recaps

Season 36

Today’s Final Jeopardy – Wednesday, January 29, 2020

Published Modified

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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 21st Century Oscar Winners) for Wednesday, January 29, 2020 (Season 36, Episode 103):

This man won Best Supporting Actor twice, both for films that won Best Picture

(correct response beneath the contestants)

Today’s contestants:

Ryan Wenstrup-Moore, an associate director of social media from Cincinnati, Ohio

Ryan Wenstrup-Moore on Jeopardy!

Joshua Swiger, a private tour company owner from Kapolei, Hawaii

Joshua Swiger on Jeopardy!

Sarah Frontiera, a graduate student from Santa Monica, California (2-day total: $52,402)

Sarah Frontiera on Jeopardy!

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(Content continues below)

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Correct response: Who is Mahershala Ali?

More information about Final Jeopardy:

This clue is very similar to the one that ran during Greatest of All Time, Game 3! Except that instead of Director, the show went for Best Supporting Actor.

Mahershala Ali’s two Best Supporting Actor awards have been for Best Picture winners Moonlight (where he played Juan) and Green Book (Don Shirley).

Christoph Waltz also has two Best Supporting Actor awards in the 21st century; however, neither Django Unchained nor Inglourious Basterds won Best Picture.

As an aside, there were a number of comments from people last night shaming singular contestants for a perceived lack of knowledge. Viewers would be good to remember that there are three contestants competing to signal on each clue, and the fact that one does not ring in first does not necessarily mean one does not know the correct response.

Since Alex Trebek’s diagnosis of stage 4 pancreatic cancer, many community members have been raising money. The Jeopardy! Fan Online Store is as well! All proceeds from any “Keep The Faith And We’ll Win” shirt sold will be donated to the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network. To date, nearly $500 has been raised.)

In order to redesign our merchandise area to serve you better in 2026, all merchandise sales have been temporarily taken offline. Look for a return in late 2026! All previous orders will still be supported.

Looking to find out who won Jeopardy! today? Tonight’s results are below!

Scores going into Final:
Joshua $27,400
Sarah $16,000
Ryan $4,400

Tonight’s results:
Ryan $4,400 – $400 = $4,000 (Who is Colin Moore)
Sarah $16,000 – $6,801 = $9,199 (Who is Gosling)
Joshua $27,400 – $11,000 = $16,400 (1-day total: $16,400) (Who is Hanks)

Joshua Swiger, today's Jeopardy! winner (for the January 29, 2020 game.)

Scores after the Jeopardy! Round:
Joshua $7,400
Sarah $3,600
Ryan $2,400

Opening break taken after: 15 clues

Daily Double locations:
1) TRAIN OF THOUGHT $600 (17th pick)
Joshua 2200 +2200 (Sarah 1800 Ryan 1400)
2) WHAT’S YOUR AREA? $1600 (14th pick)
Sarah 10800 +2000 (Joshua 9800 Ryan 2800)
3) PLACES $1600 (23rd pick)
Joshua 17400 +6000 (Sarah 12800 Ryan 4400)
Overall Daily Double Efficiency for this game: 153

Unplayed clues:
J! round: STATES’ BIG EMPLOYERS $200 & $400
DJ! Round: None!
Total $ Left On Board: $600
Number of clues left unrevealed this season: 192 (1.86 per episode average), 1 Daily Double

Game Stats:
Joshua $21,400 Coryat, 25 correct, 2 incorrect, 41.82% in first on buzzer, 2/2 on rebound attempts (on 4 rebound opportunities)
Sarah $15,600 Coryat, 21 correct, 4 incorrect, 40.00% in first on buzzer, 1/2 on rebound attempts (on 3 rebound opportunities)
Ryan $4,400 Coryat, 8 correct, 1 incorrect, 12.73% in first on buzzer, 2/2 on rebound attempts (on 5 rebound opportunities)
Combined Coryat Score: $41,400
Lach Trash: $5,200 (on 4 Triple Stumpers)
Coryat lost to incorrect responses (less double-correct responses): $6,800

Sarah Frontiera, final stats:
60 correct, 11 incorrect
7/8 on rebound attempts (on 14 rebound opportunities)
34.52% in first on buzzer (58/168)
3/3 on Daily Doubles (Net Earned: $10,600)
2/3 in Final Jeopardy
Average Coryat: $17,000

Joshua Swiger, stats to date:
25 correct, 3 incorrect
2/2 on rebound attempts (on 4 rebound opportunities)
41.82% in first on buzzer (23/55)
2/2 on Daily Doubles (Net Earned: $8,200)
0/1 in Final Jeopardy
Average Coryat: $21,400

Joshua Swiger, to win:
2 games: 78.969%
3: 62.361%
4: 49.246%
5: 38.889%
6: 30.710%
Avg. streak: 4.755 games.

Andy’s Thoughts:

  • There will be people who will be confused by or will criticize these Final Jeopardy! bets; I don’t find anything inherently wrong with all 3 of them. Joshua didn’t affect his chances of winning with his larger bet from the crush position; Sarah made a wager which would have won her the game had Final Jeopardy! broke the right way, while still keeping Ryan locked out, and Ryan made a bet that could have given her 2nd had Sarah elected to be more aggressive in Final Jeopardy. Kudos to all three players for their excellent strategy tonight.
  • If you don’t think aggressive betting on Daily Doubles is important, look at what Joshua did in the second half of the opening round of today’s game. Buoyed by the True Daily Double on Clue 17, Joshua had 7 of the 13 correct responses in that segment and he went out to a commanding lead.

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