'Jeopardy! The Greatest of All Time:' Who won game 1?

ByAlex Meier KABC logo
Wednesday, January 8, 2020
'Jeopardy! The Greatest of All Time:' Who won game 1?
Despite the high stakes of the first match, all three contestants came together to wear purple ribbons to support longtime host Alex Trebek and his fight against pancreatic cancer.

Alex, who is the greatest 'Jeopardy!' contestant of all time?

Warning: 'Jeopardy!' spoilers ahead!

So far, game show legend Ken Jennings is taking the lead in The "Jeopardy! The Greatest of All Time" tournament.

Jennings, who became a household name during his record 74-game winning streak, is facing off against "Jeopardy James" Holzhauer and Brad Rutter in the epic multi-night, primetime event.

While Jennings can claim the longest winning streak in "Jeopardy!" history, Holzhauer holds the record for all 15 of the top single-day winnings records, and Rutter is the highest money winner of all time across any television game show.

Despite the high stakes of the first match, all three contestants came together to wear purple ribbons to honor and support longtime host Alex Trebek and his fight against pancreatic cancer.

The trio started Tuesday's game by proving their worth right off the bat, answering every clue correctly.

Yet it was Jennings who dominated, at times using Holzhauer's "all-in" strategy. It didn't work for Rutter though and backfired for him three times.

RELATED: Is game theory the secret to winning 'Jeopardy!'?

"Jeopardy!" is serious business, but that doesn't mean the contestants didn't poke a little fun at each other along the way!

"Jeopardy James," who was quick with the buzzer all night, taunted Pennsylvania-native Rutter with a mocking laugh for missing a question about Philadelphia.

"No need to rub it in," Rutter responded.

But even after two flawless "Final Jeopardy!" rounds, Holzhauer couldn't catch up to the indomitable Jennings. Jennings bet perfectly and edged Holzhauer by just $200 to win the first match of the tournament.

In order to earn the "G.O.A.T." title and win the $1 million prize, Jennings will need to win two more matches. Both runners-up will receive $250,000.

"Jeopardy! The Greatest of All Time" continues Wednesday at 8 p.m. ET/PT | 7 p.m. CT on ABC.