’Jeopardy!’ legend Ken Jennings adopts bold ‘all-in’ strategy to clinch second win on 'Greatest of All Time’

The bold “all-in” Daily Double strategy proved to be one on night three of “Jeopardy!: The Greatest of All Time.”

Ken Jennings won his second faceoff on Thursday’s episode of “Jeopardy!: The Greatest of All Time," putting him only one game away from being crowned the top player in the show’s nearly 56-year history. This puts him one match ahead of fellow “Jeopardy!” icon James Holzhauer and two matches ahead of Brad Rutter, and one win away from the $1 million grand prize and bragging rights as the best “Jeopardy!” contestant ever.

Holzhauer struggled in the third showdown, even losing it all on one of his bold “all in" Daily Double wagers for which he’s best known. But while his strategy wasn’t effective for him Thursday night, it did pay off for his opposition.

Jennings took a page from Holzhauer’s playbook, going all in on a Daily Double and wagering almost 10,000 points. That gave the 74-game champion a comfortable lead that he carried to victory.

Jennings, known for his epic 74-game winning streak, told ABC News backstage at the taping he was ready to turn the tables on Holzhauer.

“I’m not an aggressive ‘Jeopardy!' player by nature; I like to play comfortably and have fun out there,” Jennings said. “But I think there’s going to be some big bets.”

Read: Trebek: ‘Jeopardy!’ retirement isn’t imminent despite cancer

Rutter, who finished last in the first two matches, surged ahead Thursday in the second Double Jeopardy, but it wasn’t enough to best Jennings.

The “Jeopardy!” writers stumped all three trivia titans in Final Jeopardy, leading to jokes instead of answers.

The game continues Tuesday at 8 p.m. , but you can relive the first three matches this weekend on Channel 9.

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