Warning: This page contains spoilers for the February 27, 2023, 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 African Countries) for Monday, February 27, 2023 (Season 39, Game 121):
Once Africa’s largest country in area, it dropped to third in 2011 when a portion of it declared independence
(correct response beneath the contestants)
Today’s Jeopardy! contestants:
Rhea Sinha, a Cornell University graduate from Chatman, New Jersey
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Claire Sattler, a senior at Yale University from Bonita Springs, Florida
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Rohan Kapileshwari, a senior at the University of Texas at Austin from Winston-Salem, North Carolina
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Andy’s Pregame Thoughts:
Week 2 of the High School Reunion Tournament begins today with Quarterfinal #6. Today’s quarterfinal features Claire Sattler, who won the November 2018 Teen Tournament. Her opponents today are Rohan Kapileshwari and Rhea Sinha, two of her fellow competitors from that event. Rohan was a semifinalist who lost to Emma Arnold, while Rhea finished third in her quarterfinal against Tim Cho and Jack Izzo.
One thing that would be interesting to see: Both Claire and Mayim Bialik have had very negative experiences when it comes to online trolls; that shared experience could make for a poignant interview topic. Considering some of the trash that gets weeded out even here that goes straight into the trash section of the comments — there are a lot of so-called “fans” who need a great deal of help when it comes to their mental state.
PSA: The best way to keep COVID-19 at bay (and keep Jeopardy! producing new episodes) is for everybody to get their vaccinations as soon as they can, including any boosters as recommended. When wearing a mask, please ensure that your mask covers both your nose and your mouth.
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!
(Content continues below)
Correct response: What is Sudan?
More information about Final Jeopardy:
(The following write-up is original content and is copyright 2023 The Jeopardy! Fan. It may not be copied without linked attribution back to this page.)
To me, who was in his heyday writing pub trivia in 2011 when this happened, this is a straightforward Final Jeopardy clue. South Sudan’s independence in 2011 from Sudan caused Sudan to fall below Algeria and the Democratic Republic of the Congo on the list of Africa’s largest countries by area. (South Sudan itself is 19th of Africa’s 54 countries.)
Want to feel old, though? These players would have been around 8 or 9 years old when South Sudan declared independence. This is going to be a much easier clue for those viewers at home with more life experience. That being said: as much as Michael Davies has gone on record saying that he prefers to see Finals with a 1-for-3 get rate, easier Final Jeopardy! clues are incredibly important, as it keeps players betting aggressively in Final. If Final Jeopardy! is perceived to be too difficult—and I would say that aiming for 1-for-3 is even too difficult—then players will start making strategic adjustments, playing more conservatively to the overall detriment of the show itself.
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: Home From College; What’s That Sci. Abbrev.?; Nonpotent Potables; Describing The Musical Instrument; Begins & Ends With “L”; Daniel Radcliffe On Harry Potter)
Oh, there was a game today? See my “Andy’s Thoughts” section for my outlined complete disappointment in what happened in the opening segment of today’s game. Rohan catapulted into a lead, buoyed by a True Daily Double right after the interviews.
Statistics at the first break (15 clues):
Rohan 5 correct 0 incorrect
Claire 5 correct 0 incorrect
Rhea 4 correct 1 incorrect
Statistics after the Jeopardy round:
Rohan 10 correct 0 incorrect
Claire 9 correct 0 incorrect
Rhea 8 correct 1 incorrect
Double Jeopardy! Round:
(Categories: The Golden Age; Companies In History; Southerners; Pure Poetry; Social Science; Before & After)
I’m still having difficulty getting over my disappointment as I write this. Rhea lost $3,000 on the first Daily Double, while Rohan chose to bet only $5 on the last one—and then proceeded to get the clue correct. That conservative bet meant that Claire was leading going into Final at $11,400, Rohan at $9,205, and Rhea at $5,600.
Statistics after Double Jeopardy:
Claire 17 correct 3 incorrect
Rohan 19 correct 4 incorrect
Rhea 13 correct 4 incorrect
Total number of unplayed clues this season: 16 (0 today).
Claire and Rohan both got Final correct; Claire is a semi-finalist!
Tonight’s Game Stats:
Looking to find out who won Jeopardy! today? Here’s the Monday, February 27, 2023 Jeopardy! by the numbers:
Scores going into Final:
Claire $11,400
Rohan $9,205
Rhea $5,600
Tonight’s results:
Rhea $5,600 – $3,606 = $1,994 ($5,000) (What is the Republic of the Congo?)
Rohan $9,205 + $0 = $9,205 ($5,000) (What is Sudan?)
Claire $11,400 + $7,011 = $18,411 (What is Sudan? 🙂 Thanks Mrs. Knox!) (Semi-Finalist)
Scores after the Jeopardy! Round:
Rohan $9,200
Claire $4,600
Rhea $3,800
Opening break taken after: 15 clues
Daily Double locations:
1) HOME FROM COLLEGE $800 (clue #16)
Rohan 4000 +4000 (Claire 3200 Rhea 2200)
2) SOCIAL SCIENCE $1600 (clue #11)
Rhea 5000 -3000 (Rohan 8400 Claire 8600)
3) PURE POETRY $1600 (clue #19, $8000 left on board)
Rohan 10000 +5 (Claire 11400 Rhea 3200)
Overall Daily Double Efficiency for this game: 40
Clue Selection by Row, Before Daily Doubles Found:
J! Round:
Rohan 1 5 4 5 4 4*
Claire 5 4 2 3 4 5
Rhea 3 4 5 3
DJ! Round:
Rohan 4 4 5 5 5 3 2 4*
Claire 3 4 5 3 5† 3†
Rhea 3 4 4* 2 2
† – selection in same category as Daily Double
Average Row of Clue Selection, Before Daily Doubles Found:
Claire 3.83
Rohan 3.93
Rhea 3.33
Unplayed clues:
J! Round: None!
DJ! Round: None!
Total Left On Board: $0
Number of clues left unrevealed this season: 16 (0.13 per episode average), 0 Daily Doubles
Game Stats:
Claire $11,400 Coryat, 17 correct, 3 incorrect, 33.33% in first on buzzer (19/57), 1/1 on rebound attempts (on 6 rebound opportunities)
Rohan $7,600 Coryat, 19 correct, 4 incorrect, 33.33% in first on buzzer (19/57), 2/2 on rebound attempts (on 5 rebound opportunities)
Rhea $8,600 Coryat, 13 correct, 4 incorrect, 24.56% in first on buzzer (14/57), 1/2 on rebound attempts (on 7 rebound opportunities)
Combined Coryat Score: $27,600
Lach Trash: $13,000 (on 10 Triple Stumpers)
Coryat lost to incorrect responses (less double-correct responses): $13,400
Rohan Kapileshwari, career statistics:
60 correct, 11 incorrect
2/3 on rebound attempts (on 8 rebound opportunities)
36.84% in first on buzzer (63/171)
2/2 on Daily Doubles (Net Earned: $4,005)
2/3 in Final Jeopardy
Average Coryat: $10,800
Claire Sattler, career statistics:
99 correct, 15 incorrect
8/9 on rebound attempts (on 21 rebound opportunities)
33.45% in first on buzzer (94/281)
5/6 on Daily Doubles (Net Earned: $8,000)
4/5 in Final Jeopardy
Average Coryat: $14,720
Rhea Sinha, career statistics:
28 correct, 8 incorrect
1/4 on rebound attempts (on 11 rebound opportunities)
25.44% in first on buzzer (29/114)
0/1 on Daily Doubles (Net Earned: -$3,000)
0/2 in Final Jeopardy
Average Coryat: $10,200
Remaining Players’ Chances of Winning Tournament:
Maya Wright: 10.978%
Avi Gupta: 16.911%
Stephanie Pierson: 7.905%
Justin Bolsen: 15.155%
Jackson Jones: 15.662%
Claire Sattler: 10.976%
Lucas Miner: 2.938%
Anish Maddipoti: 1.116%
Audrey Satchivi: 3.198%
Tim Cho: 5.092%
Dan Oxman: 0.274%
Eesha Sohail: 2.485%
Hannah Nekritz: 2.378%
Caleb Richmond: 2.609%
Maggie Brown: 2.323%
Today’s interviews:
Rhea sings both Indian classical and rock a capella.
Claire is very grateful for the friendships she made during her first appearance.
Rohan wants to work on drafting environmental legislation.
Andy’s Thoughts:
- Considering that J.K. Rowling feels she receives justification for her continued hatred of the trans community from the continued relevance of Harry Potter, I am incredibly disappointed that Jeopardy! saw fit to run a category on the series today, and I feel it reflects badly on all involved—production staff, host, and contestants included—to have been excited for the category, beginning to end. Do better. Your collective nostalgia does not trump the rights of a group of people.
- Today’s box score: February 27, 2023 Box Score.
Final Jeopardy! wagering suggestions:
(Scores: Claire $11,400 Rohan $9,205 Rhea $5,600)
Rohan: Standard cover bet over Rhea is $1,996. You should do this, as Rhea has occasion to go all in. (Actual bet: $0)
Claire: Standard cover bet over Rohan is $7,011. (Actual bet: $7,011)
Rhea: If Rohan and Claire make standard cover bets, you can’t pass Rohan and stay ahead of Claire. Thus, you do have reason to go all in, so as to force Rohan to cover. (Actual bet: $3,606)
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Sudan came into my head and then I changed my answer. Win some, lose some.
I have to admitt, it was the same for me. When I first read/heard this Final Jeopardy clue, I thought “What is Sudan?” because I remembered the creation of the South Sudan state. But then I back tracked into thinking “What is Libya?” simply because I thought I knew that Libya was the largest country by area on the continent, though I couldn’t remember hearing about any part of it succeeding from it.
Unless Rohan was “Daily Double Hunting,” I’m surprised he went to the poetry category, since he felt he was so weak in it. With that a $5 wasn’t to much of a surprise.
Andy; a question? Did/could of any participants in the “HS Reunion tournament” also been selected for their school’s Capital One College Bowl teams? Or, would have a past appearance on Jeopardy made them ineligible for College Bowl?
I remembered Sudan from studying with old World Almanacs. South Sudan, I only dimly recalled after reading the More Information section😅
I saw some of the things people were saying to Claire after her original tournament, and… they were disgusting. I just hope that doesn’t happen again after this tournament.
I am late jumping in, but I think Mayim did a great job with the celebrities! I really enjoyed her hosting those.
Frankly, those online bullies are far from Jeopardy! material.
Sudan was what I came up with after reading the world almanac. But the online trollswho are after claire have no shame at all!
(First of all, I apologize if this is incoherently worded – I have always had difficulty putting thoughts to text in a way that’s easily understandable. Just thought I should say that.)
If Matthew Marcus’ comments over the course of his four days as champion didn’t make it obvious enough, there’s no such thing as a “middle ground” in a “should this marginalized group of people have rights?” debate. Taking a middle ground does just as much to harm said marginalized group as blatantly taking the “they shouldn’t have rights” side. And especially after Amy, a transgender woman – in other words, THE EXACT SAME KIND OF PERSON JKR IS ACTIVELY TARGETING – reached unbelievable levels of success on the show and now has a 40-game win streak and a ToC victory under her belt within the span of a year or so, it’s really disappointing to see the show doing this. And to his credit, it seems as though Matthew is actively trying to learn and become a better person, but that doesn’t change the fact that THERE IS NO MIDDLE GROUND in this debate.
So, that’s my stance on the Harry Potter category. This is one of the few times I am actively disappointed in the show, and I’m also disappointed in all three contestants and Mayim for being as excited for it as they were. (And I would voice the exact same levels of disappointment if it was Ken hosting, for the record.)
MD, I think what you said seemed understandable — the only reason it wasn’t to me was because I know nothing about Matthew Marcus and his statements. However, I guess my stance is . . .
Daniel Radcliffe has been outspoken against JKR’s disappointing opinions. Regardless of using him for the category, but also especially by using him, I kinda think for an outlet [Jeopardy! and its host and contestants in this case] that is clearly supportive of the trans community to continue to enthusiastically appreciate the world of Harry Potter is just proving that JKR was wrong about the continued relevance of Harry Potter somehow justifying her continued trans hatred, but rather that it is “despite” that.
[Also, I have seen it described as “Rowling’s influential views”, but I don’t really think it is that influential — just that people who already feel the same way she does “latch onto her” as their spokesperson. Hopefully, the more they narrow down to a single spokesperson, the less “widespread” their beliefs will appear to be and hopefully the media will get tired of her, so quit amplifying her.]
It is my belief that because Rowling takes the continued featuring of her content as de facto support of her views, that it does not matter who is presenting the category, even Daniel Radcliffe—any presentation of the content is no longer acceptable.
As a member of the targeted community, I have to agree with Andy, and this is why:
There is a video game in the setting that was recently released. There has been a lot of division over this game. Some “allies” outside of the community had proposed streams of the game being used to raise funds for charities to benefit the community, but the community predominantly said “not in our name”. Why was this? Why would we tell allies not to raise funds for us on the back of JKR? Because while they were thinking it was a good idea to do so, the game was being sold to these streamers. That boosts sales figures for the game. And then JKR would go onto Twitter and crow about how the sales figures were proving that our small community was not being supported by our allies when we asked them not to play the game.
What we, as a community, asked was for those interested in raising money for our charities to use a game created by one of the community’s creators. One in particular that people mentioned was a small game from an independent developer, and the hope was to drown out the streams of the wizard game with a game from a trans creator that had a trans focus. But for our allies, that was seen as whining. It felt like when “allies” told black people that it wasn’t right to be upset when black NFL players would take a knee during the anthem and get fined for doing so. It’s tone-policing the minority, something that Dr. King talked about in his letter from the Birmingham jail when he decried the white moderates who would say “I agree with you in the goal you seek, but I cannot agree with your methods of direct action.” And it has been incredibly hurtful to many of us to see how much more a game and pop culture franchise mean to our “allies” than our rights do.
What’s the game you’re thinking of by the trans creator with a trans focus? I’m probably gonna try it out later 🙂
I would also like to know the game you’re thinking of by the trans creator with a trans focus so I can see if I can buy it as a gift for my trans relative who I know used to play a lot of Fortnight.
The game is “Celeste”, by Maddy Thorson. It’s available on Steam and Epic, and for Switch, PS4, and XBox One. If you google “Celeste game” you should be able to find the game’s website, as well, with a trailer video.
I feel like Rohan’s FJ! bet made zero sense, especially where Rhea actually would have won in a solo get. I don’t know what was up with that.
Between that and the $5 DD bet, which is the more cardinal sin that cost him the semifinal spot?
Definitely the FJ bet. At least the $5 bet could be somewhat defensible – he probably thought he had a better chance of winning on Final. And realistically, if he wanted to go low, he could’ve only made a safe bet of $299 (anything more would give Claire an opportunity for a runaway if she ran the remaining $8,000 worth of clues).
So the $5 DD bet is defensible, but Final is… less so.
I like this tournament because its something of a “Where are they now” type event. I remember several of the contestants from their original appearances. Tournament gives you a chance to see how they have grown/matured since time of first appearance. And a shot at the tournament of champions.
That was an easy FJ. Rhea probably confused the two Congo countries, but I’m surprised it wasn’t a triple get. South Sudan declaring independence is a well-documented trivia event (I’ve seen stories of the Sporcle meltdown) so even these youngsters might have heard about it that way.
Was a good game, though! For most of Single Jeopardy, I thought Rohan had it over the champ but then he collapsed after the Daily Double bet. Per your comments, I don’t know how anyone could hate Claire – rewatched her episodes over the weekend and her genuine exuberance was a delight. Why would the trolls pick her to harass? Ugh, some people… (the interview with her was also clearly edited and I’m curious what hit the cutting room floor)
I’m totally thrilled that Claire won today’s episode. That clearly vindicates her previous success and shows that it was based on her own merits. Hopefully, it will shame some of those trolls as it totally disproves their accusations in my opinion. Congratulations to Claire and I would be thrilled if she went on to win the entire tournament. Much success and best wishes to you, Claire.
I didn’t really follow J! gossip during the previous seasons like when these Teen Tournaments aired. Claire seems like a perfectly smart and personable contestant, so I don’t know what the trolls would have griped about. But then the actions and attitudes of such trolls rarely make any sense anyway.
I didn’t see that tournament four years ago, but after watching this episode, I’m at a loss to understand why she would have been attacked. She’s both cute and smart… unless that’s actually the core problem for jealous internet trolls?
You are probably correct about the core problem. And I am thinking that part of the reason you cannot even see anything that a troll could latch onto to denigrate, they often assign theoretical meanings (which they state as truths) to minor mannerisms. Besides those mannerisms being benign in the first place, being four years older and a more experienced contestant (and not in the company of a LEGEND no matter how nice Alex Trebek was), Claire might not even be experiencing those mannerisms which some trolls decided to hate on back then.