“Jeopardy!” contestant Emma Boettcher, dubbed “the giant killer” by host Alex Trebek after she ended James Holzhauer’s 32-game winning streak, bowed out Thursday in her third title defense.
Boettcher finished third behind winner Brendan Roach ($38,200) and second-place finisher Salome Gonstad in a battle that came down to Final Jeopardy.
“I knew I wasn’t going to go on a long streak,” Boettcher said, per The New York Times. “If the categories worked out in my favor, then I could probably get through a couple more games. And that was a big if.”
The 27-year-old University of Chicago librarian will always have her shocking victory over Holzhauer. Holzhauer, a Las Vegas sports gambler, seemed poised to surpass Ken Jennings’ $2.52 million non-tournament earnings record on the show that aired Monday.
Then he ran into Boettcher. She sent him packing with a total of $2.46 million.
On Thursday, Boettcher trailed by just $200 heading into Final Jeopardy. She answered Arlo Guthrie to a clue about “American Music Legends,” but the correct response was the folk singer’s father, Woody Guthrie.
“Being on ‘Jeopardy!’ had to end sometime, and I’m not unhappy with the way it did,” Boettcher said, according to the Times. “It was just marvelous to be there.”
She won $97,002 for her three victories.
Here’s Boettcher discussing her run: