Ken Jennings may host 'Jeopardy!', but he'd be 'terrified' to compete again. Here's why

You're never going to see Ken Jennings as a contestant on "Jeopardy!" again because of one reason.

His name is James Holzhauer.

The "Jeopardy!" host and legendary former player wants no part of "Jeopardy James" again even after defeating him in 2020 in the show's "Greatest of All Time" tournament.

Jennings, 49, spoke to The Deseret News about why he will not be answering in the form of a question with a buzzer in his hand again.

“Let me be very clear and on the record here: It’s because I’m terrified of playing James because I think he would win,” he said. “I’m very happy to be retired from ‘Jeopardy!’ because I think I got away with one in the GOAT tournament."

Holzhauer, 38, is known for attacking the most lucrative answers first and going "all in" by betting all of his money on "Daily Double" clues in a bid to double his score. He frequently rendered "Final Jeopardy" obsolete because he was so far ahead of his competitors.

He often jokingly taunted Jennings with his "Final Jeopardy" answers on his way to winning the recent "Jeopardy!" Masters tournament because he already had the win sealed up.

"Stop ducking a rematch, Ken," he wrote in one of them.

Jennings has the "Jeopardy!" record with 74 straight wins, but Holzhauer has the single-game record of $131,127 and remains the only player to win more than $100,000 in a single game.

"And I think there’s a very good chance that he would just wipe the floor with me if we had to play again," Jennings said. "So I feel very lucky to be retired — ain’t gonna be no rematch.”

Jennings got the best of Holzhauer and Brad Rutter, another “Jeopardy!” great with more than $5 million in career earnings, in the 2020 competition.

Jennings and Mayim Bialik were named the co-hosts of "Jeopardy!" last year after initially filling in when former executive producer Mike Richards stepped down as the late Alex Trebek’s replacement.

“I was 100 percent confident I would not get a shot at the job — because that would be insane,” Jennings told The Deseret News. “If I were hiring for that job, I would go with a sturdy broadcaster with decades of experience, not just somebody who happened to be good at the show many years ago. But luckily they took a chance on me."

“I do have my dream job, and I kind of have to pinch myself every day,” he continued. “I do not take it for granted.”

This article was originally published on TODAY.com