5 important things we learned from the opening night of ‘Jeopardy! The Greatest of All Time’

So far, it has lived up to the hype.

It’s rare that something lives up to the hype in an era when everything gets hyped up.

But Jeopardy! The Greatest of All Time — the multi-night special primetime tournament that pits James Holzhauer, Ken Jennings and Brad Rutter against each other in the legendary game show — absolutely lives up to the hype.

To watch these three duke it out in an hour’s worth of Jeopardy goodness is like watching the trivia version of Cavaliers-Warriors — you marvel at what this trio digs out from their fact-filled brains over and over, and it’s just downright fun.

We also learned some important things from the first night. Here’s a breakdown:

1. We shouldn’t have underestimated Jennings

Just read what my colleague Andy Nesbitt had to say about that. Holzhauer has absolutely met his match.

2. Rutter has some work to do

Let’s all remember that Rutter is a legend in his own right, having won a bunch of the big-money tournaments Jeopardy has held over the years. But on Tuesday, he struggled on occasion after buzzing in, and after hunting down some Daily Doubles, he missed them after going all in to keep up with his opponents. That said, there’s plenty of time to catch up.

3. Everyone has adapted to use Holzhauer’s strategy

The Holzhauer is basically hunting for Daily Doubles in pricier clues and betting a lot on them. We saw Rutter and Jennings grab them on Day 1, playing keep-away from Holzhauer. If they have any shot at beating him, that’s the way to do it.

4. The clues were harder

There were triple rhymes! Before, during and after! Czars! A lot of scientist names! Also, I don’t know about these guys, but I would be super distracted by all the celebrity guest stars who appeared.

5. Even GOATs miss clues

If we’re stretching the comparison I made above, sometimes Steph Curry has a bad shooting night. And these dudes, who are legends, missed a few here and there. It happens!

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