Today’s Final Jeopardy – Friday, December 9, 2022

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

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

Here’s today’s Final Jeopardy (in the category 1970s Movies) for Friday, December 9, 2022 (Season 39, Game 65):

A 1975 premiere of this comedy advertised free coconuts for the first thousand in the audience

(correct response beneath the contestants)

Today’s Jeopardy! contestants:

Matthew Ott, an accountant originally from Boston, Massachusetts

Ellen LaBerge, a lawyer from Syracuse, New York

Sriram Krishnan, a consultant from Falls Church, Virginia (1-day total: $21,800)

Andy’s Pregame Thoughts:

The champion’s carousel continues since the defeat of Cris Pannullo earlier this week, though Sriram Krishnan played very well at the $2,000 level of the board on yesterday’s game. That would normally bode well, but he also only took 31 attempts, according to yesterday’s box score. We’ll see what happens today! Today’s challengers are Ellen LaBerge and Matthew Ott.

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Correct response: What is Monty Python and the Holy Grail?

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.)

According to Eric Idle, Donald Rugoff, the then-owner of New York City arthouse cinema Cinema II, “paid for two out-of-work actors to dress in Authurian robes and run up and down 5th Avenue, shouting, ‘Free coconuts to the first 1,000 guests who come to the 11 a.m. screening of Monty Python and the Holy Grail”. Then, “the next day, we were woken at 8 a.m. and told, ‘There are 2,000 people surrounding Cinema II waiting for free coconuts! We were trapped there all day, because after they saw the film, they wanted their coconuts and then we had to sign the coconuts. And it’s virtually impossible to sign a coconut.”

In case it comes up: I wouldn’t be surprised if the show accepted just Holy Grail—the Yahoo article I linked to certainly shortened it to that!

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Game Recap:

Jeopardy! Round:

(Categories: Places Named For People; Put In A Good Word; Table Talk; Song Title Titles; She Blinded Me; Science!)

This was a very evenly-matched opening round; Sriram, unfortunately, fell back to $0 on the Daily Double and was in third after 30 clues; Matthew led on the strength of doing better in the middle and bottom of the board.

Statistics at the first break (15 clues):

Matthew 5 correct 0 incorrect
Ellen 3 correct 0 incorrect
Sriram 4 correct 1 incorrect

Statistics after the Jeopardy round:

Matthew 7 correct 0 incorrect
Ellen 9 correct 0 incorrect
Sriram 9 correct 2 incorrect

Double Jeopardy! Round:

(Categories: History; Russian Writers; “P”otpourri; Company Name Origins; TV Final Episodes; State Postal Abbreviation Words)

Matthew and Sriram got to the Daily Doubles; Matthew went a little more aggressively. Sriram, however, played very well in the second half of the round, jumping into the lead going into Final! Scores going into Final were Sriram at $14,200, Matthew at $11,600, and Ellen at $7,800.

Statistics after Double Jeopardy:

Sriram 20 correct 3 incorrect
Matthew 13 correct 2 incorrect
Ellen 15 correct 3 incorrect
Total number of unplayed clues this season: 12 (0 today).

Matthew and Ellen got Final correct today—that means Matthew is your new champion! He’ll be back on Monday to defend his title!

Tonight’s Game Stats:

Looking to find out who won Jeopardy! today? Here’s the Friday, December 9, 2022 Jeopardy! by the numbers:

Scores going into Final:

Sriram $14,200
Matthew $11,600
Ellen $7,800

Tonight’s results:

Ellen $7,800 + $7,000 = $14,800 (What is “Monty Python & the Holy Grail”?)
Matthew $11,600 + $11,597 = $23,197 (What is Monty Python and the Holy Grail?) (1-day total: $23,197)
Sriram $14,200 – $10,000 = $4,200 (What is Bananas?)

Scores after the Jeopardy! Round:

Matthew $5,000
Ellen $4,600
Sriram $1,000

Opening break taken after: 15 clues

Daily Double locations:

1) PUT IN A GOOD WORD $800 (clue #19)
Sriram 2600 -2600 (Ellen 3400 Matthew 3600)
2) TV FINAL EPISODES $2000 (clue #8)
Matthew 7800 +3800 (Sriram 3800 Ellen 7800)
3) COMPANY NAME ORIGINS $1200 (clue #12, $21600 left on board)
Sriram 5000 +2000 (Ellen 7800 Matthew 10400)
Overall Daily Double Efficiency for this game: -11

Clue Selection by Row, Before Daily Doubles Found:

J! Round:
Sriram 2 3 4 3 5 2 4*
Ellen 3 3 3 4 5
Matthew 5 1 4 3 4 5 5

DJ! Round:
Sriram 3 2 5 3 1† 3 3*
Ellen 4 1
Matthew 4 5* 2†

† – selection in the same category as the first Daily Double

Average Row of Clue Selection, Before Daily Doubles Found:

Matthew 3.80
Ellen 3.29
Sriram 3.07

Unplayed clues:

J! Round: None!
DJ! Round: None!
Total Left On Board: $0
Number of clues left unrevealed this season: 12 (0.18 per episode average), 0 Daily Doubles

Game Stats:

Matthew $9,800 Coryat, 13 correct, 2 incorrect, 22.81% in first on buzzer (13/57), 1/1 on rebound attempts (on 4 rebound opportunities)
Ellen $7,800 Coryat, 15 correct, 3 incorrect, 29.82% in first on buzzer (17/57), 1/1 on rebound attempts (on 3 rebound opportunities)
Sriram $16,000 Coryat, 20 correct, 3 incorrect, 35.09% in first on buzzer (20/57), 0/1 on rebound attempts (on 5 rebound opportunities)
Combined Coryat Score: $33,600
Lach Trash: $12,200 (on 11 Triple Stumpers)
Coryat lost to incorrect responses (less double-correct responses): $8,200

Sriram Krishnan, career statistics:

41 correct, 5 incorrect
2/3 on rebound attempts (on 11 rebound opportunities)
33.33% in first on buzzer (38/114)
2/3 on Daily Doubles (Net Earned: $1,400)
0/2 in Final Jeopardy
Average Coryat: $18,300

Ellen LaBerge, career statistics:

16 correct, 3 incorrect
1/1 on rebound attempts (on 3 rebound opportunities)
29.82% in first on buzzer (17/57)
0/0 on Daily Doubles
1/1 in Final Jeopardy
Average Coryat: $7,800

Matthew Ott, career statistics:

14 correct, 2 incorrect
1/1 on rebound attempts (on 4 rebound opportunities)
22.81% in first on buzzer (13/57)
1/1 on Daily Doubles (Net Earned: $3,800)
1/1 in Final Jeopardy
Average Coryat: $9,800

Matthew Ott, to win:

2 games: 39.317%
3: 15.459%
4: 6.078%
5: 2.390%
6: 0.940%
Avg. streak: 1.648 games.

Today’s interviews:

Matthew has a son named James, named after “Sweet Baby James”.
Ellen thinks Jeopardy! is her Olympics.
Sriram has won many other competitions at work.

Andy’s Thoughts:

• The “State Postal Abbreviation Words” was harder than the equivalent category from 2001; that being said, it amused me that the first clue played was the same correct response as my example.

• Today’s box score: December 9, 2022 Box Score.

Final Jeopardy! wagering suggestions:

(Scores: Sriram $14,200 Matthew $11,600 Ellen $7,800)

Sriram: Standard cover bet over Matthew is $9,001. (Actual bet: $10,000)

Ellen: If Sriram and Matthew both make cover bets, they’ll fall to $5,199 and $7,599, respectively. Limit your bet to $199. (Actual bet: $7,000)

Matthew: Standard cover bet over Ellen is $4,001. (Actual bet: $11,597)

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