recaps

Season 35

Today’s Final Jeopardy – December 26, 2018

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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Merry Christmas! Here’s today’s Final Jeopardy (in the category Historical Geography) for Wednesday, December 26, 2018 (Season 35, Episode 78):

Most of the land fighting in the First Punic War between Rome & Carthage was on this island

(correct response beneath the contestants)

Today’s contestants:

DeAnn Hale, a stay-at-home mom from Eagle Mountain, Utah

Deann Hale on Jeopardy!

Jon Barber, an investment professional from San Francisco, California

Jon Barber on Jeopardy!

Richard Koehler, a data scientist from Wilmington, Delaware (1-day total: $18,001)

Richard Koehler on Jeopardy!

The Jeopardy! Book of Answers is out now! Here’s my review.

(Content continues below)

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Correct response: What is Sicily?

More information about Final Jeopardy:

The First Punic War, which took place from 264 BC to 241 BC, was largely a naval war, but did take place in spots on land in Sicily and Africa. It began in Sicily between Hiero II of Syracuse and the Mamertines; the Mamertines enlisted the Carthaginian navy, and then proceeded to be turncoats, enlisting the help of the Romans. When the Romans sent assistance, Carthage was outraged, who then lent aid to Syracuse, and things escalated to a full-scale war.

While Carthage originally had naval superiority, the Romans quickly overcame that advantage and dominated the war.

There’s always something new coming into The Jeopardy! Fan Online Store, including something perfect for Boston baseball fans! Here are our top-selling items!

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

Scores going into Final:
Jon $18,200
DeAnn $8,200
Richard $8,200

Tonight’s results:
Richard $8,200 + $8,200 = $16,400
DeAnn $8,200 – $8,198 = $2 (What is Crete?)
Jon $18,200 + $1,799 = $19,999 (1-day total: $19,999)

Jon Barber, today's Jeopardy! winner (for the December 26, 2018 game.)

Scores after the Jeopardy! Round:
Richard $4,600
Jon $2,800
DeAnn $2,200

Opening break taken after: 15 clues

Daily Double locations:
1) FAMILY TIES $1000 (27th pick)
Richard 7200 -3000 (Jon 2800 DeAnn 2000)
2) AROUND THE WORLD AT THE METROPOLITAN MUSEUM OF ART $1600 (18th pick)
Jon 11600 +4000 (DeAnn 9400 Richard 5800)
3) AMERICAN HISTORY $1200 (19th pick)
Jon 15600 -1000 (DeAnn 9400 Richard 5800)
Overall Daily Double Efficiency for this game: -14

Unplayed clues:
J! round: DEATH ON THE NILE $1000
DJ! Round: None!
Total $ Left On Board: $1,000

Game Stats:
Jon $16,800 Coryat, 25 correct, 6 incorrect, 50.00% in first on buzzer, 1/1 on rebound attempts
Richard $11,200 Coryat, 17 correct, 2 incorrect, 25.00% in first on buzzer, 4/4 on rebound attempts
DeAnn $8,200 Coryat, 11 correct, 2 incorrect, 19.64% in first on buzzer, 2/2 on rebound attempts
Combined Coryat Score: $36,200
Lach Trash: $6,200 (on 4 Triple Stumpers)
Coryat lost to incorrect responses (less double-correct responses): $10,600

Richard Koehler, final stats:
42 correct, 4 incorrect
4/4 on rebound attempts
35.78% in first on buzzer (39/109)
0/2 on Daily Doubles (Net Earned: -$5,600)
2/2 in Final Jeopardy
Average Coryat: $14,200

Jon Barber, stats to date:
26 correct, 6 incorrect
1/1 on rebound attempts
50.00% in first on buzzer (28/56)
1/2 on Daily Doubles (Net Earned: $3,000)
1/1 in Final Jeopardy
Average Coryat: $16,800

Jon Barber, to win:
2 games: 59.08%
3: 34.90%
4: 20.62%
5: 12.18%
6: 7.20%
Avg. streak: 2.444 games.

Tournament of Champions projections:
With a projected 162 regular-play games to go prior to the Tournament of Champions cutoff, after 500,000 simulations, our model shows:
An average of 4.5657 5+-time champions (standard deviation 1.788).
An average of 8.2452 4+-time champions (standard deviation 2.2099).

An early cutoff took place 29.010% of the time (or a 5-game winner will be left out).

Jon Barber qualified 12.261% of the time.
Dave Leffler qualified 42.870% of the time.
Alex Schmidt qualified 18.212% of the time.
Jackie Fuchs qualified 4.659% of the time.
Mary Ann Borer qualified 0.967% of the time.
Kyle Becker qualified 0.095% of the time.


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