Warning: This page contains spoilers for the November 10, 2022, game of Jeopardy! — please do not scroll down if you wish to avoid being spoiled. Please note that the game airs as early as noon Eastern in some U.S. television markets.
Here’s today’s Final Jeopardy (in the category Geographic Pairs) for Thursday, November 10, 2022 (Season 39, Game 44):
By ferry, the distance between these 2 paired Mediterranean islands is about 40 miles from Alcudia to Ciutadella
(correct response beneath the contestants)
Today’s Jeopardy! contestants:
Sam Buttrey, an associate professor of operations research at the Naval Postgraduate School from Pacific Grove, California
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John Focht, a software team lead originally from El Paso, Texas
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Matt Amodio, a postdoctoral researcher from Cambridge, Massachusetts
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Andy’s Pregame Thoughts:
Yesterday, Amy Schneider played her way into the finals. Today, Matt Amodio makes his return to the Jeopardy! stage. His opponents today are John Focht and Sam Buttrey, both of whom put up incredibly impressive quarterfinal performances. Both John and Sam looked very ready for the Tournament of champions. My prediction model still thinks Matt is the favorite, and his buzzer timing seems good—he got in first most often during the exhibition match on Tuesday. However, both John and Sam proved in the quarter-finals that they can pull off a victory in today’s game. Things could get very interesting!
Also, if the J!6 categories are any indication, I had a great chuckle at the third category in Double Jeopardy. This definitely feels like a callback to the 2013 Tournament of Champions, where Keith Whitener ran a semifinal category called DRUMMER FOR THE BAND en route to victory, much to top seed Jason Keller’s chagrin, who was very vocal online afterward in his disdain for the category, referring to the category as “Rock Drummers”.
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(Content continues below)
Correct response: What are Majorca and Menorca (Minorca)?
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.)
Here’s what I really like about this clue in a Tournament of Champions context: in regular play, one would see “2 paired Mediterranean islands” and “about 40 miles”, immediately go to Corsica and Sardinia, and be done. If you did that here, you’d be wrong. Of course, Majorca and Menorca are also two paired islands, part of the Balearic Islands (which are a part of Spain). That’s certainly been a theme of this tournament, though—the writers seem to be trying to catch players who are relying too much on the “regular play” canon, almost saying, “your Pavlovs will not work here!” (For the uninitiated, I use the term the same way Bob Harris used it in his Prisoner of Trebekistan.)
One other thing I found interesting: While Google Maps does not believe that there is a ferry between the two locations, a ferry definitely exists and can be booked. (Which is good, because it takes less than two hours direct; according to Google, it would take nearly eight.
We have many new offerings at The Jeopardy! Fan Online Store! Proceeds from the sale of the “Doctor Oz’s Fast-Acting Snake Oil Elixir” T-shirt are being donated to The Trevor Project:
Game Recap:
Jeopardy! Round:
(Categories: All Over The Map; Organizations; Nutrition; 21st Century Bestsellers; Celebs; Drop The Mic)
This was a very close game for the entire round—by the end of it, Sam had a very tiny lead over Matt.
Statistics at the first break (16 clues):
Sam 4 correct 0 incorrect
John 5 correct 0 incorrect
Matt 4 correct 1 incorrect
Statistics after the Jeopardy round:
Sam 7 correct 0 incorrect
John 9 correct 0 incorrect
Matt 8 correct 1 incorrect
Double Jeopardy! Round:
(Categories: The Lore Of The Land; Scientific Trios; The Rock Bassist’S Group; We Spy; With Our Little “I”; Something That Is…)
Matt seemed nervous at the start of Double Jeopardy, but he did double up on the opening clue with the Daily Double! He needed to find the last one, though, and he didn’t—Sam did and picked up $6,000 to jump into a huge lead! Sam carried that lead through to Final Jeopardy. Going into the Final, the scores were Sam at $23,000, Matt at $16,800, and John at $12,600.
Statistics after Double Jeopardy:
Sam 20 correct 1 incorrect
Matt 19 correct 2 incorrect
John 15 correct 1 incorrect
Total number of unplayed clues this season: 12 (0 today).
All three players got Final correct today — which means, in a monumental upset, Sam Buttrey is now a finalist!
Tonight’s Game Stats:
Looking to find out who won Jeopardy! today? Here’s the Thursday, November 10, 2022 Jeopardy! by the numbers:
Scores going into Final:
Sam $23,000
Matt $16,800
John $12,600
Tonight’s results:
John $12,600 + $11,400 = $24,000 ($10,000) (What are Majorca and Minorca?)
Matt $16,800 + $0 = $16,800 ($10,000) (What Minorca & Mallorca)
Sam $23,000 + $10,601 = $33,601 (What are Majorca & Minorca?) (Finalist)
Scores after the Jeopardy! Round:
Sam $4,600
John $4,200
Matt $4,000
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Opening break taken after: 16 clues
Daily Double locations:
1) ORGANIZATIONS $1000 (clue #11)
Sam 1600 +1600 (Matt 2400 John 1000)
2) THE LORE OF THE LAND $1600 (clue #1)
Matt 4000 +4000 (John 4200 Sam 4600)
3) SCIENTIFIC TRIOS $800 (clue #6, $27600 left on board)
Sam 8600 +6000 (Matt 8000 John 6200)
Overall Daily Double Efficiency for this game: 270
Unplayed clues:
J! Round: None!
DJ! Round: None!
Total Left On Board: $0
Number of clues left unrevealed this season: 12 (0.27 per episode average), 0 Daily Doubles
Game Stats:
Sam $17,200 Coryat, 20 correct, 1 incorrect, 29.82% in first on buzzer (17/57), 2/2 on rebound attempts (on 3 rebound opportunities)
John $12,600 Coryat, 15 correct, 1 incorrect, 26.32% in first on buzzer (15/57), 1/1 on rebound attempts (on 3 rebound opportunities)
Matt $14,400 Coryat, 19 correct, 2 incorrect, 33.33% in first on buzzer (19/57), 1/1 on rebound attempts (on 2 rebound opportunities)
Combined Coryat Score: $44,200
Lach Trash: $5,000 (on 6 Triple Stumpers)
Coryat lost to incorrect responses (less double-correct responses): $4,800
Matt Amodio, career statistics:
1343 correct, 135 incorrect
57/66 on rebound attempts (on 128 rebound opportunities)
55.24% in first on buzzer (1281/2319)
79/89 on Daily Doubles (Net Earned: $312,000)
30/41 in Final Jeopardy
Average Coryat: $26,956
John Focht, career statistics:
156 correct, 14 incorrect
7/9 on rebound attempts (on 19 rebound opportunities)
36.09% in first on buzzer (144/399)
9/10 on Daily Doubles (Net Earned: $31,300)
4/7 in Final Jeopardy
Average Coryat: $18,200
Sam Buttrey, career statistics:
157 correct, 12 incorrect
10/11 on rebound attempts (on 25 rebound opportunities)
42.69% in first on buzzer (146/342)
5/6 on Daily Doubles (Net Earned: $10,600)
4/6 in Final Jeopardy
Average Coryat: $19,467
Remaining Players’ Tournament of Champions Chances (after 100,000 Simulations)
Amy Schneider: 46.326%
Sam Buttrey: 20.961%
Mattea Roach: 6.207%
Andrew He: 14.344%
Eric Ahasic: 12.162%
Today’s interviews:
Sam went viral because he looks like Steve Martin.
John was interviewed by an MLB show after his wins.
Matt fixed his air conditioner and hired an accountant after his wins.
Andy’s Thoughts:
- Matt Amodio has still yet to win a game with Michael Davies as Executive Producer. Clearly, Mr. Davies is a jinx.
- More seriously, though, today’s result happened because Matt was already incredibly close to his “ceiling” in regular play, whereas the rest of the field had much more room for improvement. And, knowing that Matt was in the field, a number of players raised their game close to Matt’s level—and it’s paid off.
- Today’s box score: November 10, 2022 Box Score.
Final Jeopardy! wagering suggestions:
(Scores: Sam $23,000 Matt $16,800 John $12,600)
Matt: You’re in Stratton’s Dilemma; you can’t both cover John and beat Sam in a Triple Stumper. If you think a diabolical clue is more likely, bet no more than $3,999—just in case John also plays for the Triple Stumper. If you think a softball is more likely, go all in to force Sam to cover. (Actual bet: $0)
John: If Sam bets to cover Matt, he falls to $12,399 if he’s incorrect. Thus, your low range is “up to $200”. If you’re going big, you should go all-in, just in case Sam makes a small bet to try to finesse Matt. (Actual bet: $11,400)
Sam: You have the easiest choice—the standard cover bet over Matt is $10,601. Going small (up to $2,200) won’t work today, as staying ahead of Matt’s small bet range leaves you open to being passed by John if he doubles up.(Actual bet: $10,601)
Contestant photo credit: jeopardy.com
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I am so incredibly nervous for this episode. Matt, (next to Amy ofc) is my favorite Jeopardy contestant, and I’ll be very sad if he doesn’t win tonight. So sad that I’ll probably call in sick tomorrow. I’m being very dramatic obviously, but I will still be sad if he loses tonight. I want to see him play more games, I’ve missed having him on my TV!
Update. I am devastated.
Me, too
meh ;p I was looking on the wrong side of the Mediterranean (thinking of the Greek islands) and couldn’t come up with a guess.
Current FJ streak: 3L
Hoping to salvage the week with a correct response tomorrow!
@Andy Looking at Google Maps before I scrolled down to read your “More Information” commentary, I first thought that it was leaving out the ferry connection between the two islands, but you just have to zoom in to the 1″/2 miles view or closer for it to appear.
Selecting “public transportation” instead of “private car” also finds that itinerary.
I thought Greek, too. Santorini and Crete.
I went with Cyprus and Crete, even though I was pretty sure that they were farther apart than 40 miles, but Assassin’s Creed: Odyssey has warped my perspective of distances in Greece. 🙂 I’m also on a 3-day losing bender now, so cheer up. 🙂
LOL about Assassin’s Creed throwing you off 🤣.
I knew that I had no idea and guessed Sicily and Sardinia. I am glad to see that they do have a ferry and I was only 180 miles off — it could have been over 500 miles for all I knew. I also thought maybe Amalfi and Capri, but went with the other two because they both started with ‘S’ and I had no idea what “paired” meant. [The distance between my other guess was closer at 17 nautical miles.]
I had heard of the islands of Majorca and Menorca before, but only singularly and had always assumed it was just two different [language?] pronunciations of the same place 😒.
Naval research might be a slight advantage for getting a quick correct answer.
I love Sam and I’m glad he made the finals, but with all that was expected of this tournament with this “battle of the titans” and people somewhat expecting a big final between the big 3 (Amy, Matt, Mattea), this does make me kind of sad that the Exhibition Match didn’t have any stakes to it.
I loved the energy of that episode and felt it was a lot of fun, but in the wake of Matt losing it is feeling somewhat like we missed out on seeing these three play against each other at their absolute best.
This is why I like how organic a regular TOC feels. I was on the edge of my seat the whole tournament with James and Emma in it hoping we get that rematch which eventually happened.
There isn’t really any difference between the semifinal round of this tournament and the semifinal round of the “traditional” ToC tournament.
The quarterfinals (6 QFs instead of 5 and no wildcards) and finals (first-to-3 wins instead of 2-game-total-point) are different, but this round is the same.
The main difference is how some made it to the semi finals this time around
so you would have been happier if Matt had played and lost in the QF round instead?
Agreed.
For what it’s worth, Sam is undefeated as a Jeopardy contestant. No telling how far he could have gone in regular play.
That was my thought, too — that since finishing/winning the Professor’s Tournament was all he had had the opportunity to do, that made him a “dark horse”.
So Sam wins today’s game. I had a feeling. Since we now don’t have a battle of the three titans, I want to predict tomorrows’ winner—just my idea of course…but all three players are great. But Eric Ahasic is my choice to win tomorrow. That would be a real upset.
I don’t think that any player winning tomorrow would be an upset. They are very evenly matched. The simulator considers them to be rated very closely and most fans would agree.
As I watched todays game I feel a bit justified in my dislike in people getting byes to the semi finals. Everyone is great until they run into stiff competition. On future TOC’s I hope we go back to the standard 2 week tourney with 4 wild cards in the quarter finals. Just one man’s opinion though. 🙂
I was hoping Matt would have made a big wager today after getting the final right. But still I am disappointed he didn’t get yo the finals. But happy to see everyone getting the triple solve. I admit i love Sam and I knew Majorca though menorca not too much.
With Ken’s obsvervation that anything geoography based is in Matt’s “wheelhouse” I was suprised that he didn’t go all in. For some reason, like in Tuesday’s “exhibition,” Matt just seemed to be ill at ease, even though he did well, and, late in Double Jeopardy. I thought it was just the selection of categories in the “exhibition,” but with Thursday’s game, again he appeared to be uncomfortable.
As for the Final Jeopardy, I again had no clue.
I’m happy for Sam and disappointed for Matt — though I have to say I don’t think this is as devastating for him as it might be for some of us. Matt’s the only one of the 3 superchamps who didn’t change his career because of his success on Jeopardy. He knows what he’s doing and he’s just a pleasure to watch.
As I understood it from Tuesday’s interview, Matt finshed his graduate work, (not sure if it was Masters, or, Doctoral,) and, moved on from being a student. so, in a way, yo can say he changed careers, as well.
Was pulling for Sam because of a navy connection. Go Blue
I thought Sam could be an upset in this tournament, even from just watching the Overheard clip after he won last week’s game. I am intrigued not because he looks like Steve Martin, but, to me, he looks and sounds like a vice-president in our company, even down to movement and mannerisms. I guess that familiarity has me rooting for him as a ‘dark horse’ contender. But I also liked Mattea’s very loose “oh well, what the hell…” attitude when she would try an unfamiliar category or surprise even herself when she got a Daily Double right. Still, looking forward to a good set of finals, no matter who is playing.
Aw. I will miss Matt! He was my favorite this time around.
If Andrew wins tomorrow, it will be a rematch with Amy. He had won five times and was leading into final jeopardy in his game with her.
Matt didn’t seem on his game in the exhibition game last night so I’m not especially surprised that he lost tonight.
I thought those names sounded Italian, not Spanish, so I went for Corsica and Sardinia (yes, I know the former is part of France). Whoops.
Sucks to see Matt lose – the finals won’t be as entertaining without him. But that was a hell of a game and I’m hoping tomorrow compares.
I LOVED this game.
All 3 above 12K going into final, and all 3 very much in contention.
Very entertaining show!
No offense intended to Andy as he is entitled to his opinion but I have to disagree with him. Andy wrote, “… in a monumental upset, Sam Buttrey is now a finalist!” In my opinion, this is not at all a “monumental upset.” As I wrote on two previous occasions, “Never underestimate a Navy man.” Not only that, but Operations Research is an extremely difficult field, in my opinion, and Sam is an expert in that difficult field to the extent that he is even a Professor of Operations Research. Given Sam’s background in Operations Research and the Navy, I don’t consider it an upset at all when he wins at Jeopardy! Heck, it wouldn’t surprise me to see Sam go all the way. I’ll close by repeating, “Never underestimate a Navy man.” Go Sam and Go Midshipmen!!
Matt Amodio won 38 games.
This is a monumental upset.
Sam Buttrey is undefeated. This might be a minor upset but it is not monumental. Reasonable people can disagree. 🙂
My first thought after the game was “I think everyone going into this tournament underestimated Sam since it’s difficult to know just how good the Educator’s/College/Seniors/Whatever tournament qualifier is compared to the standard format players.” I wasn’t around for Colby’s initial run — was he as much of an unknown quantity as Sam seemed to be?
If you had told me 3 weeks ago that Sam would be a finalist and not Matt, I wouldn’t have believed you. If you told me after Monday’s episode aired and the groups for the semi-finals were released, I would’ve called it a minor upset — 52 attempts at 57 clues with a startlingly accurate conversion % is nothing to sneeze at.
So has anyone who played in a college tournament/professors tournament gone on to become a regular Jeopardy contestant?
No—they would not be eligible to.
Understandable that winners of a “tournament’ would be ineligible for “regular” play. But has any “tournament” winner made the finals, much less won the Tournament of Champions?
Tom Cubbage won the ToC after winning the (inaugural?) College Championship in…I want to say 1989.
Cliff Galiher, College Champ, made the finals of the 2007 ToC and came third.
And then there’s Colby Burnett, who won the ToC after winning the Teachers’ Tournament.
These are just the ones I remember offhand.
Wow, great game today. Dear Santa, please make all the remaining TOC games as good as this one.
Based on the results for Final here, this match absolutely busted the entire tournament.
Well deserved. Sam put up two tour de force performances in a row. I wouldn’t have wanted to face him in the semifinals, and I wouldn’t want to be facing him in the finals.
I don’t want to besmirch Maureen and Tyler yesterday, but Amy did seem to get the more favorable draw, and Matt ended up in kind of a group of death here. Since Sam was term limited in a tournament, who knows how long he could’ve gone in regular play, and John is no slouch either!
I was disappointed to see Matt lose, but I have to hand it to Sam. He is an incredible player. John is fantastic too. People are drooling over tomorrow’s match but I think this was the toughest semifinal. This is sort of the downside of the new format where it is just a one and done. There’s a little more breathing room and the likelihood you can see the superstar for more than one game in the other format.
he played in Tuesday’s game. So you saw him in as many games as any other semifinal contestant.
Awww! I’m bummed! Matt is one of my three favorites along with Amy and Mattea. However, Sam is a formidable player with a “quicker clicker finger”
Excellent game by 3 top-notch players. Matt didn’t seem to have quite the same mojo as in his original run. But the strong opposition could have had something to do with that. Sam keeps rolling!
Agreed.I’ve been looking forward to the ToC all Summer and half the Fall, and in particular for Matt’s appearance. I loved his demeanor during his 38 game streak but I’m very disappointed that he lost. At least it was to Sam and not Jonathan F., who ended Matt’s winning streak at 38. Another disappointment was seeing that Matt went from Yale to Harvard!I live outside of New Haven and knew of the bar where Matt played trivia. O well, best of luck to you Matt in all of your endeavors.
He’s not actually at Harvard. He’s doing research at the Broad Institute, which is associated with MIT and Harvard.
As they say in sports: its why they play the games. Going into the tournament, I think people expected (and maybe more so wanted), Amy, Matt and Mattea in the Finals. Particularly Amy and Matt. But Sam had other ideas. He is a strong player and deserves his spot in the Finals.
When I first heard the format, I thought the show wanted the exhibition game with Amy, Matt and Mattea as a hedge against the 3 of them not making the Finals. That was a fun match to watch but wasn’t the same as a contested game with consequences.
It was fun watching Matt ringing in before he knew the question and finding it in his brain before time was called. He was a master of that during his regular season run. Today, his timing was just a little off in that he was beaten to the buzzer on questions Sam and/or John knew. I think having played a full, contested game likely would have helped him with that. In that sense, I don’t think they did Matt any favors giving him a bye into the semis. Will be interesting to see how Mattea does tomorrow (though she was sharp in the exhibition game).
What can I say, this 65 year old is rooting for the 75 year old. Time for some comeuppance, something we say here at the retirement community after a brisk Silver Sneakers session. Get ’em, Sam!
From what I’ve seen online, Sam is not that old.
I’d guess 60 give or take a couple years
I’m disappointed that we won’t get the Battle of the Titans in the Finals. That being said, as an Operations Research Analyst for the government, I have taken great pleasure in watching Sam’s meteoric rise. He’s my horse in the final (although whoever wins, especially with the new Finals structure) will certainly be deserving.
Well, this game proves why last week I made the comment about a two game semifinals. The producers were so keen on having “the big three” in the final, you’d think they would have factored that into their calculus. Just to be clear, I think Sam and John are highly formidable opponents…and certainly one or both could have still prevailed into the finals were the semis a two day point total match. That said, if the finals are so focused this year on “the best” winning, it just seems an oversight to have semis, where the variance of any one game can just produce a funky outcome.
One other question/observation to Andy. You said that Amodio may have peaked in his prior games but the other contestants still had room to improve. I think I get what you mean, but can you elaborate? i.e. why should we assume that he would necessarily dip while his opponents would get stronger relative to their prior stats, unless you’re making a commentary more about complacency and/or preparation for the TOC? Thank you.
I don’t think that Matt got any worse; but when you have nowhere to improve, it will look like you’ve gotten worse in comparison when everyone else around you has gotten better.