Warning: This page contains spoilers for the January 22, 2025, 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.
This site also has recaps for today’s three Pop Culture Jeopardy episodes. If you’re looking for those recaps instead: Episode 22 (Blame My Mom, Sisters In Spirit, Three Almost Dads); Episode 23 (Thought Patrol, French Toasters, Those Darn Etruscans); Episode 24 (Game Night Rules!, Nerd Alert!, The Team From Toronto). Finally, you can find the recap for today’s episode of Celebrity Jeopardy! here.
Here’s today’s Final Jeopardy (in the category From Real Life to Fiction) for Wednesday, January 22, 2025 (Season 41, Game 98):
These 2 British authors based characters–Dikko Henderson & Old Craw–on Richard Hughes, journalist & double agent
(correct response beneath the contestants)
Today’s Jeopardy! contestants:
Paul Clauson, a tax analyst from Madison Heights, Michigan
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Mehal Shah, a software engineer from Seattle, Washington
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Marko Saric, a math professor from Chapel Hill, North Carolina
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Andy’s Pregame Thoughts:
Today’s third and final semifinal in Champions Wildcard features Marko Saric, Mehal Shah, and Paul Clauson, and they have their work cut out of them to come up with an encore performance after yesterday saw one of the greatest games ever. I’d probably put yesterday’s game in the top 10; but definitely not the greatest game ever, as some pundits did; I would still call quarterfinal match #4 of 2023’s Jeopardy! Masters the greatest game ever—that was the one that saw James Holzhauer and Matt Amodio tied at 28,400 going into Final Jeopardy, and Matt pulling out a victory.
Also, in case you didn’t catch this morning’s news: Jeopardy! and TuneIn announced an extension of their partnership providing the Jeopardy! Radio and Jeopardy! Radio Classics channels, with the Tournament of Champions beginning on Friday evening on TuneIn with the exhibition game between Adriana Harmeyer, Isaac Hirsch, and Drew Basile.
(Content continues below)
My friends over at Geeks Who Drink have introduced 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.
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Correct response: Who are Ian Fleming & John le Carré?
More information about Final Jeopardy:
(The following write-up is original content and is copyright 2025 The Jeopardy! Fan. It may not be copied without linked attribution back to this page.)
Dikko Henderson was a character in Ian Fleming’s You Only Live Twice, while Old Craw was a character in John le Carré’s The Honourable Schoolboy. Hughes himself was the Far East correspondent for The Times, The Economist, and the Far Eastern Economic Review, working from Hong Kong and generally seen as a British spy while over there working.
To me, the way in here is “What two British authors are most likely to have written about double agents”, while diehard 007 fans should probably remember Henderson as well for confirmation here.
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Game Recap & Tonight’s Game Stats:
Looking to find out who won Jeopardy! today? Here’s the Wednesday, January 22, 2025 Jeopardy! by the numbers, along with a recap:
Jeopardy! Round:
(Categories: Women Through The Years; Literally Literature; Fortune Global 500 Companies; Not To Be Confused; School Of Music; It’s A Verb! It’s A Noun!)
Mehal doubled up through the Daily Double early and had a big lead after 15 clues. At the interviews, the scores were Mehal $5,400 Paul $1,600 Marko $1,400.
Statistics at the first break (15 clues):
Mehal 5 correct 0 incorrect
Paul 3 correct 1 incorrect
Marko 4 correct 1 incorrect
Today’s interviews:
Paul is still an excited Lions fan.
Mehal has a 2-year-old daughter.
Marko upset some in North Carolina with his pronunciation of “Appalachian”.
Mehal picked up another four correct after the break to continue to lead after 30 clues.
Statistics after the Jeopardy round:
Mehal 9 correct 0 incorrect
Marko 8 correct 2 incorrect
Paul 7 correct 3 incorrect
Scores after the Jeopardy! Round:
Mehal $7,400
Marko $3,000
Paul $2,000
Double Jeopardy! Round:
(Categories: Salty Bodies Of Water; Insects In High & Low Culture; Anatomy; Prefixed Pairs; Whatcha Watchin’?; Chapel Rome)
Paul found DD2 immediately, but it was probably a case of needing to know the category first, as he was incorrect. He got DD3 correct though, doubling his score, to recover enough to keep this game from being a runaway going into Final.
Statistics after Double Jeopardy:
Mehal 20 correct 0 incorrect
Paul 18 correct 9 incorrect
Marko 11 correct 4 incorrect
Total number of unplayed clues this season: 26 (0 today).
Scores going into Final:
Mehal $19,800
Paul $12,400
Marko $5,800
Marko was the only player correct in Final, but Mehal’s lead means he advances to the final!
Tonight’s results:
Marko $5,800 + $5,800 = $11,600 (Who are Fleming & Le Carré? (Thanks TV & Jamm) )
Paul $12,400 – $2,500 = $9,900 (Who are Fleming and Tokiein)
Mehal $19,800 – $6,001 = $13,799 (Who are Fleming and Stevenson?) (Finalist)
Other Miscellaneous Game Statistics:
Daily Double locations:
1) LITERALLY LITERATURE $600 (clue #5)
Mehal 2600 +2600 (Marko -200 Paul 0)
2) PREFIXED PAIRS $1600 (clue #1)
Paul 2000 -2000 (Marko 3000 Mehal 7400)
3) INSECTS IN HIGH & LOW CULTURE $1600 (clue #19, $10400 left on board)
Paul 4800 +4800 (Marko 2200 Mehal 17800)
Overall Daily Double Efficiency for this game: 100
Clue Selection by Row, Before Daily Doubles Found:
J! Round:
Marko 4 5
Mehal 4 3 3*
Paul
DJ! Round:
Marko
Mehal 3 3 4 3 2 5 3 2† 2 1
Paul 4* 5† 4 5 2 4 5 3† 4*
† – selection in same category as Daily Double
Average Row of Clue Selection, Before Daily Doubles Found:
Mehal 2.92
Marko 4.50
Paul 4.00
Unplayed clues:
J! Round: None!
DJ! Round: None!
Total Left On Board: $0
Number of clues left unrevealed this season: 26 (0.27 per episode average), 0 Daily Doubles
Game Stats:
Mehal $17,800 Coryat, 20 correct, 0 incorrect, 24.56% in first on buzzer (14/57), 5/5 on rebound attempts (on 10 rebound opportunities)
Marko $5,800 Coryat, 11 correct, 4 incorrect, 22.81% in first on buzzer (13/57), 0/2 on rebound attempts (on 8 rebound opportunities)
Paul $11,200 Coryat, 18 correct, 9 incorrect, 42.11% in first on buzzer (24/57), 1/1 on rebound attempts (on 2 rebound opportunities)
Combined Coryat Score: $34,800
Lach Trash: $8,800 (on 10 Triple Stumpers)
Coryat lost to incorrect responses (less double-correct responses): $10,400
Lead Changes: 0
Times Tied: 0
Player Statistics:
Marko Saric, career statistics:
102 correct, 21 incorrect
8/10 on rebound attempts (on 24 rebound opportunities)
35.44% in first on buzzer (101/285)
5/7 on Daily Doubles (Net Earned: $7,100)
2/5 in Final Jeopardy
Average Coryat: $14,440
Mehal Shah, career statistics:
113 correct, 16 incorrect
9/9 on rebound attempts (on 20 rebound opportunities)
37.81% in first on buzzer (107/283)
6/8 on Daily Doubles (Net Earned: $31,200)
0/5 in Final Jeopardy
Average Coryat: $16,240
Paul Clauson, career statistics:
108 correct, 33 incorrect
5/6 on rebound attempts (on 11 rebound opportunities)
42.70% in first on buzzer (120/281)
5/10 on Daily Doubles (Net Earned: $4,400)
1/5 in Final Jeopardy
Average Coryat: $13,080
Andy’s Thoughts:
- A reminder that when the judges reverse an incorrect response to make it correct, the player is given double the clue’s value, as that is what needs to be done to go from an incorrect response—which costs you money—to a correct one—which gains you money.
- The prediction model’s chances to win: Drew 37.7% Mehal 33.0% Will 29.3%; to finish 1st or 2nd: Drew 70.5%, Mehal 64.8%, Will 64.7%.
- Today’s box score will be linked to when posted by the show.
Final Jeopardy! wagering suggestions:
(Scores: Mehal $19,800 Paul $12,400 Marko $5,800)
Marko: You can’t win unless Mehal overbets. You might as well go all in, though, to take advantage if that does happen. (Actual bet: $5,800)
Mehal: Standard cover bet over Paul is $5,001. (Actual bet: $6,001)
Paul: To have any chance of winning, you need to bet at least $2,400. If this were regular play, I’d suggest limiting your bet to $6,599, but you might as well go all in here, as there’s no difference between second and third. (Actual bet: $2,500)
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I kind of figured that one out of the two characters was in a James Bond novel. Also, the only other British spy author that I know is Le Carre.
This is basically exactly how I arrived at the answer, as well.
30 seconds, two British authors….I went with Dame Agatha Christie and Sir Author Conan Doyle.
Today’s Final Jeopardy was a loss for me, not knowing the twocharacters mentioned in the answer clue. That leaves me with an incomplete from Monday, then two losses. This result isn’t a surprise, Final Jeopardy in the Semi-Final, and, Final rounds in tournaments should be something that makes you think before answering.
British authors and double agents, i.e., spy novels, Ian Fleming & John le Carré are the whole category for me. I couldn’t come up with a third so I was forced to go with what turned out to be the correct response.
I was thinking the same way except I couldn’t remember the name of “the guy who wrote Tinker, Tailor Soldier Spy” so I didn’t even get to a third possibility 🤷.
I neglected to go with the authors, as I was having a bit of a problem with the clue. I said 007 and M Oops!
Retro congrats to Mehal on the win and advancing to the 2 day Final. Should be a great match!
It appears to me that Mehal had a bit of a math error, as he bet $6001 in FJ instead of $5001. Thankfully it didn’t cost him the win.