recaps

Season 38

Today’s Final Jeopardy – Thursday, December 30, 2021

Published Modified

Current Champion

Nikolas Polsinelli, career statistics:
44 correct, 6 incorrect
2/2 on rebound attempts (on 5 rebound opportunities)
35.96% in first on buzzer (41/114)
4/5 on Daily Doubles (Net Earned: $10,600)
1/2 in Final Jeopardy
Average Coryat: $17,500

To win:
3 games: 64.111%
4: 41.102%
5: 26.351%
6: 16.894%
7: 10.831%
Avg. streak: 3.786 games.
(Click Here for Methodology)

Upcoming Encore Presentations

September 26-27: S42 E174 (May 7, 2026)
October 3-4: S42 E175 (May 8, 2026)
October 10-11: S42 E176 (May 11, 2026)
(Source: Bell Fibe TV program guide)

All Time Winnings

All Time Jeopardy! Winnings, Regular Play Only:

1. Ken Jennings $2,520,700
2. James Holzhauer $2,462,216
3. Matt Amodio $1,518,601
4. Amy Schneider $1,382,800
5. Jamie Ding $882,605
6. Cris Pannullo $748,286
7. Mattea Roach $560,983
8. Jason Zuffranieri $532,496
9. Scott Riccardi $455,000
10. David Madden $430,400
11. Julia Collins $428,100
12. Matt Jackson $411,612
13. Austin Rogers $411,000
14. Ray Lalonde $386,400
15. Harrison Whitaker $373,999
16. Adriana Harmeyer $349,600
17. Caleb Groen $346,968
18. Adam Remsen $306,415
19. Ryan Long $299,400
20. Arthur Chu $297,200

All Time Jeopardy! Winnings, Including Tournaments (and Consolation Prizes):

1. Brad Rutter $4,968,436
2. Ken Jennings $4,372,700
3. James Holzhauer $3,614,216
4. Matt Amodio $1,964,601
5. Amy Schneider $1,864,800
6. Yogesh Raut $1,598,403
7. Victoria Groce $1,023,801
8. Mattea Roach $897,983
9. Jamie Ding $885,605
10. David Madden $785,733
11. Cris Pannullo $754,286
12. Roger Craig $706,200
13. Andrew He $684,365
14. Larissa Kelly $671,930
15. Matt Jackson $623,612
16. Jason Zuffranieri $549,496
17. Paolo Pasco $548,717
18. Scott Riccardi $533,000
19. Jerome Vered $499,102
20. Julia Collins $495,767
21. Austin Rogers $493,000
22. Juveria Zaheer $491,000
23. Ben Ingram $449,201
24. Adriana Harmeyer $446,600
25. Buzzy Cohen $441,603

Here’s today’s Final Jeopardy (in the category Explorers) for Thursday, December 30, 2021 (Season 38, Game 79):

Confirming a theory, fossils found with this explorer in 1912 included a plant from more than 250 million years ago

(correct response beneath the contestants)

Today’s contestants:

Sarah Wrase, a certified public accountant from Monroe, Michigan

Sarah Wrase on Jeopardy!

Nate Levy, a script coordinator from Los Angeles, California

Nate Levy on Jeopardy!

Amy Schneider, an engineering manager from Oakland, California (21-day total: $806,000)

Amy Schneider on Jeopardy!

Andy’s Pregame Thoughts: Amy Schneider, yesterday, won her 21st game, now the 4th-longest win streak of all time. The next two questions: At $806,000, will she get to $1 million, and will Amy see out 2021 as champion? Nate and Sarah will have something to say about that, I’m sure.

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Correct response: Who is Robert Falcon Scott?

More information about Final Jeopardy: (The following write-up is original content and is copyright 2021 The Jeopardy! Fan. It may not be copied without linked attribution back to this page.)

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Here’s a link to Scott’s Wikipedia page, which has information about the fossil found by Scott’s crew on his 1912 South Pole expedition.

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

Scores going into Final:
Amy $19,600
Sarah $12,400
Nate $11,400

Tonight’s results:
Nate $11,400 – $4,399 = $7,001 (Who is Leake?)
Sarah $12,400 – $12,399 = $1 (Who is Amundson?)
Amy $19,600 + $6,000 = $25,600 (Who is Shack Scott) (22-day total: $831,600)

Amy Schneider, today's Jeopardy! winner (for the December 30, 2021 game.)

Scores after the Jeopardy! Round:
Amy $10,000
Nate $5,800
Sarah $1,600

Opening break taken after: 15 clues

Daily Double locations:
1) PANTS $400 (clue #2)
Sarah 200 +1000 (Amy 0 Nate 0)
2) QUICK HISTORY $1600 (clue #4)
Amy 11600 +4000 (Nate 6600 Sarah 1600)
3) WORD OF MOUTH $1600 (clue #15, $18800 left on board)
Sarah 6800 +6000 (Amy 15200 Nate 6200)
Overall Daily Double Efficiency for this game: 223

Unplayed clues:
J! Round: None!
DJ! Round: None!
Total Left On Board: $0
Number of clues left unrevealed this season: 11 (0.14 per episode average), 0 Daily Doubles

Game Stats:
Amy $17,200 Coryat, 28 correct, 3 incorrect, 49.12% in first on buzzer (28/57), 1/2 on rebound attempts (on 4 rebound opportunities)
Nate $11,400 Coryat, 16 correct, 2 incorrect, 26.32% in first on buzzer (15/57), 2/3 on rebound attempts (on 5 rebound opportunities)
Sarah $7,400 Coryat, 11 correct, 3 incorrect, 21.05% in first on buzzer (12/57), 0/0 on rebound attempts (on 3 rebound opportunities)
Combined Coryat Score: $36,000
Lach Trash: $7,400 (on 5 Triple Stumpers)
Coryat lost to incorrect responses (less double-correct responses): $10,600

Amy Schneider, career statistics:
693 correct, 42 incorrect
37/42 on rebound attempts (on 84 rebound opportunities)
50.40% in first on buzzer (630/1250)
35/41 on Daily Doubles (Net Earned: $108,600)
19/22 in Final Jeopardy
Average Coryat: $24,964

Nate Levy, career statistics:
16 correct, 3 incorrect
2/3 on rebound attempts (on 5 rebound opportunities)
26.32% in first on buzzer (15/57)
0/0 on Daily Doubles
0/1 in Final Jeopardy
Average Coryat: $11,400

Sarah Wrase, career statistics:
11 correct, 4 incorrect
0/0 on rebound attempts (on 3 rebound opportunities)
21.05% in first on buzzer (12/57)
2/2 on Daily Doubles (Net Earned: $7,000)
0/1 in Final Jeopardy
Average Coryat: $7,400

Amy Schneider, to win:
23 games: 90.608%
24: 82.098%
25: 74.388%
26: 67.402%
27: 61.071%
Avg. streak: 31.648 games.

Today’s interviews:
Sarah got The Call on her birthday.
Nate is part of a fantasy awards season league.
Amy got a perfect 1600 on the SATs. (Ken did not.)

Andy’s Thoughts:

  • Once again, I think it’s important that Ken does say that players can bet up to $1,000 on Daily Doubles if they don’t have that much. Yes, the contestants know the rules, but it’s stressful on stage.

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