopardy fans were surprised that Holzhauer would wager such a low amount in such a tight game — in fact, the strategy seems directly opposed to his usual “bet it all” M.O. The move caused many fans to question whether James Holzhauer threw Jeopardy or whether he lost on purpose. According to Holzhauer himself, that is not the case.

“By the time Final Jeopardy rolled around I knew my goose was cooked if Emma answered correctly,” he told The Atlantic‘s Joe Pinsker via email on Monday. “It’s a little like needing a team to miss a last-second field goal—nothing you can really do but watch. I made peace with my fate before the clue for Final was even revealed.” He added that he’s “very proud” of how he’s played, and noted that he achieved his two specific goals: “Win $110,914 on an episode to honor my daughter’s birthday, and play my absolute best every game.”

Is James Holzhauer’s Final Jeopardy Game Available to Stream?

Yes! Shortly after Monday night’s game aired, Jeopardy made the entire episode available to stream for free on YouTube. But make sure to watch i the next few days: the 20-minute episode will only be available to stream until this Friday, June 7.

You can watch James Holzhauer’s last Jeopardy episode here.

Watch James Holzhauer's final Jeopardy episode on YouTube