What James Holzhauer's return to 'Jeopardy!' means as Tournament of Champions begins

He’s baaaaack.

Starting this week, James Holzhauer will be among the returning Jeopardy! winners who will compete in their Tournament of Champions, which means the game show will be must-watch for fans of the Las Vegas professional gambler whose strategy and quirky bets packed with symbolism.

If you’re a die-hard for him? You probably already have your DVR set this week.

But if you’re not among the folks who are huge Holzhauer fans? We’re here to fill you in a bit so you know why there’s so much hype surrounding him.

Let’s look at Holzhauer and why there’s so much excitement.

Who is this guy?

James Holzhauer is a professional sports gambler who lives in Las Vegas with his family. During last run on Jeopardy! he basically showed how you can play the game right — by going for the big money clues first and then betting huge amounts on Daily Doubles. By the middle of many games, he was so far ahead that it didn’t matter by the time everyone reached Final Jeopardy, where he would still risk a ton of money.

But doesn’t that require getting the Daily Doubles right?

Yep. And he did that. A lot. He also had perfect games.

How much did he win?

During a 32-game win streak that ended when Chicago librarian Emma Boettcher defeated him, he won a total of $2,462,216. He had to pay a lot of that to taxes.

Was that more than that Ken Jennings guy won?

No. But he was close to passing Jennings, who won $2,520,700 … but in 74 straight contests. That tells you how impressive Holzhauer’s run was.

So what’s the deal with the Tournament of Champions?

He’ll compete in the 10-day tournament in which 15 former champions are split into threes, with the winner of each episode moving on to semi-final rounds (four players who didn’t win with the highest money totals will advance too).

When is Holzhauer playing?

He’ll compete on the Nov. 6 episode.

Will he play Boettcher again?

Not right away — she’s on the Nov. 7 episode. But they might clash again in the future.

Does all this mean that Holzhauer could beat Jennings in the all-time money won (including tournaments) list?

Nope. If he won, he’d end up with $250,000 for a total of $2,712,216. Jennings won $3,370,700 total, and both are behind Brad Rutter and his $4,688,436. But it would still be awesome to see Holzhauer go up against some of the game’s best players and win.