recaps

Season 30

Sifting through alphabet soup

Published

Current Champion

Nikolas Polsinelli, career statistics:
44 correct, 6 incorrect
2/2 on rebound attempts (on 5 rebound opportunities)
35.96% in first on buzzer (41/114)
4/5 on Daily Doubles (Net Earned: $10,600)
1/2 in Final Jeopardy
Average Coryat: $17,500

To win:
3 games: 64.111%
4: 41.102%
5: 26.351%
6: 16.894%
7: 10.831%
Avg. streak: 3.786 games.
(Click Here for Methodology)

Upcoming Encore Presentations

September 26-27: S42 E174 (May 7, 2026)
October 3-4: S42 E175 (May 8, 2026)
October 10-11: S42 E176 (May 11, 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


It’s been a while for me, yeah? Thanks to Andy, who did the last five.
Howard Ray is trying to win for the second time today. I too don’t have pictures.
Christi Esterle was introduced as both a librarian and stay-at-home mom. Were you like me and wondered which it was?
Let’s Play Ball was in fact a sports category. My Sports Jeopardy audition is as on my mind as it’s ever been, but I only went 2/5 in the category (“cut-off” and “bunt”), and, like all 3 contestants, I negged on “screwball.” I said “forkball”! How did you guys do in the category? The contestants seemed to avoid it like the plague. Actually many of the Jeopardy round categories appealed to me.
Matthew Harney found the Daily Double of the round, in A History Lesson.
Howard 600 (2 right)
Matthew 800 (One right and one wrong)
Christi 1200 (2 right and one wrong)
He wagered 1000 on this clue: “The FSA & NYA were part of the ‘alphabet soup’ of this 1930s U.S. government program.” It’s funny, I heard not one but two speakers this weekend at the Republican state convention use the term ‘alphabet soup’ to refer to such entities, but they meant it pejoratively. Or so it sounded. Matthew and I got this right.
Did anybody else say “sift” for this one in Cooking Terms?: “This 4-letter verb means to sprinkle food with a powdery ingredient like confectioner’s sugar or cocoa.” I counted mine wrong but can be convinced otherwise.
At the first break:
Howard 3600 (5 right)
Matthew 2000 (One right)
Christi 2600 (3 right)
Trebek said he’d look for Christi’s web series on bad musicals, but she didn’t sound excited. I wish Trebek would’ve said, during or after my show, that he’d look for this blog!
These contestants have obviously not watched Jeopardy! on Crackle, or they’d have known this one in Modes of Transport that stumped them all: “A Jerry Seinfeld web series: ‘Comedians in ____ Getting Coffee.” In fact it’s the first thing you see when you go to the site.
At the end of the round:
Howard 4400 (4 right and 2 wrong)
Matthew 1400 (2 right and 2 wrong)
Christi 5000 (5 right and one wrong)
Christi found the first Daily Double of Double Jeopardy in Literary Quotes.
Howard 7200 (5 right and one wrong)
Matthew 2600 (2 right and one wrong)
Christi 6600 (3 right)
She wagered 2000 on this clue: “This Edgar Allan Poe short story ends, ‘The Inquisition was in the hands of its enemies.'” She got it right!
Matthew missed a couple I’d have thought he’d have gotten since he said in his interview he was married by a rabbi. But he did get “excommunicate”!
I said “Forest Lawn” one clue too early in Final Resting Places, and then I said something else where it was supposed to be the correct response!
Howard got the second Daily Double of the round in Mob Movies. It was the last clue on the board.
Howard 12000 (4 right)
Matthew 3800 (3 right and one wrong)
Christi 15000 (4 right)
Howard wagered 3000 on this incredibly hard clue: “These 2 men, Best Actor Oscar winners for 2000 & 2001, square off in ‘American Gangster.'” We didn’t have much time to think – Howard gave up quickly.
The Final Jeopardy category was U.S. Geography. This is the clue: “2 places called Point Udall, referred to as the USA’s easternmost & westernmost points, are in these 2 territories.” Matthew was wrong and lost 3500. Howard too was wrong and lost 6100. Christi said the same thing as Howard, and lost only 3001. She plays again.
My Coryat today was 18600 (22800 without negs).

One year ago: It’s not a perfect game
Two years ago: Let’s play a love game
Three years ago: There’s a place for us
Four years ago: Tennis, anyone?

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