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‘Found a way to win’: Fans can't keep calm as James Holzhauer beats Mattea Roach to win 'Jeopardy! Masters' crown and $500K in nail-biting finale

Self-proclaimed 'villain' James Holzhauer triumphed with a safe bet, winning a whopping grand prize of $500K and the title of Jeopardy! Masters' champion

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: ‘Jeopardy! Masters’ has finally announced the winner of the game show. In the game, James Holzhauer, the pro gamer, was tailing co-contestant Mattea Roach as they competed in the special’s crucial triple-stumper Final Jeopardy, but the self-proclaimed "villain" triumphed with a safe bet, winning the whopping grand prize of $500,000.

On Wednesday, May 24, 2023, during the ‘Jeopardy! Masters’ finale broadcast, Holzhauer was crowned the winner. The finale ended with a gripping culmination as he put all his cards on the table against Mattea Roach. The finalists were Mattea, James, and Matt Amodio who fought incredibly well, while James won by 2100 combined points. The duo competed for the title in a two-game total point affair as Mattea exhibited huge numbers against the intimidating James. The finale was hosted by Ken Jennings who gave away the masterful rights of a $500,000 grand prize and Trebek Trophy to James. Additionally, the host guaranteed a place to all three finalists in next year’s 'Masters' and James won an additional $100,000 for Project 150 which will go toward Las Vegas-area high school students with insecure housing.

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Intense battle comes to an end

‘Jeopardy! Masters’ kicked off with six contestants and three remained in the finals. In the second round, James got the Daily Double immediately as Ken teased, “I give up”, however, he didn’t get it after that, losing 1,000 points. After that, Mattea got shot and found Double Jeopardy!’s first Daily Double and was in the lead at 14,800 points. On the other hand, Matt earned the last Daily Double from James, but unfortunately, got it wrong. Regardless, he put Mattea in a tight spot.

The Final Jeopardy under “Latin literature” read, "A work by this 15th century English Writer quotes the phrase Rex Quandam Rexque Futurus,” To answer, Matt wrote: "Who: Will win?" while James got it wrong with "TH White" and ended up with 43,275 points total. Mattea got it wrong as well because they were looking for King Arthur and betted astutely. James won the play with 4,1685 points. Host Ken Jennings told James, "They tested you to the limit, but you are our first-ever Jeopardy Masters champion.” James was emotional and uttered softly to Mattea, "Your dad would be so proud of you" and hugged them before he got the Trebek Trophy. 

'James still found a way to win'

‘Jeopardy! Masters’ fans were all over James Holzhauer and Mattea Roach giving a nail-biter ending to the show. They took to social media as one Twitter user expressed, “I figured it would go to @James_Holzhauer cause he's, you know, James. But wow oh wow, did @mattearoach not give him a run for his money. Brilliant."

Another wrote, “When I saw the categories in final jeopardy, I knew James was in trouble - they stayed away from geography, pop music, movies, history, science. Clearly geared to help Matteo, but James still found a way to win.” Another fan added, “Well James won as most people predicted. Mattea was so close though, if she had just wagered nothing in that final jeopardy response she would’ve won it all.”

The finale of the gameshow was intense and emotional for all the previous contestants, host Ken Jennings, viewers, and definitely for Mattea and James. The mastermind and poker player became the first ever ‘Jeopardy! Masters’ and his fans shower love on social media. A Twitter user said, “Congratulations James Holzhauer! My favorite Jeopardy player!! Winning #JeopardyMasters."

Another added, “I knew @James_Holzhauer would win the 1st #JeopardyMasters but props to @mattearoach for building the suspense at the end.” One more fan asked, “How does James do it every game?!?”

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