recaps
Season 40
Today’s Final Jeopardy – Thursday, October 5, 2023
Warning: This page contains spoilers for the October 5, 2023, game ofJeopardy!— 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.
Current Champion
Matthew Riggle, career statistics:
47 correct, 6 incorrect
1/1 on rebound attempts (on 4 rebound opportunities)
41.23% in first on buzzer (47/114)
3/3 on Daily Doubles (Net Earned: $7,600)
1/2 in Final Jeopardy
Average Coryat: $21,300
To win:
3 games: 68.027%
4: 46.277%
5: 31.481%
6: 21.415%
7: 14.568%
Avg. streak: 4.128 games.
(Next game: September 14)
(Click Here for Methodology)
Upcoming Encore Presentations
September 12-13: S41 E145 (March 28, 2025)
September 19-20: S42 E173 (May 6, 2026)
September 26-27: S42 E174 (May 7, 2026)
(Source: Bell Fibe TV program guide)
All Time Winnings
All Time Jeopardy! Winnings, Regular Play Only:
1. Ken Jennings $2,520,700
2. James Holzhauer $2,462,216
3. Matt Amodio $1,518,601
4. Amy Schneider $1,382,800
5. Jamie Ding $882,605
6. Cris Pannullo $748,286
7. Mattea Roach $560,983
8. Jason Zuffranieri $532,496
9. Scott Riccardi $455,000
10. David Madden $430,400
11. Julia Collins $428,100
12. Matt Jackson $411,612
13. Austin Rogers $411,000
14. Ray Lalonde $386,400
15. Harrison Whitaker $373,999
16. Adriana Harmeyer $349,600
17. Caleb Groen $346,968
18. Adam Remsen $306,415
19. Ryan Long $299,400
20. Arthur Chu $297,200
All Time Jeopardy! Winnings, Including Tournaments (and Consolation Prizes):
1. Brad Rutter $4,968,436
2. Ken Jennings $4,372,700
3. James Holzhauer $3,614,216
4. Matt Amodio $1,964,601
5. Amy Schneider $1,864,800
6. Yogesh Raut $1,598,403
7. Victoria Groce $1,023,801
8. Mattea Roach $897,983
9. Jamie Ding $885,605
10. David Madden $785,733
11. Cris Pannullo $754,286
12. Roger Craig $706,200
13. Andrew He $684,365
14. Larissa Kelly $671,930
15. Matt Jackson $623,612
16. Jason Zuffranieri $549,496
17. Paolo Pasco $548,717
18. Scott Riccardi $533,000
19. Jerome Vered $499,102
20. Julia Collins $495,767
21. Austin Rogers $493,000
22. Juveria Zaheer $491,000
23. Ben Ingram $449,201
24. Adriana Harmeyer $446,600
25. Buzzy Cohen $441,603
Here’s today’s Final Jeopardy (in the category Global Geology) for Thursday, October 5, 2023 (Season 40, Game 19):
In this nation of 360,000 people, you can walk along the boundaries of the Eurasian & North American tectonic plates
(correct response beneath the contestants)
Today’s Jeopardy! contestants:
Joe Feldmann, a technology professional from Bethesda, Maryland
Amanda Ganske, a product marketing manager from Austin, Texas
Brendan Sargent, a small business owner originally from Worcester, Massachusetts
Andy’s Pregame Thoughts:
Last night on Jeopardy, Kendra Blanchette benefitted greatly from knowing what to do in Final Jeopardy as she became the third of nine semifinalists in the Spades bracket of this Champions Wildcard competition. Brendan Sargent, Amanda Ganske, and Joe Feldmann return to the Alex Trebek Stage tonight! Brendan had a very unlucky time with the Daily Doubles his first time out; if those turn around for him, he might be seen as the favorite. Otherwise, Amanda was a 3-time champion; this should be a very interesting game!
In good news for Jeopardy! fans in northeastern Illinois, one of the most boneheaded pitching changes in MLB history by the Toronto Blue Jays yesterday afternoon has led to no baseball on ABC this afternoon to preempt the show in Chicago! (Seriously, though, the Blue Jays’ team president, general manager, and field manager must all be fired for what transpired yesterday.)
(Content continues below)
My friends over at Geeks Who Drink have a daily trivia game—Thrice! Existing to make daily clever trivia content accessible to a wide audience, it's a daily challenge that tries to get you to the answer via three separate clues. It has a shareable score functionality to challenge your friends and new questions every day will give you a new daily social ritual. You can find it at thricegame.com.
Are you going on the show and looking for information about how to bet in Final Jeopardy? Check out my Betting Strategy 101 page. If you want to learn how to bet in two-day finals, check out Betting Strategy 102. In case the show uses a tournament with wild cards in the future, there is also a strategy page for betting in tournament quarterfinals.
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Correct response: What is Iceland?
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.)
Due to its being situated on the rift between the two tectonic plates, Iceland sees significant geologic activity; there is so much volcanic activity that even into the 20th century, new islands will form off the coast—the most famous being Surtsey, which formed in the mid-1960s.
This should be a straightforward Final for anyone familiar with geography—as I always like to say, straightforward Finals like this keep players betting aggressively in Final!
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Game Recap & Tonight’s Game Stats:
Looking to find out who won Jeopardy! today? Here’s the Thursday, October 5, 2023 Jeopardy! by the numbers, along with a recap:
Jeopardy! Round:
(Categories: Where The Wild Things Are; Movies As TV News Stories; I Have A Preposition For You; Frankly; Madeira; I Don’t Give A…)
Brendan got off to the best start, with 8 correct before the first break, and a judges’ reversal gave him an even bigger lead after 30 clues!
Statistics at the first break (15 clues):
Brendan 8 correct 1 incorrect
Joe 3 correct 1 incorrect
Amanda 1 correct 2 incorrect
Today’s interviews:
Joe got a garbled voice mail transcription from the show, but returned the call because “Jeopardy” showed up in it.
Amanda is so happy she could bring her brother as a guest this time.
Brendan was lucky enough to have Katie Couric as a host, and is begging Couric to release a selfie taken.
Statistics after the Jeopardy round:
Brendan 13 correct 1 incorrect
Joe 5 correct 1 incorrect
Amanda 6 correct 5 incorrect
Scores after the Jeopardy! Round:
Brendan $7,000
Joe $2,200
Amanda $0
Double Jeopardy! Round:
(Categories: Ex-Soviet Republics; Alphabet Pop; Look In The Cabinet; Nun But The Brave; Architecture Terms; Numbers 4 Letters)
Brendan, though understandably afraid of the Daily Double with what they did to him last time, made no effort to find them. As it was, Joe and Amanda got to them. Joe went all in and doubled his score; he sat second going into Final. Amanda had a chance at betting for the lead, but chose not to take it, and she sat third going into Clue #61.
Statistics after Double Jeopardy:
Brendan 20 correct 2 incorrect
Joe 14 correct 2 incorrect
Amanda 15 correct 6 incorrect
Total number of unplayed clues this season: 0 (0 today).
Scores going into Final:
Brendan $15,800
Joe $12,800
Amanda $11,000
Joe’s the only player correct in Final, and that makes him a semi-finalist!
Tonight’s results:
Amanda $11,000 – $11,000 = $0 (What is Norway?)
Joe $12,800 + $10,000 = $22,800 (What is Iceland?) (Semi-Finalist)
Brendan $15,800 – $9,801 = $5,999 (What is Mongolia)
Other Miscellaneous Game Statistics:
Daily Double locations:
1) MADEIRA $400 (clue #22)
Amanda 400 -1000 (Brendan 6200 Joe 1800)
2) LOOK IN THE CABINET $2000 (clue #10)
Joe 4200 +4200 (Brendan 13000 Amanda 2000)
3) NUN BUT THE BRAVE $1200 (clue #25, $6800 left on board)
Amanda 8000 +3000 (Brendan 13800 Joe 10800)
Overall Daily Double Efficiency for this game: 38
Clue Selection by Row, Before Daily Doubles Found:
J! Round:
Brendan 1 5 4 5 3 4 2 3 2 3 3 5 5
Amanda 3 2*
Joe 5 4 5 4 4 3 4
DJ! Round:
Brendan 2 5 1 2 3 1
Amanda 1 3 4 3 2 3 4 5 1 2 3*
Joe 4 5* 5 4 2 1 3 4
Average Row of Clue Selection, Before Daily Doubles Found:
Joe 3.80
Brendan 3.11
Amanda 2.77
Unplayed clues:
J! Round: None!
DJ! Round: None!
Total Left On Board: $0
Number of clues left unrevealed this season: 0 (0.00 per episode average), 0 Daily Doubles
Game Stats:
Joe $10,600 Coryat, 14 correct, 2 incorrect, 21.05% in first on buzzer (12/57), 3/4 on rebound attempts (on 7 rebound opportunities)
Brendan $15,800 Coryat, 20 correct, 2 incorrect, 35.09% in first on buzzer (20/57), 2/2 on rebound attempts (on 7 rebound opportunities)
Amanda $10,200 Coryat, 15 correct, 6 incorrect, 29.82% in first on buzzer (17/57), 2/3 on rebound attempts (on 4 rebound opportunities)
Combined Coryat Score: $36,600
Lach Trash: $11,200 (on 11 Triple Stumpers)
Coryat lost to incorrect responses (less double-correct responses): $6,200
Player Statistics:
Brendan Sargent, career statistics:
70 correct, 15 incorrect
5/5 on rebound attempts (on 13 rebound opportunities)
44.05% in first on buzzer (74/168)
0/3 on Daily Doubles (Net Earned: -$11,000)
0/3 in Final Jeopardy
Average Coryat: $17,400
Amanda Ganske, career statistics:
94 correct, 19 incorrect
9/10 on rebound attempts (on 13 rebound opportunities)
33.68% in first on buzzer (96/285)
1/3 on Daily Doubles (Net Earned: $1,000)
3/5 in Final Jeopardy
Average Coryat: $12,960
Joe Feldmann, career statistics:
75 correct, 11 incorrect
7/9 on rebound attempts (on 19 rebound opportunities)
31.42% in first on buzzer (71/226)
2/3 on Daily Doubles (Net Earned: $5,200)
3/4 in Final Jeopardy
Average Coryat: $12,350
Andy’s Thoughts:
- I think today’s game illustrates just how important it is to find the Daily Doubles, even if it means betting just $5 on them to take them out of your opponents’ hands.
Today’s box score: October 5, 2023 Box Score.
Final Jeopardy! wagering suggestions:
(Scores: Brendan $15,800 Joe $12,800 Amanda $11,000)
Brendan: Standard cover bet over Joe is $9,801. (Actual bet: $9,801)
Amanda: I would bet between $4,801 (in case Brendan bets $0) and $5,000 (staying ahead of Brendan if he’s incorrect). (Actual bet: $11,000)
Joe: Cover bet over Amanda is $9,201. However, you can go all in here to force a cover bet out of Brendan, as you can’t both cover Amanda and win a Double Stumper with Brendan. (Actual bet: $10,000)
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