‘Jeopardy!’ champ Brad Rutter on Ken Jennings: ‘Not much pleasantries’

nypost.com:

highest-earning all-time “Jeopardy!” contestant, pulled back the curtain on his relationship with fellow champions Ken Jennings and James Holzhauer. “It’s both a brotherhood and it’s very competitive,” Rutter, 45, told The Post on Monday.“If the three of us are in the green room at the ‘GOAT [‘Greatest of All Time’] Tournament,’ we’re being cordial to each other.

We’re chatting, but we’re really focused and really intense, and it’s not much pleasantries.“Any kind of conversation we’re having is just really to make ourselves less nervous,” he admitted.Jennings, 49, won the GOAT tournament in January 2020,However, including tournaments, Rutter still holds the title for the all-time “Jeopardy!” winnings with a grand total of $4,938,436 from the show.

Jennings ranks second in that category with $4,370,700 all-time winnings, as Holzhauer, 38, rounds out the Top 3 with $3,462,216.

All three men also put their trivia superpowers to the test on ABC’s trivia game show “The Chase” — where Rutter claims the behind-the-scenes vibes are less tense. “Backstage on ‘The Chase,’ we’re just joking around and having fun and making fun of each other.”“On ‘The Chase,’ I get paid either way,” he reasoned. “I’m still answering trivia questions but I just want to get into a good frame of mind and banter with host Sarah [Haines]and the contestants, as opposed to ‘Jeopardy!’ which is so intense on every clue.”The Post has contacted representatives for Jennings and Holzhauer for comment.