recaps
Season 39
Today’s Final Jeopardy – Wednesday, December 21, 2022
Warning: This page contains spoilers for the December 21, 2022, 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
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 Children’s Lit) for Wednesday, December 21, 2022 (Season 39, Game 73):
The title object of this book “never looked more beautiful…each strand held dozens of bright drops of early morning dew”
(correct response beneath the contestants)
Today’s Jeopardy! contestants:
Michael Vaz, a tutor from Mississauga, Ontario, Canada
Mary Dishigrikyan, a school psychologist from North Hollywood, California
Ray Lalonde, a scenic artist from Toronto, Ontario, Canada (4-day total: $95,300)
Andy’s Pregame Thoughts:
Ray Lalonde goes for the all-important win number five tonight on Jeopardy!—his challengers tonight are North Hollywood’s Mary Dishigrikyan and Mississauga’s Michael Vaz. Two Canadians on the same episode of Jeopardy! is not unprecedented—in 2018, B.C.’s Ali Hasan was defeated by Ontario’s Jordan Nussbaum, while Mattea Roach won their 10th game last April against North Vancouver’s Caitlin Hayes.
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(Content continues below)
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Correct response: What is Charlotte’s Web?
More information about Final Jeopardy:
(The following write-up is original content and is copyright 2022 The Jeopardy! Fan. It may not be copied without linked attribution back to this page.)
Charlotte’s Web is a famous 1952 work of children’s literature by E.B. White. In it, the title barn spider begins spinning webs extolling the virtues of pig Wilbur to prevent Wilbur from being slaughtered by their farmer. Charlotte’s messages included “Some Pig”, and “Humble”. The work was nominated for the Newbery Medal, but lost to Ann Nolan Clark’s “Secret of the Andes”.
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Game Recap:
Jeopardy! Round:
(Categories: Geography That Made History; Quotable Shakespeare Plays; Machines; Sounds Like A Bug; Nba Teams; Superlatives)
Today’s game started out very quickly as the Battle of Ontario, with both Ray and Michael playing very well. Michael was buoyed by an early True Daily Double and held the lead at both commercial breaks!
Statistics at the first break (15 clues):
Michael 8 correct 0 incorrect
Ray 6 correct 1 incorrect
Mary 0 correct 1 incorrect
Statistics after the Jeopardy round:
Michael 12 correct 1 incorrect
Ray 13 correct 3 incorrect
Mary 1 correct 1 incorrect
Double Jeopardy! Round:
(Categories: Pacific Islands; Putting On Heirs; Food & Drink; The Classic Song In Question; I’S In The Back; Of Your Head)
The Battle of Ontario continued to be very closely fought! Michael and Ray played a Daily Double, but Ray got to his second and was able to size his bet to take a slim lead going into clue #61! Scores going into the final clue were Ray at $19,200, Michael at $18,400, and Mary at $3,000.
Statistics after Double Jeopardy:
Ray 28 correct 4 incorrect
Michael 21 correct 3 incorrect
Mary 3 correct 1 incorrect
Total number of unplayed clues this season: 12 (0 today).
Both Canadians got Final Jeopardy! correct—Ray did make a cover bet and is now a 5-time champion! He attempts to become only the second Canadian ever to win 6 tomorrow!
Tonight’s Game Stats:
Looking to find out who won Jeopardy! today? Here’s the Wednesday, December 21, 2022 Jeopardy! by the numbers:
Scores going into Final:
Ray $19,200
Michael $18,400
Mary $3,000
Tonight’s results:
Mary $3,000 – $2,000 = $1,000 (What is Sleeping Beauty?)
Michael $18,400 + $801 = $19,201 (What is Charlotte’s Web?)
Ray $19,200 + $17,700 = $36,900 (What is Charlotte’s Web?) (5-day total: $132,200)
Scores after the Jeopardy! Round:
Michael $7,600
Ray $5,000
Mary -$200
Opening break taken after: 15 clues
Daily Double locations:
1) GEOGRAPHY THAT MADE HISTORY $800 (clue #7)
Michael 1600 +1600 (Ray 2000 Mary -400)
2) PUTTING ON HEIRS $1600 (clue #15)
Michael 10000 +4000 (Ray 12200 Mary 3000)
3) PACIFIC ISLANDS $1600 (clue #25, $4000 left on board)
Ray 15800 +3000 (Mary 3000 Michael 17200)
Overall Daily Double Efficiency for this game: 159
Clue Selection by Row, Before Daily Doubles Found:
J! Round:
Ray 3 4 5 1 3
Mary
Michael 2 4*
DJ! Round:
Ray 3 4 5 1 3 4 5 3 4 5 4 2† 1† 4*
Mary 1 2 2
Michael 3 4* 5† 3 3 5 2 2
† – selection in same category as Daily Double
Average Row of Clue Selection, Before Daily Doubles Found:
Ray 3.37
Michael 3.30
Mary 1.67
Unplayed clues:
J! Round: None!
DJ! Round: None!
Total Left On Board: $0
Number of clues left unrevealed this season: 12 (0.16 per episode average), 0 Daily Doubles
Game Stats:
Ray $17,800 Coryat, 28 correct, 4 incorrect, 49.12% in first on buzzer (28/57), 3/3 on rebound attempts (on 3 rebound opportunities)
Michael $15,200 Coryat, 21 correct, 3 incorrect, 35.09% in first on buzzer (20/57), 1/2 on rebound attempts (on 5 rebound opportunities)
Mary $3,000 Coryat, 3 correct, 1 incorrect, 5.26% in first on buzzer (3/57), 1/1 on rebound attempts (on 6 rebound opportunities)
Combined Coryat Score: $36,000
Lach Trash: $11,000 (on 8 Triple Stumpers)
Coryat lost to incorrect responses (less double-correct responses): $7,000
Ray Lalonde, career statistics:
133 correct, 19 incorrect
9/10 on rebound attempts (on 16 rebound opportunities)
45.26% in first on buzzer (129/285)
8/8 on Daily Doubles (Net Earned: $25,100)
3/5 in Final Jeopardy
Average Coryat: $20,440
Mary Dishigrikyan, career statistics:
3 correct, 2 incorrect
1/1 on rebound attempts (on 6 rebound opportunities)
5.26% in first on buzzer (3/57)
0/0 on Daily Doubles
0/1 in Final Jeopardy
Average Coryat: $3,000
Michael Vaz, career statistics:
22 correct, 3 incorrect
1/2 on rebound attempts (on 5 rebound opportunities)
35.09% in first on buzzer (20/57)
2/2 on Daily Doubles (Net Earned: $5,600)
1/1 in Final Jeopardy
Average Coryat: $15,200
Ray Lalonde, to win:
6 games: 79.456%
7: 63.133%
8: 50.163%
9: 39.858%
10: 31.669%
Avg. streak: 8.868 games.
Today’s interviews:
Michael competed at the World Board Game Championships.
Mary tends to have her teeth chatter when she’s nervous.
Ray is a lover of theatre; his uncle was part of a Gilbert & Sullivan society.
Andy’s Thoughts:
- I don’t think I can lay blame on Michael’s DD2 bet size for today’s outcome; I do feel that Ray would have adjusted his bet size accordingly on DD3 to take the lead, regardless of what Michael bet.
- While there are very likely going to be more worthy candidates than competition slots, I think Michael is very likely to get Second Chance consideration after today’s performance.
Today’s box score: December 21, 2022 Box Score.
Final Jeopardy! wagering suggestions:
(Scores: Ray $19,200 Michael $18,400 Mary $3,000)
Ray: Standard cover bet over Michael is $17,601. (Actual bet: $17,700)
Mary: If Ray makes the cover bet over Michael and is incorrect, he falls to $1,599. Limit your bet to $1,399 for the best chance of winning. (Actual bet: $2,000)
Michael: Bet between $1,601 (to defend against Ray’s small range) and $12,399 (therefore keeping Mary locked out.)(Actual bet: $801)
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