Note: This page contains spoilers for the August 15, 2023, game of Jeopardy! — please do not scroll down if you wish to avoid being spoiled. Please also note that today’s game is an encore presentation of the game that originally aired on November 1, 2022.
Here’s today’s Final Jeopardy (in the category Poets) for Tuesday, August 15, 2023 (Season 39, Game 37):
Inspired by stories from his grandfather, his “Battle of Lovell’s Pond” appeared in the Portland Gazette in 1820 when he was 13
(correct response beneath the contestants)
Today’s Jeopardy! contestants:
Christine Whelchel, a graduate assistant from Spring Hill, Tennessee
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Andrew He, a software developer from San Francisco, California
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Jonathan Fisher, an actor originally from Coral Gables, Florida
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Andy’s Pregame Thoughts:
Well, at least one of my predictions from my Tournament of Champions preview will not be coming true today: Jonathan Fisher will not be the first super-champion to lose in this tournament. Maureen O’Neil pulled off a big upset in yesterday’s first quarterfinal, knocking off Ryan Long. Today’s game will be interesting, with Jonathan Fisher, Andrew He, and Christine Whelchel taking part.
J!6 is showing a PLAYS & PLAYWRIGHTS category in the opening round and a HE DIRECTED THAT? category in Double. Both of those should play to Jonathan’s strengths—he was incredibly strong in both theatre and movie categories in his opening run. However, Andrew was a strong enough player overall to nearly keep Amy Schneider from becoming a 1-game champion, let alone a 40-game champion. I’m expecting this to be a very close game, and Christine might be able to pick up a victory if both Jonathan and Andrew falter. I also hope our contestants are ready for wordplay today: On the heels of the “only vowels” world parliaments category in yesterday’s game—a category that I didn’t think was unfair, only a category that didn’t hit the strengths of yesterday’s players—it looks like we’re going to see a “Vowelless Hawaiian” category in today’s Jeopardy! round (at least, I assume I’ve interpreted the J!6 categories properly!)
Also, in terms of “real time”—production is set to begin today on Season 40. It appears as though Ken Jennings will be hosting. Ken is a member of SAG-AFTRA; Ken’s part of SAG-AFTRA, as Jeopardy! falls under their “Network Code”, is not on strike at the moment; therefore, Ken was advised by SAG-AFTRA to honor his contractual obligations.
(Content continues below)
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Correct response: Who was Henry Wadsworth Longfellow?
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.)
Famed American poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow was the grandson of noted American Revolutionary War officer Peleg Wadsworth (who served in the US House of Representatives after the War). Inspired by the Revolutionary War, Longfellow wrote “The Battle of Lovell’s Pond” in 1820; the poem is still available from the Maine Historical Society.
While this clue does seem generally straightforward, this is also the sort of good Tournament of Champions-level Final Jeopardy! clue that requires more than just cursory knowledge of 19th-century American poetry. One must know that Longfellow is associated with Portland (as opposed to both Poe and Oliver Wendell Holmes Sr., who were also born in the Northeast at about the same time and were also not associated with Portland).
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Game Recap & Tonight’s Game Stats:
Looking to find out who won Jeopardy! today? Here’s the Tuesday, August 15, 2023 Jeopardy! by the numbers, along with a recap:
Jeopardy! Round:
(Categories: European Happenings; Slogans & Mottoes; Crocodile Pop; Catch-2022; Plays & Playwrights; Vwllss Hwn)
Things started off much better than yesterday’s game, with both Jonathan and Andrew trading correct responses. However, it was Christine who found the Daily Double, keeping it out of the hands of the others. Jonathan had a slim lead after 30.
Statistics at the first break (15 clues):
Andrew 7 correct 0 incorrect
Jonathan 6 correct 1 incorrect
Christine 1 correct 2 incorrect
Today’s interviews:
Christine has returned to school for a music degree.
Andrew hosted a “Newlywed Game” at a friend’s wedding.
Jonathan now has the sarcastic “Jeopardy! Champion Jonathan Fisher” as a nickname.
Statistics after the Jeopardy round:
Jonathan 13 correct 1 incorrect
Andrew 13 correct 0 incorrect
Christine 2 correct 2 incorrect
Scores after the Jeopardy! Round:
Jonathan $8,200
Andrew $7,600
Christine -$1,000
Double Jeopardy! Round:
(Categories: Art & Artists; Crossword Clues “Q”; He Directed That?; Bridge; I Bid; 5 Hearts)
The good news for Andrew: he found both Daily Doubles. The bad news for Andrew: he got the second one wrong after betting $10,000. Amazingly, he didn’t let it faze him—he clawed back and was within two-thirds going into Final Jeopardy!
Statistics after Double Jeopardy:
Jonathan 25 correct 2 incorrect
Andrew 23 correct 1 incorrect
Christine 5 correct 2 incorrect
Total number of unplayed clues this season: 8 (0 today).
Scores going into Final:
Jonathan $19,800
Andrew $13,800
Christine $2,200
Final Jeopardy! was a Triple Stumper, so it came down to the wagering! Jonathan made the cover bet, and it cost him when Andrew bet small—it’s Andrew who is going to be a semifinalist today!
Tonight’s results:
Christine $2,200 – $0 = $2,200 (Who is Whitman?)
Andrew $13,800 – $1,799 = $12,001 (Who is Holmes?) (1-day total: $12,001)
Jonathan $19,800 – $7,801 = $11,999 (Who is Thoreau?)
Other Miscellaneous Game Statistics:
Daily Double locations:
1) EUROPEAN HAPPENINGS $400 (clue #12)
Christine -400 -1000 (Jonathan 3400 Andrew 5000)
2) 5 HEARTS $2000 (clue #10)
Andrew 12000 +5000 (Jonathan 14600 Christine -200)
3) I BID $800 (clue #14, $16400 left on board)
Andrew 18600 -10000 (Jonathan 14600 Christine -200)
Overall Daily Double Efficiency for this game: -112
Clue Selection by Row, Before Daily Doubles Found:
J! Round:
Jonathan 5 4 3 5 4
Andrew 5 5 5 5 4 3
Christine 2*
DJ! Round:
Jonathan 5 4 3 4 4
Andrew 4 3 4 5* 3 3 2*
Christine 2 3
Average Row of Clue Selection, Before Daily Doubles Found:
Andrew 3.92
Jonathan 4.10
Christine 2.33
Unplayed clues:
J! Round: None!
DJ! Round: None!
Total Left On Board: $0
Number of clues left unrevealed this season: 8 (0.22 per episode average), 0 Daily Doubles
Game Stats:
Andrew $20,800 Coryat, 23 correct, 1 incorrect, 36.84% in first on buzzer (21/57), 1/1 on rebound attempts (on 3 rebound opportunities)
Jonathan $19,800 Coryat, 25 correct, 2 incorrect, 47.37% in first on buzzer (27/57), 0/0 on rebound attempts (on 1 rebound opportunity)
Christine $3,200 Coryat, 5 correct, 2 incorrect, 8.77% in first on buzzer (5/57), 1/1 on rebound attempts (on 2 rebound opportunities)
Combined Coryat Score: $43,800
Lach Trash: $6,200 (on 5 Triple Stumpers)
Coryat lost to incorrect responses (less double-correct responses): $4,000
Player Statistics:
Jonathan Fisher, career statistics:
331 correct, 41 incorrect
12/14 on rebound attempts (on 46 rebound opportunities)
44.31% in first on buzzer (327/738)
12/18 on Daily Doubles (Net Earned: $12,400)
8/13 in Final Jeopardy
Average Coryat: $20,138
Andrew He, career statistics:
182 correct, 21 incorrect
12/13 on rebound attempts (on 26 rebound opportunities)
42.61% in first on buzzer (170/399)
8/13 on Daily Doubles (Net Earned: $32,800)
3/7 in Final Jeopardy
Average Coryat: $21,429
Christine Whelchel, career statistics:
119 correct, 18 incorrect
9/10 on rebound attempts (on 31 rebound opportunities)
32.65% in first on buzzer (111/340)
3/10 on Daily Doubles (Net Earned: -$9,500)
4/6 in Final Jeopardy
Average Coryat: $13,267
Remaining players’ Tournament of Champions win chances (after 100,000 simulations):
Amy Schneider: 18.511%
Matt Amodio: 28.604%
Mattea Roach: 10.949%
Maureen O’Neil: 0.695%
Andrew He: 14.946%
Brian Chang: 1.040%
Tyler Rhode: 1.072%
Margaret Shelton: 1.470%
Courtney Shah: 0.358%
Rowan Ward: 4.728%
John Focht: 2.733%
Eric Ahasic: 6.626%
Jaskaran Singh: 1.626%
Jackie Kelly: 2.897%
Zach Newkirk: 1.049%
Jessica Stephens: 0.442%
Sam Buttrey: 2.254%
Andy’s Thoughts:
- It’s really interesting to see how close Andrew actually came to losing this one.
- Today’s box score: August 15, 2023 Box Score.
Final Jeopardy! wagering suggestions:
(Scores: Jonathan $19,800 Andrew $13,800 Christine $2,200)
Jonathan: Standard cover bet today is $7,801. (If you have a perfect read on Andrew, though, are convinced he’s going to bet small, and you dislike the category, a bet between $0 and $4,198 would work here—but it is immensely risky and, as I said, I think that it would require a perfect read on Andrew in order to attempt.) (Actual bet: $7,801)
Andrew: If Jonathan makes the cover bet, he falls to $11,999. You should limit your bet to $1,799. (Actual bet: $1,799)
Christine: Honestly, bet whatever you like. (Actual bet: $0)
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To be completely honest, the year or so in between Andrew’s original run and this ToC game was enough for me to forget just how strong of a player he was even without the assistance of Daily Doubles. Usually, players who rely heavily on Daily Doubles aren’t too strong in every other part of the game – as evidenced by your prediction model thinking Sam Kavanaugh was most likely to not even advance out of his quarterfinal; we all know how that ended – but Andrew is still a powerhouse, which I’d completely forgotten.
I don’t even know how Andrew managed to claw back after a huge DD miss in not only this, but game 11 of Masters. I think a lot of players – past, present, and prospective – could learn from his mindset. I do know for a fact, however that the people claiming the show is rigged were out in full force that day, and being able to change the mind of one of those people is still one of the highlights of 2022 for me. Interestingly, it was a pretty even split between claims of being rigged for and against Jonathan.
It’s interesting to see just how bad this tournament was for previously dominant ultrachampions – Ryan just not being able to find his footing, Jonathan losing by a mere $2, and then Matt and Mattea being knocked out in their semifinals. Although I suppose Amy made up for it by winning the event, all five ultrachampions winning a collective one game before the finals is something I probably would’ve just laughed at if you told me!
This game is my #1 argument for the traditional tournament lineup. It’s a shame that we didn’t see a second game from a great player like Jonathan in a context where he didn’t even play poorly in the first place. To me, a ToC is a great chance to reconnect with past contestants and I hate a format where we say goodbye to 67% of them after one game.
I totally agree that ‘A PARLIAMENT OF VOWELS’ was just a category that didn’t hit the strengths of yesterday’s players. However I think perhaps that had that category been taken top down, the correct responses revealed might have triggered some knowledge in the back of some mind(s) that would have resulted in at least one of the last couple being answered correctly and I think it even more likely that had they happened to take it in totally reverse order (as sometimes happens) it would have been even more likely that the lowest two would have been gotten correctly by someone.
On the other hand, I think today’s version would probably have resulted in 5 correct responses even WITHOUT the clue ‘letters’ being provided.