Today’s Final Jeopardy – Thursday, October 19, 2023

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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

August 12: S42 E98 (January 21, 2026)
August 13: S42 E99 (January 22, 2026)
August 14: S42 E100 (January 23, 2026)
August 15-16: S41 E141 (March 24, 2025)
August 17: S42 E101 (January 26, 2026)
August 18: S42 E105 (January 30, 2026)
August 19: S42 E102 (January 27, 2026)
August 20: S42 E103 (January 28, 2026)
August 21: S42 E104 (January 29, 2026)
August 22-23: S41 E142 (March 25, 2025)
August 24: S42 E106 (February 2, 2026)
August 25: S42 E107 (February 3, 2026)
August 26: S42 E108 (February 4, 2026)
August 27: S42 E109 (February 5, 2026)
August 28: S42 E110 (February 6, 2026)
August 29-30: S41 E143 (March 26, 2025)
(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 $1,098,403
7. Mattea Roach $897,983
8. Jamie Ding $885,605
9. David Madden $785,733
10. Victoria Groce $773,801
11. Cris Pannullo $754,286
12. Roger Craig $706,200
13. Larissa Kelly $671,930
14. Matt Jackson $623,612
15. Jason Zuffranieri $549,496
16. Andrew He $534,365
17. Scott Riccardi $533,000
18. Jerome Vered $499,102
19. Julia Collins $495,767
20. Austin Rogers $493,000
21. Ben Ingram $449,201
22. Paolo Pasco $448,717
23. Adriana Harmeyer $446,600
24. Buzzy Cohen $441,603
25. Juveria Zaheer $441,000

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Here’s today’s Final Jeopardy (in the category Names) for Thursday, October 19, 2023 (Season 40, Game 29):

The name Jennifer is an alteration of this name that in early Welsh literature belonged to the “first lady of the island”

(correct response beneath the contestants)

Today’s Jeopardy! contestants:

Lucy Ricketts, a book designer & freelance illustrator from Atlanta, Georgia (Yesterday’s total: $14,200)

Josh Saak, a traffic engineer from Boise, Idaho (Yesterday’s total: $25,200)

Sam Stapleton, a college consultant from Los Gatos, California (Yesterday’s total: $15,200)

Andy’s Pre-Game Thoughts:

In yesterday’s game, Josh Saak jumped out to a $10,000 lead over Sam Stapleton and an $11,000 lead over Lucy Ricketts, thanks to the most aggressive wager of the three in yesterday’s Final Jeopardy. Things are absolutely not over, and while Josh is in the best position right now, any of the three players could still win this!

I should also note that while I’ve been tracking “lead changes” since midway through this event, I won’t be doing so for this game, as the in-game lead and the advantage in the final could be two different things.

Tomorrow begins the second of four brackets, the Diamonds bracket.

Regarding this Champions Wildcard event, I would like to make the following statement; I will not elaborate further—but if you know what it’s referencing, you know:

Correct response: Who is Guinevere?

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.)

If I were personally behind a contestant lectern playing this clue, I would be finished writing before the music began playing—but I also recognize that this clue will not play easily for everybody (It helps that I dated someone many years ago named Jennifer who would routinely call herself Guinevere online.) The name “Guinevere” is from Wales and Cornwall in the west southwest of the island of Great Britain; the name gained prominence in England after it was used to refer to King Arthur’s wife (hence the “first lady of the island” reference. Over time, Guinevere became Jennifer in English, and has been one of the most popular names in America for the past few decades.

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Game Recap & Tonight’s Game Stats:

Looking to find out who won Jeopardy! today? Here’s the Thursday, October 19, 2023 Jeopardy! by the numbers, along with a recap:

Jeopardy! Round:

(Categories: It’s Our Turn To Sack Rome!!!; Rocket Man; Isms; Culinary Quotes; Auntie Up; Let’s Play Cards)

Lucy got out to the best start in this one, picking up a True Daily Double early and holding the lead throughout the opening round.

Statistics at the first break (15 clues):

Lucy 4 correct 0 incorrect
Josh 3 correct 0 incorrect
Sam 5 correct 1 incorrect

Today’s interviews:

Lucy would like to thank her mom.
Josh would like to thank his parents and his teachers.
Sam would like to thank Jeopardy for bringing everyone back.

Statistics after the Jeopardy round:

Lucy 8 correct 0 incorrect
Josh 8 correct 0 incorrect
Sam 10 correct 1 incorrect

Scores after the Jeopardy! Round:

Lucy $6,000
Josh $4,800
Sam $4,600

Double Jeopardy! Round:

(Categories: Philosophies In A Nutshell; Presidential Actors?; Music Terms; House Hunters Intergalactic; Air Apparent; “Unk” In The Trunk)

The Daily Doubles stayed out very late, which made for a very nervy time! As it was, Josh got to the first one, picking up $7,200! This meant Sam had to take a big swing on the last one—and unfortunately, he dropped $10,000 on an incorrect response. This put Josh into a runaway position going into Final!

Statistics after Double Jeopardy:

Josh 19 correct 4 incorrect
Lucy 14 correct 2 incorrect
Sam 20 correct 2 incorrect
Total number of unplayed clues this season: 0 (0 today).

Scores going into Final:

Josh $22,000
Lucy $11,600
Sam $5,000

Lucy got Final correct, but Josh’s runaway means he is the first Champions Wildcard winner, and will be in the next Tournament of Champions!

Tonight’s results:

Sam $5,000 – $0 = $5,000 + $15,200 = $20,200 (What happens if Josh pulls a Cliff Clavin?? 😊) ($25,000)
Lucy $11,600 + $5,500 = $17,100 + $14,200 = $31,300 (What is Guineviere?) ($50,000)
Josh $22,000 – $0 = $22,000 + $25,200 = $47,200 (What is Regan?) ($100,000)

Other Miscellaneous Game Statistics:

Daily Double locations:

1) AUNTIE UP $1000 (clue #7)
Lucy 1800 +1800 (Sam 400 Josh 800)
2) HOUSE HUNTERS INTERGALACTIC $2000 (clue #21)
Josh 12800 +7200 (Sam 11000 Lucy 10800)
3) PHILOSOPHIES IN A NUTSHELL $1600 (clue #25, $5200 left on board)
Sam 12200 -10000 (Josh 20000 Lucy 12000)
Overall Daily Double Efficiency for this game: 74

Clue Selection by Row, Before Daily Doubles Found:

J! Round:
Sam 5 4
Josh 2 2
Lucy 3 4 5*

DJ! Round:
Sam 4 4 3 4 5 3 1 4 3 4*
Josh 3 2 2 2 4 5 2 5* 1
Lucy 5 3 2 1 3 2

Average Row of Clue Selection, Before Daily Doubles Found:

Josh 2.73
Lucy 3.11
Sam 3.67

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:

Josh $16,800 Coryat, 19 correct, 4 incorrect, 36.84% in first on buzzer (21/57), 0/1 on rebound attempts (on 2 rebound opportunities)
Lucy $10,800 Coryat, 14 correct, 2 incorrect, 22.81% in first on buzzer (13/57), 1/2 on rebound attempts (on 4 rebound opportunities)
Sam $15,000 Coryat, 20 correct, 2 incorrect, 33.33% in first on buzzer (19/57), 2/2 on rebound attempts (on 4 rebound opportunities)
Combined Coryat Score: $42,600
Lach Trash: $4,800 (on 6 Triple Stumpers)
Coryat lost to incorrect responses (less double-correct responses): $6,600

Player Statistics:

Sam Stapleton, career statistics:

142 correct, 14 incorrect
9/10 on rebound attempts (on 21 rebound opportunities)
31.83% in first on buzzer (127/399)
10/12 on Daily Doubles (Net Earned: $22,600)
2/7 in Final Jeopardy
Average Coryat: $16,657

Josh Saak, career statistics:

170 correct, 26 incorrect
5/8 on rebound attempts (on 25 rebound opportunities)
37.80% in first on buzzer (172/455)
7/8 on Daily Doubles (Net Earned: $26,800)
6/8 in Final Jeopardy
Average Coryat: $16,925

Lucy Ricketts, career statistics:

170 correct, 21 incorrect
16/19 on rebound attempts (on 41 rebound opportunities)
33.41% in first on buzzer (151/452)
9/13 on Daily Doubles (Net Earned: $12,400)
5/8 in Final Jeopardy
Average Coryat: $17,400

Andy’s Thoughts:

• As was evidenced in this game, no, Jeopardy! does not currently accept responses simply phrased with rising intonation at the end. (This is a surprisingly frequently asked question of me.)

• Today’s box score: October 19, 2023 Box Score.

Final Jeopardy! wagering suggestions:

(Scores: Josh $22,000 ($25,200) Lucy $11,600 ($14,200) Sam $5,000 ($15,200))

Sam’s current combined score: $20,200
Sam’s maximum possible score: $25,200
Lucy’s current combined score: $25,800
Lucy’s maximum possible score: $37,400
Josh’s current combined score: $47,200
Josh’s maximum possible score: $69,200

Sam: Bet whatever you like here; you’re pretty much locked into third unless someone overbets. (Actual bet: $0)

Josh: Limit your bet to $9,799 and enjoy your win! (Though, really, there’s no advantage to betting. Just bet $0.) (Actual bet: $0)

Lucy: As your current combined score is $25,800 and Sam’s maximum possible is $25,200, you should limit your bet to $599 to guarantee second place. (Actual bet: $5,500)

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