This story comprises spoilers for Jeopardy! Masters Season 3, which is offered to stream in full with a Hulu subscription in case you’re not caught up.
Match season on Jeopardy! has formally come to an finish on the 2025 TV schedule, because the champion of Jeopardy! Masters was topped. Yogesh Raut bested final 12 months’s champ Victoria Groce and JIT runner-up Juveria Zaheer to say the Season 3 trophy (and $500,000), and regardless that Raut didn’t should compete towards James Holzhauer this time round, the previous champ was nonetheless on Raut’s thoughts, as he recalled the recommendation — and fairly nice praise — Holzhauer beforehand gave him.
Via three seasons, Jeopardy! Masters has topped three completely different winners, who simply occur to be the three finalists from Season 2 — James Holzhauer, Victoria Groce and Yogesh Raut. Because the conclusion of the most recent season, Raut has been utilizing Fb to present in-depth commentary about his expertise, and he recalled how certainly one of his favourite reminiscences from final season got here full circle this 12 months:
One in all my favourite moments from final 12 months’s event occurred when James was requested to pose at his podium whereas pointing at his (third-place) whole and replied, ‘No.’ Standing close by, I stated, ‘Wait, you are allowed to do this?’ and the pictures staff burst into laughter. (Just a few moments later, after they considerably sheepishly requested me for a similar pose, I used to be superb with it.)
That’s type of precisely the response I’d anticipate from the Jeopardy! villain and Ken Jennings foe. Yogesh Raut continued:
It was then that James gave me a key piece of recommendation I have never actually adopted via on — ‘You want to get comfy with throwing your weight round; you are one of many stars of the present now’ — earlier than including, with real modesty, ‘That is the one be aware I’ve in your sport.’
Wow, that’s an extremely beneficiant sentiment for James Holzhauer to relay to the 2024 Match of Champions winner, particularly contemplating Holzhauer as soon as tried to get Yogesh Raut banned from Jeopardy! for all times.
Raut could say he hasn’t totally taken Holzhauer’s recommendation on throwing his weight round, however he did invoke the champion when it got here time to take images after this season’s Masters wrapped, as he stated:
Anyway, this time round I dutifully jumped via all of the posing hoops they requested of me … till they requested that I kiss the trophy. I requested for my ‘James Holzhauer exception’ they usually knew instantly what I meant.
James Hozhauer selected to take a seat out this event season, which is allegedly how Brad Rutter got here to be on Jeopardy! Masters. However the Las Vegas sports activities gambler — certainly one of Jeopardy!’s greatest winners ever — has made his mark on the sport, and Yogesh Raut recalled one other second when his title got here up. Referencing the sickest burn within the quiz present’s historical past from the 2020 Biggest of All Time Match, Raut wrote of the Jeopardy! Masters’ two-game last:
When the Sport 1 scores have been wiped, I instantly realized that this was my probability to place a self-deprecating spin on the James Holzhauer line by saying, ‘Hey, my rating’s nonetheless up there!’ Within the second, although, it occurred to me that any such remark is likely to be misinterpreted as a dig at Juveria [whose score after Game 1 was also 0], so I stored silent.
I like that Yogesh Raut was thoughtful of Juveria Zaheer’s emotions in that second, and given how shut the 2 appeared to develop into, I can see why he wouldn’t need his joke to be twisted by Jeopardy! followers right into a slight at his buddy. Nonetheless, he continued:
A second after the second, I noticed that *Juveria* wouldn’t misread my remark. If you happen to look intently, you’ll be able to see me flip to her and begin to say one thing on the prime of the sport; what I used to be saying was, ‘Hey, my rating’s nonetheless up there!’
I did return to the second he was speaking about, and certain sufficient, as Ken Jennings prepares to announce the Sport 2 “Jeopardy!” classes, Yogesh Raut says one thing to Juveria Zaheer, factors to what was possible the scoreboard, after which laughs.
We could not have been in a position to hear the joke, however I’m glad that second was inadvertently captured anyway.
Solely time will inform if we’ll see James Holzhauer return to the Alex Trebek Stage. Yogesh Raut (together with Victoria Groce and Juveria Zaheer) will obtain an computerized invitation to Masters Season 4, and I’d like to see these Jeopardy! giants go head-to-head once more.