Warning: There may be spoilers in the post below at any point after 8:00 PM Eastern.
Tonight’s the night for Match #3 of the Jeopardy! Greatest of All Time! Here’s tonight’s game recap (for Thursday, January 9, 2020):
Today’s contestants:
Brad Rutter, currently on 0 wins
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Ken Jennings, currently on 1 win
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James Holzhauer, currently on 1 win
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This is currently a placeholder post which will be updated with Final Jeopardy! information and a game recap once it is known.
Preview: James and Ken have both run very evenly through two matches so far; both of them are very close on the buzzer and have split the first two games. Brad will have had a chance to regroup before this third match; it felt as though his confidence is shot after two games, but a good match tonight and a win will mean he’s back on level pegging after a disaster of a start. James is still slightly stronger than Ken in Final Jeopardy, which is one reason why the prediction model still shows James as a favourite to take this.
Are you going on the show and looking for information about how to bet in Final Jeopardy? Check out my new Betting Strategy 101 page!
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Part 1, Final Jeopardy! category: U.S. POLITICAL HISTORY
Part 1, Final Jeopardy! clue: These 2 now-defunct parties each gave the U.S. 4 presidents in the 19th century
Part 1, Final Jeopardy! correct response: What is Democratic-Republican & Whig?
Part 2, Final Jeopardy! category: 21st CENTURY OSCAR WINNERS
Part 2, Final Jeopardy! clue: These 2 foreign-born directors have each won 2 Best Director Oscars, but none of their films has won Best Picture
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Part 2, Final Jeopardy! correct response: Who are Alfonso Cuarón and Ang Lee?
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Game 1 results:
Brad 8,800 + 8,800 = 17,600
James 13,600 + 13,600 = 27,200
Ken 25,600 + 25,600 = 51,200
Game 2 results:
James 7,400 – 908 = 6,492 + 27,200 = 33,692 (Who is the GHOST? (Greatest Host of Syndicated TV) Pat Saj Alex Trebek)
Brad 10,000 – 4,133 = 5,867 + 17,600 = 23,467 (Ken es el Hombre Eagles Super Bowl LII Champs)
Ken 17,600 – 1,200 = 16,400 + 51,200 = 67,600 (Winner) (Who are Lee and Gonzalez-Inarritu)
Daily Double locations:
1) THE ALPS 1000 (7th pick)
James 1400 +1400 (Ken 3000 Brad 0)
2) WORD ORIGINS 1600 (1st pick)
Brad 3400 -3400 (James 7600 Ken 6000)
3) GOVERNMENT IN CRISIS 1600 (6th pick)
Ken 9200 +9200 (James 9600 Brad 1600)
4) GEMSTONES! MEET THE GEMSTONES! 600 (7th pick)
James 5000 -5000 (Ken 0 Brad 0)
5) THE DAM BILL 2000 (12th pick)
Brad 1000 +2000 (Ken 12400 James 5400)
6) MUSIC & LEGEND 1600 (14th pick)
Brad 3000 +3000 (Ken 12400 James 5400)
Overall Daily Double Efficiency for this match: 200
Unplayed clues:
Game 1, J! round: None!
Game 1, DJ! round: None!
Game 2, J! round: None!
Game 2, DJ! round: None!
Total Points Left On Board: 0
Game Stats:
Ken 35,600 Coryat, 43 correct, 3 incorrect, 36.84% in first on buzzer, 3/3 on rebound attempts (on 6 rebound opportunities)
James 25,600 Coryat, 46 correct, 7 incorrect, 42.11% in first on buzzer, 2/3 on rebound attempts (on 4 rebound opportunities)
Brad 20,800 Coryat, 21 correct, 2 incorrect, 15.79% in first on buzzer, 2/2 on rebound attempts (on 8 rebound opportunities)
Combined Coryat Score: 82,000
Lach Trash: 11,000(on 8 Triple Stumpers)
Coryat lost to incorrect responses (less double-correct responses): 15,000
Cumulative Tournament Stats:
Ken 108,600 Coryat, 135 correct, 10 incorrect, 38.01% in first on buzzer, 9/11 on rebound attempts (on 18 rebound opportunities)
James 93,600 Coryat, 134 correct, 13 incorrect, 40.06% in first on buzzer, 5/6 on rebound attempts (on 15 rebound opportunities)
Brad 53,200 Coryat, 67 correct, 12 incorrect, 18.71% in first on buzzer, 6/6 on rebound attempts (on 19 rebound opportunities)
Combined Coryat Score: 255,400
Lach Trash: 24,800(on 17 Triple Stumpers)
Coryat lost to incorrect responses (less double-correct responses): 43,800
James Holzhauer, stats to date:
1,447 correct, 59 incorrect
43/47 on rebound attempts (on 91 rebound opportunities)
54.54% in first on buzzer (1327/2433)
82/89 on Daily Doubles (Net Earned: $696,388)
40/43 in Final Jeopardy
Average Coryat: $27,991
James Holzhauer, to win (per the prediction model):
Wins in 3: 0.000% of the time.
Wins in 4: 0.000% of the time.
Wins in 5: 23.143% of the time.
Wins in 6: 10.281% of the time.
Wins in 7: 3.434% of the time.
Overall: 36.858% of the time.
Ken Jennings, stats to date:
3,072 correct, 306 incorrect
116/144 on rebound attempts
57.62% in first on buzzer (2968/5151)
147/177 on Daily Doubles (Net Earned: $482,999)
58/89 in Final Jeopardy
Average Coryat: $26,022
Ken Jennings, to win (per the prediction model):
Wins in 3: 0.000% of the time.
Wins in 4: 29.584% of the time.
Wins in 5: 20.892% of the time.
Wins in 6: 7.819% of the time.
Wins in 7: 2.100% of the time.
Overall: 60.395% of the time.
Brad Rutter, stats to date:
763 correct, 90 incorrect
44/47 on rebound attempts
38.34% in first on buzzer (720/1878)
46/57 on Daily Doubles (Net Earned: $61,100)
18/30 in Final Jeopardy
Average Coryat: $17,661
Brad Rutter, to win (per the prediction model):
Wins in 3: 0.000% of the time.
Wins in 4: 0.000% of the time.
Wins in 5: 0.000% of the time.
Wins in 6: 1.132% of the time.
Wins in 7: 1.615% of the time.
Overall: 2.747% of the time.
Andy’s Thoughts:
- Brad found a Daily Double on the first clue of Double Jeopardy in 4 games. He missed all four.
- Ken absolutely put himself in this tournament’s driver’s seat by both his True Daily Double and True Final Jeopardy. He has absolutely come to play this week.
- Kudos to all three players for their levity in the last Final Jeopardy with everything all decided.
- This is also the Ken Jennings that a lot of people were expecting to see in the Ultimate Tournament of Champions final in 2005.
- All 18 Daily Doubles have had the maximum amount bet on them this tournament.
- Game 4 is scheduled for Tuesday, January 14, 8:00 PM Eastern (7:00 PM Central).
Contestant photo credit: abc.com
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After seeing all the ‘mindless’ crap that is aired 24/7 I wonder what is going to happen after this GOAT runs its course. Obviously, Alex is at the end of the line. I believe he is running on empty to get this much anticipated GOAT finished so he can relax and deal with his plight. He still has that sharp sense of humor and the three guys really look like they are enjoying themselves. Take care Alex. You ran the show like the ‘pro’ you are. ‘D’
I agree, he does seem to be running on empty but without a mistake when reading the answer. He seems quick minded still and in good spirits. I think this would be a good time to pass the torch, give the show to the winner of this GOAT contest and to spend his time with his loved ones. Also, he has a bit of makeup on in these tapings. I wonder where he was at in his treatments during these tapings.
May God bless Alex. I appreciate him hosting Jeopardy all these years, especially lately, bringing intelligence to a society plagued by mindless TV.
At the risk of sounding fetishish, I would be suprised on bit if Brad wins tonight. They want the series to last.
I’ve heard that a lot, but that implies Jeopardy is rigged, and I don’t believe that. Brad NOT winning tonight proved those people wrong. They should step and eat their crow
I will step in and eat my crow. I picked Brad and I was completely wrong. Not only is he slowest on Buzzer; he’s missed a handful of responses that I think both others would have gotten. On the comet final, for example, he picked Hale-Bopp instead of Shoemaker-Levy–thus ending up with “Hale” as his response. I think pretty much any Jeopardy contestant would have narrowed the choice to Shoemaker or Levy…
Anyway, I was wrong. This series won’t hurt James much if Ken goes on to win. But it is going to reduce Brad to a distant third among these three…
not suprised if Brad wins tonight.
Here’s to Alex the GOAT game show host.
No—the GHOST. (You’ll understand once you’ve seen tonight’s match.)
Being from Florida, it was a little fustrating watching James miss the Florida State Daily Double. Congrats to Ken for a 2nd win!
More of a gemstone DD. And garnets are not necessarily red. I thought it was easy but then I have bought a lot of sandpaper. And I am always surprised when James misses anything.
Yay! One more. Go Ken!!!
And, may Alex be hosting Jeopardy! for many years to come..as he said to Congressman Lewis, may 2020 be the year they both beat pancreatic cancer!
We end game two with a triple stumper.
Appreciate the levity from Brad and James on a meaningless FJ. How great would it have been if Ken had put “Who are two people who have never been in my kitchen.”
Didn’t Cuarón and Lee both have Best Picture wins for their films? Roma and Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, respectively? Did I misunderstand the question?
Green Book won Best Picture, not Roma.
“Crouching Tiger” was nominated for, but did not win, best picture and best director. The Lee director wins/picture losses it referred to were “Brokeback Mountain” and “Life of Pi.”
Yay! Brad didn’t play like crap! One decent game out of him, that’s all I wanted.
Great game tonight loving this tournament. Definitely rotting for Ken to finally win.
Ken is playing like the GOAT! I would love to see James tie it up on Tuesday, to set up a dramatic Game 5. But the way Ken is playing, Tuesday may be his coronation day.
Interesting game 3 by all players. Ken seems fired up for this tournament, I think a bit more than James. Brad seems lost at times. Is this the same player who won all the major tournaments? He seems a shadow of his former self. Although I’m rooting for James, there’s a strong chance Ken may win it all. I just hope the tournament reaches 7 games–we direly need intelligent, classy entertainment such as this.
I bet ABC wishes it were 7 games. The ratings have been huge
I think how tonight played out proves my point from the first night that Ken played FJ too conservatively on the first game. I mean I think James should’ve bet at least 2/3 the first game as well given all of the scores in the second match, but I know he also likely wanted to make sure his daughter got a shout out.
I know everyone had gone “all in” on each DD, but with Ken having gone for it on the final the game before, he squeezed both Brad and James to the point where they needed a BIG lead going into final. James having a 5k/0/0 lead, would not have needed to double down there, and without kens lead.
Ken’s adjustment to how the game is playing has been so impressive. I have thought his in game/tournament adjustments with game theory to be lack luster before, but how he’s shifted is interesting. I’m stunned at how James’ presence has some how blocked brad from ringing in — guy is averaging 20% vs. 42% AND he usually beats Ken 1-on-1!
For me, however, a GOAT will forever encompass someone, who takes greatness and then fundamentally changes the way a game is thought of or played.
I’m not sure he played too conservatively in the first game, but he still made the proper adjustment this game. FJ is arguably the weakest part of his game, as in previous big tournaments he’s led going into FJ during a match and then lost it. Going into the first match, it wasn’t unreasonable to expect a super difficult FJ and he probably shouldn’t have risked too much without getting a feel for the difficulty and how James was betting. Yes, James has a history of aggressive bets, but you also didn’t know if he’d play any differently given the competition and similar difficulty concerns.
However, by the 3rd match trends are emerging. The FJ so far haven’t been ‘easy’, but they’re also far from triple stumpers. It’s worth taking a big risk and doubling down to a huge advantage. And James is obviously betting just as aggressively, so there’s no reason to be conservative given the difficulty level. I have a hard time criticizing Ken’s match 1 bet, hindsight is 20/20, but would have been super critical of him had he done the same thing match 1 today.
Ken’s adjustments have been the x-factor. I have been markedly impressed by that. If anyone were to adjust I thought it would have been Brad.
I also think Brad must use a hybrid method to ring in of cadence and timing the light, proving to be much weaker than a purist method. I agree that it’s not terrible to be conservative w the weakest part of his game, but I think given his past experiences w Brad, I’d rather take the risk, knowing Brad, and having James as an x-factor, than play it safe because this is a weakness in my game.
Ken still got most of his FJ correct, and a 2/3 bet puts him at a marked advantage, while a 1/3 bet really doesn’t, given how fickle DD can be in the DJ! round. Given the category and competition and ability… really?
I actually think how the 3rd match went, he might have been too aggressive. He’s lost to Brad on the buzzer so much. Lost on so many levels, and here Brad is floundering…. he’s had 7 dd in the DJ! Round, vs 3 for Ken and 2 for James. Here brad can’t ring in… some how James has neutralized him. Here’s a situation that Ken feel more comfortable.
James missing the daily double after a great start to game two really took the air out of the back half of the show.
Through 3 contests, ken has answered (correctly) one more question than james (135 to 134) and Brad has exactly half of James(67). Was surprised to see that James had more correct answers than Ken tonight, considering the blowout.
It shows the importance of the Daily Doubles and Final Jeopardy in determining the winner. Ken getting that DD where he risked 9,200 points made a difference of 18,400 which he doubled up to 36,800 with FJ. He just managed to get that one right and if he missed it he would have had 36,800 less points.
I was surprised at Alex seemingly mispronouncing “Jean-Luc Picard”. Every Trekkie knows that “Picard” was consistently pronounced with a hard “d”, regardless of its language of origin.
Aren’t you the clever one?
Definitely a different game today. It almost felt like all three were a bit off. During the first two matches, there wasn’t a single triple-stumper that I would have come close to answering. Tonight, there were four of them I would have gotten.
very disappointed with James in game 2 tonight and I’ll be floored if KJ wins this 3-1-0 tomorrow …. if KJ wins it 3-2-0, that’ll be alright with me even though I still want James to win
Next game isn’t until Tuesday. 🙁
THEY ARE ALL BRILLIANT – I , PERSONALLY , AM ROUTING FOR KEN TO WIN – LIKE HIS DEMEANOR.
HOPE HE WINS IT TUESDAY.
Same here. He is beginning to beat James at his own game – buzzer control.
Thanks to Ken’s huge lead from game 1, James’ 5K DD miss early in game 2 wouldn’t have made a difference (numerically, anyway — whether it affected James’ confidence and thus buzz speed is not for me to guess).
Of course, it also meant that the only way Ken was likely to lose the match was for James to get timely Daily Doubles in game 2’s DJ, which was rendered moot by Brad getting both of them. Hence Brad’s “your welcome” to Ken after getting the second one. After that I think they all knew the match was pretty much over, since after that they seemed to just play to run out the clock, so to speak).
It also really speaks to the dynamics of the three-person format compared with head-to-head. With this match-play format it’s technically possible (though unlikely) to win the tournament without actually winning a single game.