Warning: This page contains spoilers for the April 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 Historic Figures) for Thursday, April 27, 2023 (Season 39, Game 164):
Dante gives him, born to a Kurdish family in the 12th century, a place of honor in limbo along with the war heroes of Rome & Troy
(correct response beneath the contestants)
Today’s Jeopardy! contestants:
Eric Anderson, an operations director from Brooklyn, New York |
Rebecca Bailey, a reference librarian from Reading, Massachusetts |
Jesse Matheny, a customer success implementation manager originally from Huntington, Indiana (1-day total: $2,600) |
Andy’s Pregame Thoughts:
Some more difficult Final Jeopardy! clues as of late have brought the average winning score of Season 39 down slightly; the average winning score this season currently sits at just over $25,000; that average is very similar to Season 38’s overall average winning total at this point. However, both are a significant increase from the pre-Holzhauer averages that would usually be around $20,000 a victory.
Today, Jesse Matheny—who won just $2,600 yesterday—takes on Brooklyn’s Eric Anderson and Reading, MA’s Rebecca Bailey.
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(Content continues below)
Correct response: Who is Saladin?
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.)
Saladin, the founder of the Ayyubid dynasty and the first sultan of Egypt and Syria, is best known today for leading the Muslims against the Crusaders in the 12th century. The Third Crusade, in fact, was mostly an effort by the Crusaders to retake the Holy Land after Saladin had conquered it in 1187.
In the world of Dante’s Inferno, the highest level a non-Christian could attain was Limbo; its residents included Homer, Caesar, Plato, and Virgil. However, Dante clearly respected Saladin’s efforts against the Crusaders, as Saladin—who had only been dead a century when Inferno was written—was the most recent–lived non-Christian lionized in Limbo.
I don’t know if it’s just me, but I definitely think these recent Final Jeopardy! clues are a concerted effort to bring down the average total winnings. This is a great fact, and all—I just think that today’s Final might be more of a Tournament of Champions–level clue than a regular play–level clue. (This isn’t a new phenomenon, though—the show has often done this in the past if the total winnings get too close to what was budgeted. Seasons 22 and 31 have examples of this as well.)
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Game Recap & Tonight’s Game Stats:
Looking to find out who won Jeopardy! today? Here’s the Thursday, April 27, 2023 Jeopardy! by the numbers, along with a recap:
Jeopardy! Round:
(Categories: Spot The Mammal; Historic Wives; Tv Drama; Ready To Wear; Take A Tour; “A_B_C_D”)
Jesse found the Daily Double early and got off to the best start. Rebecca, however, picked up 6 correct after the interviews to find herself holding a slim $200 lead after 30 clues!
Statistics at the first break (15 clues):
Jesse 8 correct 3 incorrect
Rebecca 2 correct 0 incorrect
Eric 2 correct 1 incorrect
Today’s interviews:
Eric plays many musical instruments, including the accordion.
Rebecca has a daughter afraid of Rebecca becoming a superchampion.
Jesse was a sportscaster in high school.
Statistics after the Jeopardy round:
Rebecca 8 correct 0 incorrect
Jesse 12 correct 3 incorrect
Eric 5 correct 2 incorrect
Scores after the Jeopardy! Round:
Rebecca $4,600
Jesse $4,400
Eric $0
Double Jeopardy! Round:
(Categories: Where The “H” Is That?; A Fine Wine Film; Tanks For The Memories; Produce: We Have Names; Recent Literary Biography; 4-Letter Before & After)
Unfortunately, incorrect responses were the order of the day, with Jesse missing 2 Daily Doubles among his 6 incorrect for the round. As it usually works out in these situations, though, the one who STAYs CLAM finds themselves leading—Rebecca’s 0 incorrect responses had her in the lead going into Final—with the scores very interesting for betting, Eric and Jesse’s totals equalling Rebecca’s exactly!
Statistics after Double Jeopardy:
Rebecca 13 correct 0 incorrect
Eric 11 correct 3 incorrect
Jesse 20 correct 9 incorrect
Total number of unplayed clues this season: 26 (0 today).
Scores going into Final:
Rebecca $9,800
Eric $6,800
Jesse $3,000
Eric was correct in Final today and deservedly ended up as the winner for doing so! He’ll return tomorrow to defend.
Tonight’s results:
Jesse $3,000 – $3,000 = $0 (Who is Virgil?)
Eric $6,800 + $800 = $7,600 (Who is Saladin?) (1-day total: $7,600)
Rebecca $9,800 – $3,801 = $5,999 (Who is Genghis Khan?)
Other Miscellaneous Game Statistics:
Daily Double locations:
1) HISTORIC WIVES $600 (clue #3)
Jesse -200 +1000 (Rebecca 0 Eric 0)
2) A FINE WINE FILM $1200 (clue #12)
Jesse 8400 -3000 (Rebecca 7400 Eric 1600)
3) TANKS FOR THE MEMORIES $800 (clue #24, $6000 left on board)
Jesse 4600 -2000 (Rebecca 7400 Eric 4400)
Overall Daily Double Efficiency for this game: 21
Clue Selection by Row, Before Daily Doubles Found:
J! Round:
Jesse 4 5 3*
Rebecca
Eric
DJ! Round:
Jesse 5 2 1 4 5 3* 2† 3 2 4 5 2*
Rebecca 3 1 2 3
Eric 4 4 5† 1† 4 3 4 3
† – selection in same category as Daily Double
Average Row of Clue Selection, Before Daily Doubles Found:
Eric 3.50
Rebecca 2.25
Jesse 3.33
Unplayed clues:
J! Round: None!
DJ! Round: None!
Total Left On Board: $0
Number of clues left unrevealed this season: 26 (0.16 per episode average), 0 Daily Doubles
Game Stats:
Eric $6,800 Coryat, 11 correct, 3 incorrect, 22.81% in first on buzzer (13/57), 0/1 on rebound attempts (on 7 rebound opportunities)
Rebecca $9,800 Coryat, 13 correct, 0 incorrect, 17.54% in first on buzzer (10/57), 3/3 on rebound attempts (on 9 rebound opportunities)
Jesse $7,600 Coryat, 20 correct, 9 incorrect, 45.61% in first on buzzer (26/57), 0/0 on rebound attempts (on 2 rebound opportunities)
Combined Coryat Score: $24,200
Lach Trash: $17,400 (on 14 Triple Stumpers)
Coryat lost to incorrect responses (less double-correct responses): $12,400
Player Statistics:
Jesse Matheny, career statistics:
39 correct, 13 incorrect
0/0 on rebound attempts (on 4 rebound opportunities)
39.82% in first on buzzer (45/113)
1/5 on Daily Doubles (Net Earned: -$8,200)
0/2 in Final Jeopardy
Average Coryat: $11,300
Rebecca Bailey, career statistics:
13 correct, 1 incorrect
3/3 on rebound attempts (on 9 rebound opportunities)
17.54% in first on buzzer (10/57)
0/0 on Daily Doubles
0/1 in Final Jeopardy
Average Coryat: $9,800
Eric Anderson, career statistics:
12 correct, 3 incorrect
0/1 on rebound attempts (on 7 rebound opportunities)
22.81% in first on buzzer (13/57)
0/0 on Daily Doubles
1/1 in Final Jeopardy
Average Coryat: $6,800
Eric Anderson, to win:
2 games: 27.242%
3: 7.421%
4: 2.022%
5: 0.551%
6: 0.150%
Avg. streak: 1.374 games.
Andy’s Thoughts:
- I’m generally pleased with the Final Jeopardy! betting today. Props to Eric for his correct response to take home the win.
- Today’s box score: April 27, 2023 Box Score.
Final Jeopardy! wagering suggestions:
(Scores: Rebecca $9,800 Eric $6,800 Jesse $3,000)
Jesse: You have one choice: go all-in; that way, you can pass Rebecca if she covers Eric. (Actual bet: $3,000)
Rebecca: Standard cover bet over Eric is $3,801. If you really hate the category and think Eric will go small though, you might consider limiting your bet to $2,199. (However, this is an incredibly risky and rarely-used strategy.) (Actual bet: $3,801)
Eric: Limit your bet to $799 to keep Jesse locked out. (Actual bet: $800)
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I’ll be shocked if anyone gets this correct.
Me too
I wouldn’t get this in 10,000 years
Ditto. I tried Hannibal as a long-shot possibility.
That’s Saladin, a curious personage to find in Limbo until you delve into the Late Middle Ages European mindset wrt The Crusades.
Dante seems to be coming up a lot lately, but maybe that’s just me remembering the “Circles of Hell” category back in January
As I recall there was a FJ! more recently for which one or two responded ‘Dante’ [or maybe ‘Inferno’, if it was the poem that was required] which wasn’t correct, but was not a bad guess as John Milton [or ‘Paradise Lost’] was “it”. So that would probably add to feeling like Dante already came up lately.
While this one was a dream FJ due to my academic background studying the Crusader-era Levant, I did second-guess myself for a moment, as it did seem obscure for a regular play FJ. I have definitely also noticed a downturn in my FJ success rate over the past few weeks, so I concur with your assessment.
I didn’t think it was a hard question at all, middle ages, middle eastern … although I accidentally said Salamin so I would have been wrong as per Jeopardy rules but I knew who I was talking about and had a letter wrong. I think 2 out of 3 will get it
Doesn’t this also make Eric the 32nd person to have won a game after entering Double Jeopardy with $0 or lower?
I was unfamiliar with this historical figure. But it occurred to me that on a day when Richard Boone was having a light lunch, he might have a Paladin Saladin. 🙂
It made me think of Paladin, too, but no pun. [How about “having a light lunch at home”?]
Great come-from-behind victory for Eric who ended the Jeopardy! round with zero. It did make for a rather exciting game. With only 11 correct responses and less than 23% in first on buzzer, though, his performance doesn’t bode well for a sustained run.
Doesn’t much matter, though, as even a single win gets you back for the new tournament of players who win one or more games. To me, that sort of waters things down and makes Jeopardy! less appealing. Between that and the Second Chance Tournament, Jeopardy! is becoming more of an “Everyone Gets a Trophy” type thing. That may be an unpopular opinion but I doubt I am the only one who feels that way.
Congratulations to Eric, though, on a well-deserved win today.
I believe you are on the money with your theory, as awhile ago, one of the hosts of the Inside Jeopardy podcast revealed that Cris Panullo’s run had pushed the show over budget.
This may be worth keeping in mind for future late season contestants if there was a particularly high earning superchampion early on. Maybe a shoretegic bet could be the way to go in some scenarios.
Sorry, I don’t understand. What do you mean by “shoretegic” and how exactly would that work? Would this be a technique to “suss out” whether Final will be more/less difficult than usual? And then wager accordingly?
FWIW, I got every Final this week except Saladin. Only the I-25 question made me think for a sec.
Tim, “Shoretegic” meant following the betting strategy set forth by Bob Shore’s Conjecture, which you can look up in j-archive glossary.
Dan, I had been thinking along the same lines as you. Betting always needs to try to take into consideration your thoughts of the likelihood of your getting it right and each of the other two. It is much harder to guess the chances of other people getting it right than guessing about yourself [except for the rare circumstances when one contestant had said they have a great interest in some subject and that winds up being the FJ! subject, but I think nowadays contestants tend to keep such information to themselves and say more off-the-wall facts in the interviews]. Anyway, there now exists the additional consideration that if it is near the end of a season of high-dollar winnings, the FJ! is even less likely to be something ANY of you know (due to those budgetary constraints).
My childhood sports hero was Ken Dryden of the Montreal Canadiens. Whip smart and won every trophy a goaltender could win. When I read his post-retirement book, The Game, I was devastated. It turns out hockey is just another business. I pretty well stopped watching hockey after that.
Andy, reading your comments about budgets and Jeopardy! make me feel the same way. I know you’re right but it stinks. It also seems counter-intuitive since big jackpots and big jackpot winners attract more eyeballs. Aren’t the ratings higher than ever since Alex died?
My modest two day streak of having the correct Final Jeopardy response ended with thiws one. Until Eric’s response of “Who was Saladin?” was said to be correct response, I had no idea. I knew something of Saladin, and, little of Dante’s Inferno, but not enough to put the two together. To me, this was many times harder than the last two Final Jeopardy’s, which were “triple stumpers.”
Stay Clam
I remember Saladin from the movie, Kingdom of Heaven with Orlando Bloom, but I didn’t think of it for this question.