On Friday, July 23, long-running champion Ken Jennings of Salt Lake City finished the regular season of JEOPARDY! (and his 38th consecutive show) by setting a new one-day record. Jennings won a whopping $75,000, eclipsing the previous high mark set by Brian Weikle of Minneapolis, Minnesota, who earned $52,000 on April 14, 2003.
Friday’s win brings Jennings’ total earnings to $1,321,660 and makes him the highest cumulative winner in JEOPARDY! history. Brad Rutter of Lancaster, Pennsylvania previously held the title after winning the Million Dollar Masters Tournament and a total of $1,155,102.
By all accounts, Ken now holds every JEOPARDY! record for winnings… and he’ll be back to try for more. From July 26 – September 3, JEOPARDY! will present encore shows of some of the highlights from the past year, notably the College Championship from Yale University, the Teen Tournament and Power Players and Kids Week from Washington, D.C. Then, on Monday, September 6, Ken Jennings returns to defend his championship in his 39th appearance, kicking off the 21st season of JEOPARDY!