Today’s Final Jeopardy – Thursday, December 24, 2020

Here’s today’s Final Jeopardy (in the category Historic Names) for Thursday, December 24, 2020 (Season 24, Game 42):

He is quoted as saying, “Another such victory over the Romans, and we are undone”

(correct response beneath the contestants)

In memory of Alex Trebek, today is the fourth episode in a series of two weeks of Alex’s favorite episodes from around the world. Today’s episode featured a category about Machu Picchu with Alex on location and originally aired November 6, 2007, as the second quarterfinal in the 2007 Tournament of Champions. Alex’s last episode airs Friday, January 8, 2021; Ken Jennings’ first episode as guest host airs on January 11.

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Today’s contestants:

Craig Westphal, a paramedic from Tucson, Arizona

Nick Swezey, a publisher from Washington, D.C.

Celeste DiNucci, a recent graduate student from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

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Correct response: Who is Pyrrhus?

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More information about Final Jeopardy: (The following write-up is original content and is copyright 2020 The Jeopardy! Fan. It may not be copied without linked attribution back to this page.)

This quote was reported by Plutarch regarding the Greek victory at the Battle of Asculum; the Greeks did defeat the Romans at the battle, but Pyrrhus lost a significant portion of his forces. It gave rise to the term “Pyrrhic victory” to refer to a victory is came at such excessive cost that it was tantamount to defeat. Here’s more information from Merriam-Webster about Pyrrhic victories.

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Looking to find out who won Jeopardy! today? Tonight’s results are below!

Scores going into Final:
Craig $21,600
Celeste $15,800
Nick $6,600

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Tonight’s results:
Nick $6,600 + $4,000 = $10,600 (Who is Pyrrus?)
Celeste $15,800 + $6,000 = $21,800 (Who is Pyrrhus?)
Craig $21,600 + $5,000 = $26,600 (Who is Pyrrhus?) (Semi-Finalist)

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Scores after the Jeopardy! Round:
Craig $10,000
Celeste $5,000
Nick $1,800

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Opening break taken after: 15 clues

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Daily Double locations:
1) ANAGRAMMED CANADIAN PROVINCES $1000 (clue #28)
Craig 5000 +5000 (Celeste 3600 Nick 1800)
2) SCIENTISTS $800 (clue #13)
Craig 9600 +6000 (Celeste 10200 Nick 4600)
3) HISTORIC SUPREME COURT DECISIONS? $1200 (clue #28, $3600 left on board)
Craig 18000 +2000 (Celeste 15800 Nick 6600)
Overall Daily Double Efficiency for this game: 174

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Unplayed clues:
J! Round: None!
DJ! Round: None!
Total Left On Board: $0

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Game Stats:
Craig $11,600 Coryat, 21 correct, 4 incorrect, 36.84% in first on buzzer (21/57), 1/1 on rebound attempts (on 4 rebound opportunities)
Celeste $15,800 Coryat, 21 correct, 3 incorrect, 40.35% in first on buzzer (23/57), 0/1 on rebound attempts (on 6 rebound opportunities)
Nick $6,600 Coryat, 9 correct, 2 incorrect, 15.79% in first on buzzer (9/57), 2/2 on rebound attempts (on 6 rebound opportunities)
Combined Coryat Score: $34,000
Lach Trash: $11,600 (on 9 Triple Stumpers)
Coryat lost to incorrect responses (less double-correct responses): $8,400

Celeste DiNucci, career statistics:
140 correct, 16 incorrect
9/14 on rebound attempts (on 38 rebound opportunities)
38.14% in first on buzzer (148/388)
4/6 on Daily Doubles (Net Earned: $6,000)
3/7 in Final Jeopardy
Average Coryat: $13,486

Nick Swezey, career statistics:
84 correct, 11 incorrect
8/9 on rebound attempts (on 25 rebound opportunities)
27.37% in first on buzzer (78/285)
3/3 on Daily Doubles (Net Earned: $7,200)
5/5 in Final Jeopardy
Average Coryat: $12,680

Craig Westphal, career statistics:
170 correct, 20 incorrect
10/13 on rebound attempts (on 40 rebound opportunities)
5.26% in first on buzzer (21/399)
11/13 on Daily Doubles (Net Earned: $27,000)
6/7 in Final Jeopardy
Average Coryat: $16,543

Andy’s Thoughts:

• Nick ended up $800 short of the final wild card (claimed by Cliff Galiher); Cliff defeated Craig in the third semi-final. Celeste defeated Christian Haines in a tie-breaker in the second semi-final after both Celeste and Christian bet to pass Jeff Spoeri’s pre-Final Jeopardy! score by $1; Celeste went on to defeat Cliff (3rd) and Doug Hicton (2nd) to win this tournament.

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