Here’s today’s Final Jeopardy (in the category World Literature) for Monday, April 18, 2022 (Season 38, Game 156):
Befitting the title, Antoine Galland, the first Western translator of this collection, worked on it only “after dinner”
(correct response beneath the contestants)
Today’s contestants:
Sarah McGrath, a business manager from New York, New York
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Caitlin Hayes, a musician & educator from North Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
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Mattea Roach, a tutor from Toronto, Ontario, Canada (9-day total: $210,802)
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Andy’s Pregame Thoughts: On Friday, Mattea Roach became the all-time winningest Canadian in Jeopardy! history, surpassing Bob Blake’s record. Her challengers today include North Vancouver’s Caitlin Hayes—two Canadians on the same episode is rare, but not unprecedented; back in 2018, B.C.’s Ali Hasan was defeated by Ontario’s Jordan Nussbaum. The Canadian superchamp goes for double digits today as Ken Jennings returns to host.
In case anyone is wondering, as well: Ken Jennings is also hosting the week of April 25 (and presumably the week of May 2), as I have seen a contestant photo with Ken for a contestant playing the week of April 25.
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(Content continues below)
Correct response: What is The Thousand and One Nights?
More information about Final Jeopardy: (The following write-up is original content and is copyright 2022 The Jeopardy! Fan. It may not be copied without linked attribution back to this page.)
Antoine Galland, trained as a classical scholar, translated many Arabic manuscripts into French; the Thousand and One Nights was actually a nighttime diversion from the academic world. Much as the Grimm brothers collected their fairy tales, the Arab literati collected these stories, and it was from these manuscripts that Galland translated (and created) the work best known to Western audiences today. Additionally, a couple of stories in the work—most notably Aladdin and Ali Baba—were not part of the manuscripts; these stories came from noted Syrian storyteller Hanna Diyab.
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Game Recap:
Jeopardy! Round categories: World Leaders; Fantasy Fiction; Out of…; Pillow Talk; Smith & Jones; Vigorous Vocab
Today’s opening segment belonged mostly to Mattea, with the defending champion picking up 9 of the 15 clues (including the Daily Double). Sarah picking up a pair of $1,000 clues helped her score, though! After the break, things were very even, and Sarah’s better performance in the bottom rows of the board led to her having a small lead after Single Jeopardy!
Double Jeopardy! Round categories: West of the Mississippi; Geology; Art on Commission; Airlines; Actors on Broadway; One E, Double E
Mattea went conservative on both Daily Doubles, which didn’t give her enough to cement a runaway; as Sarah picked up the final $2,000 clue to also bring Caitlin back into contention in Final. Your scores going into Final were Mattea at $20,800, Sarah at $12,400, and Caitlin at $9,800.
Today’s Final saw Caitlin with the only correct response—however, her not betting enough means that Mattea won her 10th game! Mattea will return tomorrow. Ken’s comments of “You escaped” towards Mattea were certainly apt!
Looking to find out who won Jeopardy! today? Here’s the Monday, April 18, 2022 Jeopardy! by the numbers:
Scores going into Final:
Mattea $20,800
Sarah $12,400
Caitlin $9,800
Tonight’s results:
Caitlin $9,800 + $2,000 = $11,800 (What is Arabian Nights?)
Sarah $12,400 – $9,000 = $3,400 (What is dessert stories?)
Mattea $20,800 – $4,001 = $16,799 (What are the Midnights Child) (10-day total: $227,601)
Scores after the Jeopardy! Round:
Sarah $5,200
Mattea $5,000
Caitlin $3,800
Opening break taken after: 15 clues
Daily Double locations:
1) WORLD LEADERS $600 (clue #3)
Mattea 600 +1000 (Caitlin 0 Sarah 0)
2) AIRLINES $1200 (clue #5)
Mattea 6600 +3200 (Caitlin 4600 Sarah 5200)
3) ART ON COMMISSION $800 (clue #14, $21600 left on board)
Mattea 12600 +3000 (Caitlin 8200 Sarah 7200)
Overall Daily Double Efficiency for this game: 172
Unplayed clues:
J! Round: None!
DJ! Round: None!
Total Left On Board: $0
Number of clues left unrevealed this season: 64 (0.41 per episode average), 0 Daily Doubles
Game Stats:
Mattea $16,200 Coryat, 26 correct, 2 incorrect, 43.86% in first on buzzer (25/57), 0/0 on rebound attempts (on 2 rebound opportunities)
Caitlin $9,800 Coryat, 11 correct, 1 incorrect, 21.05% in first on buzzer (12/57), 0/0 on rebound attempts (on 3 rebound opportunities)
Sarah $12,400 Coryat, 13 correct, 1 incorrect, 22.81% in first on buzzer (13/57), 1/1 on rebound attempts (on 3 rebound opportunities)
Combined Coryat Score: $38,400
Lach Trash: $12,200 (on 10 Triple Stumpers)
Coryat lost to incorrect responses (less double-correct responses): $3,400
Mattea Roach, career statistics:
272 correct, 22 incorrect
15/18 on rebound attempts (on 44 rebound opportunities)
44.86% in first on buzzer (253/564)
11/13 on Daily Doubles (Net Earned: $21,200)
7/10 in Final Jeopardy
Average Coryat: $19,620
Caitlin Hayes, career statistics:
12 correct, 1 incorrect
0/0 on rebound attempts (on 3 rebound opportunities)
21.05% in first on buzzer (12/57)
0/0 on Daily Doubles
1/1 in Final Jeopardy
Average Coryat: $9,800
Sarah McGrath, career statistics:
13 correct, 2 incorrect
1/1 on rebound attempts (on 3 rebound opportunities)
22.81% in first on buzzer (13/57)
0/0 on Daily Doubles
0/1 in Final Jeopardy
Average Coryat: $12,400
Mattea Roach, to win:
11 games: 71.783%
12: 51.527%
13: 36.988%
14: 26.551%
15: 19.059%
Avg. streak: 12.544 games.
Today’s interviews:
Sarah has kept a journal of every book she’s read since 1996.
Caitlin had a piano bench explode on her mid-concert.
Mattea was a member of her middle school’s bridge team.
Andy’s Thoughts:
- Mattea becomes the 13th player to win at least 10 games on Jeopardy!.
- $227,601 is the 16th-best total of all time in regular play. It also ranks 41st all time (including tournaments).
- It is games like this that are the reason why I suggest that the leader only make the minimum suggested cover bet over second.
- Link to the box score: April 18, 2022 Box Score
Final Jeopardy! betting suggestions:
(Scores: Mattea $20,800 Sarah $12,400 Caitlin $9,800)
Mattea: Standard cover bet is $4,001. I’d recommend staying there, as there’s always a chance that second or third will underbet.
Caitlin: Your only chance of winning is on a single-get Final. You absolutely need to get up to $16,800, so your minimum bet needs to be $7,000. You might as well bet everything to maximize winnings in case that happens.
Sarah: Your cover bet over Caitlin is $7,201, which is enough to get ahead of Caitlin. However, because Caitlin’s minimum bet should bring her to $2,800 if she’s wrong, you’re probably safe to bet up to $9,600.
Contestant photo credit: jeopardy.com
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Would have said Arabian Nights, hopefully someone will write that so we can find out if they accept it.
I would assume that Arabian Nights is acceptable.
I first thought ‘Arabian Nights’ too…then thought “One Thousand and One Arabian Nights’. Wasn’t sure of the exact wording. I wonder if that would have been acceptable. I think I’m going to give myself credit for the correct answer either way in my Jeopardy Journal (in which I’ve kept track of my correct answers for about 5 years now.) It was too close NOT to count!
I was just like you, even the two step aspect (but no journal).
I could not remember the name of the fellow, but I knew the first European translator of The Thousand and One Nights was French. The ‘after dinner’ hint pointed toward the solution.
Current FJ streak: 2W
I immediately thought of Arabian nights after reading about that scholar. I was certain this clue came up in a previous game from a different contestant that got this final.
There was a Final about Princess Jasmine on March 24.
Whew! Another close call. Got lucky with Caitlin’s conservative wager in final. Also I should point out that after I commented how terrible Mattea was at finding daily doubles, she got all 3 today in a relatively close game.
Conservative wager? How about impossible to win wager. Oh my.
Congratulations to Mattea on her 10th victory. Even though she squeaked by with a lucky break from Caitlin’s wager, Mattea still did everything she needed to do to win. Regardless of other people’s play, Mattea gained a well-deserved win; it should not be viewed as backing into a win. Well done, Mattea, may you keep on going!
Like KHoover my response to FJ was “What is ‘One Thousand And One Arabian Nights,'” but it looks like that would have been acceptable, too.
Tonight was a perfect example of why knowing how to wager is just as important as knowing the answer. I cannot fathom what drove Caitlin to make that FJ wager. I would also hope Mattea becomes more aggressive on her DD bets. She is so easy to root for and a joy to watch.
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What a TOC we have to look forward to! As Andy pointed out, only 13 players have ever won 10 or more games on Jeopardy! Four of those 13 will be in the next TOC. Has any TOC ever been so richly loaded? I’m really looking forward to some great games in the next TOC.
Totally agree. That tournament may set some viewing records. It will undoubtedly get a lot of media hype.
Yes, I think that goes along with my observation that Amy was maintaining an error rate average of around 6% [closer to 5% during her best periods] and until Mattea it didn’t seem like any of the champions (multi-day or not) had been breaking the 10% barrier. BUT, though Mattea is holding under 10% for errors, she’s getting more like 7.5% than 6%. [I don’t think I was noticing the error rate for Amodio or Fisher]
Too bad Caitlin did not wager enough to win.
This game is a perfect example of why your Betting Strategy 101 is a must-read before going onto the show. Caitlin did not read it and it cost her the game. Though she could’ve cracked under pressure or accepted defeat before it was over. Final Jeopardy always decides the game unless it’s a runaway. Somebody needs to read up on their Yogi Berra quotes.
This TOC will be nuts. The fact that at least one of Amodio, Fisher, Schneider, and now Mattea Roach won’t make the final blows my mind. And then you have Brian Chang, Courtney Shah, Zach Newkirk, Andrew He, Tyler Rhode, and Jackie Kelly. Honestly, with this field, we should get four weeks of this. Each person plays one game each of the first three weeks and the top 9 totals advance to the semis. Like this is going to be a once-in-a-lifetime TOC. Have there even been TWO champs with 10 wins in any TOC? Having four is astounding.
2017 TOC had Austin (12) and Seth (12)
I am glad they accepted Arabian Nights along with 1,001 Nights. When is the Tournament of Champions?
First, congrats to Sarah for getting the last clue in DJ. It made up some ground on Mattea, and kept her from maybe answering it and having a runaway. However, two classic examples today of how not to take down a 9-time champion. In DJ, had Sarah started the Art on Commission category with the $800 clue instead of the $400 one, she would have gotten the DD. Then in FJ, Mattea bet exactly what you would expect. With a quick calculation, Caitlin should have known her wager gave her no chance to win if Mattea made the logical bet. It’s easy to say from home, but when you’re playing against a super champion, it’s surprising when challengers don’t get out of their comfort zone a little. That champ has 9 wins for a reason.
That makes 2 games in a row that the last place person didn’t bet enough in FJ to cover the leader if the leader missed FJ. Today it was costly though.
Yes the FJ wager was really unfortunate, and why anyone losing ever chooses the $400 in DJ is totally beyond me. There are times when you can tell that maybe they don’t want to get a DD, but that is not too often. So I don’t get why you would chose a question with zero chance to help you win. Last week the lady just picked a DD in Double Jeopardy then picked the clue right under it, but I think she noticed her mistake just as she chose the same category she had just chosen. But hey I for one could never ever qualify for the show and I could not beat those people even if I was told all the questions the day before. 🙂