Alex Trebek Gives Scary Praise To 'Jeopardy!' Whiz James Holzhauer

If anyone is qualified to assess the dominance of “Jeopardy!” contestant James Holzhauer, it’s host Alex Trebek. He has had an intimate view of Holzhauer’s 19 straight victories and $1,426,330 in earnings.

And despite a close call earlier this week in which Holzhauer triumphed by a mere $18, Trebek still offered the kind of praise that should strike fear into future opponents.

“He has no weaknesses,” Trebek said on “Good Morning America” Wednesday.

The gold standard by which “Jeopardy!” players have been measured is Ken Jennings, who in 2004 won 74 straight games and more than $2.5 million in that span. But Holzhauer’s run has been a wakeup call.

“He has forced me to change a view that I have held for many years ... and that is that that the Ken Jennings record would never be broken,” Trebek told Robin Roberts on “GMA.”

Holzhauer’s high-risk style and encylcopedic knowledge have resulted in earnings tallied at a much faster rate than Jennings. But, Trebek emphasized, “winning 74 games in a row, that’s the tough part, that’s what America should be concentrating on.”

Holzhauer, a 34-year-old sports gambler from Las Vegas, could tie for second on the win streak list with a 20th triumph Wednesday night.

The taping for the season was completed in April.

Trebek, who has been diagnosed with stage 4 pancreatic cancer, has said he intends to return for the next season.