Brad Rutter
Bradford "Brad" Rutter (born January 31, 1978) is best known as a contestant on the U.S. syndicated game show Jeopardy!. Rutter became an undefeated five-time champion on Jeopardy! in 2000 and subsequently won an unprecedented three Jeopardy! tournament titles: the 2001 Tournament of Champions, the Million Dollar Masters Tournament, and the Ultimate Tournament of Champions. Following his third tournament win, in which he defeated Ken Jennings and Jerome Vered in the finals, Rutter surpassed Jennings as the highest money-winner ever on American game shows. Jennings subsequently regained his record by appearing on various other game shows, culminating in an appearance on Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader? (first aired on October 10, 2008). Rutter retained the record for Jeopardy! winnings with either $3,255,102 or $3,270,102, and a pair of Chevrolet Camaros ($55,102 in five-day winnings, $100,000 and $1,000,000 and either $2,100,000 or $2,115,000 (see below) in his three tournaments respectively).
In twenty games, Rutter has never lost a match of Jeopardy!, having twice trailed at the end of the first game of a two-day match before coming back to win the match in the second game — against Rick Knutsen in the finals of the 2001 Tournament of Champions, and against John Cuthbertson in the semifinals of the Ultimate Tournament of Champions.
Winnings dispute
There is a discrepancy between sources as to Rutter's total Jeopardy! winnings stemming from the prize structure of the Ultimate Tournament of Champions. Different cash prize amounts were awarded to players for finishing first, second and third in each game, with different amounts for each round of the tournament. Those who won the first round earned $15,000; second round winners earned $20,000; third round winners earned $30,000; fourth round winners earned $50,000; and Rutter earned an additional $2,000,000 for winning the tournament. Rutter was among nine top winners who received a bye to the second round (Ken Jennings was the only player to receive a bye to the finals). It is disputed whether these "Nifty Nine" players received $15,000 for their first-round byes. Different sources cite Rutter's tournament winnings as $2,100,000 or $2,115,000, resulting in a winnings total of either $3,255,102 or $3,270,102, depending on whether the $15,000 is included.
Life outside Jeopardy!
Until 2007, Rutter lived in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, where he hosted InQuizitive, a locally broadcast quiz show for high school students. He has also been a reader and judge for the high school National Academic Championship.
Rutter is a 1995 graduate of Manheim Township High School in Neffsville, Pennsylvania, where he was on the Quiz Bowl team. He is one of the 18 people to have been named to the National Academic Championship Hall of Fame in its 25-year history. At the 2005 Manheim Township High School graduation ceremony, he announced the start of a scholarship fund in memory of his late high-school quiz bowl coach.
Rutter has described himself as a "slacker" in high school and a Johns Hopkins dropout (while there, he studied English and History). Before his success on Jeopardy!, he worked at the Lancaster Coconuts record store.
Other game show appearances
He appeared on the U.S. game show 1 vs. 100 (as a member of "the Mob") on December 1, 2006 and again on December 8, 2006. He answered every question correctly and was one of only seven mob members to survive to the next show, as was Annie Duke. He would eventually be eliminated on the December 15th episode, on a question about Jewish reggae musician Matisyahu. He again appeared on February 9, 2007 and was eliminated late into a winner-takes-$250,000 "last man standing" competition, but before Ken Jennings. Rutter was the top seed in Grand Slam, but lost in the second round to Ogi Ogas, a former Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? contestant.
See also
External links
- InQuizitive - About the Host
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