Today’s Final Jeopardy – Friday, February 24, 2023

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 The Ancient World) for Friday, February 24, 2023 (Season 39, Game 120):

The ancient writer Galen said books on ships arriving to this city’s port were seized, originals kept & copies returned

(correct response beneath the contestants)

Today’s Jeopardy! contestants:

Isabella Pagano, a first-year student at Caltech from Libertyville, Illinois

Ryan Presler, a senior at Brandon Valley High School from Sioux Falls, South Dakota

Jackson Jones, a junior at Vanderbilt University from Louisville, Kentucky

Andy’s Pregame Thoughts:

We are nearing the end of the first week of the High School Reunion Tournament. Today’s fifth quarter-final is between Jackson Jones, Ryan Presler, and Isabella Pagano. It’s an intriguing matching, for sure: Ryan was initally the alternate before Rotimi Kukoyi was unable to participate last-minute; Jackson is favored in this matchup by the prediction model, due to his losing his semifinal to eventual champion Avi Gupta on a tiebreaker. Ryan was a finalist in 2019, whereas Isabella bowed out in Round 1 in the fall of 2018’s tournament.

One thing that I’ve seeing happen is that a cult of celebrity is definitely forming around Ken Jennings; the behaviour of many of this fandom’s members towards Mayim Bialik is unacceptable. I must reiterate: Mayim Bialik is a perfectly cromulent host of this program. She is undeserving of the constant social media abuse that she is currently receiving, and the actions of a few are making the whole group look bad.

PSA: The best way to keep COVID-19 at bay (and keep Jeopardy! producing new episodes) is for everybody to get their vaccinations as soon as they can, including any boosters as recommended. When wearing a mask, please ensure that your mask covers both your nose and your mouth.

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Correct response: What is Alexandria?

More information about Final Jeopardy:

(The following write-up is original content and is copyright 2023 The Jeopardy! Fan. It may not be copied without linked attribution back to this page.)

The famed Library of Alexandria, according to legend, went to great lengths and guile to obtain books for its collection. One other story, reported on by Galen, saw Ptolemy III convince the Athenian State Archives to send the original texts of Aeschylus, Sophocles, and Euripides to Alexandria, under the guise of making copies. Having paid a pledge of 15 talents (950 pounds) of silver, Ptolemy kept the originals and sent back the copies. Unfortunately, the library was eventually a casualty of war. While it is unclear which specific battle caused the destruction of the library, most modern scholars believe that the library had been destroyed well before the Arab conquest of Alexandria in the 7th century CE.

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Game Recap:

Jeopardy! Round:

(Categories: Very Artistic; Hits Of Then & Now; A Government Office; Homophones; I Like To Science!; Get Ready For The “G-R-E”s)

In a very well-played opening round by all three players, Jackson jumped out to a lead with a True Daily Double a few clues before the break. After the break, Jackson was the best on the signalling device to extend his lead.

Statistics at the first break (15 clues):

Jackson 4 correct 0 incorrect
Ryan 5 correct 0 incorrect
Isabella 6 correct 0 incorrect

Statistics after the Jeopardy round:

Jackson 15 correct 1 incorrect
Ryan 8 correct 1 incorrect
Isabella 7 correct 1 incorrect

Double Jeopardy! Round:

(Categories: Literary Reunions; Short, Tiny & Small; Describing The Horror Film Franchise; World Geography; Starts & Ends With The Same Vowel; Black History)

Jackson got to the Daily Doubles very quickly, but he missed the last one, meaning that Ryan and Isabella had an opening to keep the game from being a runaway! Scores going into Final were Jackson at $16,200, Ryan at $11,000, and Isabella at $10,400.

Statistics after Double Jeopardy:

Jackson 25 correct 6 incorrect
Ryan 14 correct 1 incorrect
Isabella 15 correct 4 incorrect
Total number of unplayed clues this season: 16 (0 today).

Jackson and Ryan got Final correct; Jackson made the standard cover bet and is a semi-finalist!

Tonight’s Game Stats:

Looking to find out who won Jeopardy! today? Here’s the Friday, February 24, 2023 Jeopardy! by the numbers:

Scores going into Final:

Jackson $16,200
Ryan $11,000
Isabella $10,400

Tonight’s results:

Isabella $10,400 – $0 = $10,400 (What is Athens?)
Ryan $11,000 + $9,801 = $20,801 (What is Alexandria?)
Jackson $16,200 + $5,801 = $22,001 (What is Alexandria?) (1-day total: $22,001)

Scores after the Jeopardy! Round:

Jackson $8,800
Ryan $5,400
Isabella $4,400

Opening break taken after: 15 clues

Daily Double locations:

1) I LIKE TO SCIENCE! $600 (clue #11)
Jackson 2600 +2600 (Ryan 3000 Isabella 3400)
2) WORLD GEOGRAPHY $1600 (clue #3)
Jackson 10800 +3800 (Ryan 5400 Isabella 6000)
3) LITERARY REUNIONS $1200 (clue #6, $26400 left on board)
Jackson 16600 -3600 (Ryan 6600 Isabella 6000)
Overall Daily Double Efficiency for this game: 113

Clue Selection by Row, Before Daily Doubles Found:

J! Round:
Jackson 4 4 3*
Ryan 4 4 4
Isabella 5 5 5 5 5

DJ! Round:
Jackson 4* 3 3*
Ryan 5†
Isabella 4 5

† – selection in same category as Daily Double

Average Row of Clue Selection, Before Daily Doubles Found:

Jackson 3.50
Ryan 4.25
Isabella 4.86

Unplayed clues:

J! Round: None!
DJ! Round: None!
Total Left On Board: $0
Number of clues left unrevealed this season: 16 (0.13 per episode average), 0 Daily Doubles

Game Stats:

Jackson $15,600 Coryat, 25 correct, 6 incorrect, 43.86% in first on buzzer (25/57), 3/3 on rebound attempts (on 3 rebound opportunities)
Ryan $11,000 Coryat, 14 correct, 1 incorrect, 26.32% in first on buzzer (15/57), 0/0 on rebound attempts (on 7 rebound opportunities)
Isabella $10,400 Coryat, 15 correct, 4 incorrect, 28.07% in first on buzzer (16/57), 1/3 on rebound attempts (on 6 rebound opportunities)
Combined Coryat Score: $37,000
Lach Trash: $6,800 (on 5 Triple Stumpers)
Coryat lost to incorrect responses (less double-correct responses): $10,200

Jackson Jones, career statistics:

71 correct, 11 incorrect
4/4 on rebound attempts (on 8 rebound opportunities)
40.12% in first on buzzer (69/172)
5/6 on Daily Doubles (Net Earned: $9,800)
2/3 in Final Jeopardy
Average Coryat: $17,867

Ryan Presler, career statistics:

82 correct, 4 incorrect
3/3 on rebound attempts (on 22 rebound opportunities)
26.32% in first on buzzer (75/285)
3/3 on Daily Doubles (Net Earned: $8,000)
3/5 in Final Jeopardy
Average Coryat: $13,040

Isabella Pagano, career statistics:

29 correct, 7 incorrect
1/4 on rebound attempts (on 9 rebound opportunities)
26.32% in first on buzzer (30/114)
0/0 on Daily Doubles
0/2 in Final Jeopardy
Average Coryat: $9,200

Remaining Players’ Chances of Winning Tournament:

Maya Wright: 11.222%
Avi Gupta: 17.252%
Stephanie Pierson: 8.106%
Justin Bolsen: 15.453%
Jackson Jones: 16.238%
Rohan Kapileshwari: 2.646%
Claire Sattler: 4.457%
Rhea Sinha: 1.691%
Lucas Miner: 2.982%
Anish Maddipoti: 1.121%
Audrey Satchivi: 3.287%
Tim Cho: 5.035%
Dan Oxman: 0.287%
Eesha Sohail: 2.664%
Hannah Nekritz: 2.565%
Caleb Richmond: 2.623%
Maggie Brown: 2.371%

Today’s interviews:

Isabella, as a youngster, would run into the room during the theme music to say hi to Alex.
Ryan is very impressed with his fellow contestants.
Jackson has encountered five Jeopardy! alumni at Vanderbilt.

Andy’s Thoughts:

• I was very impressed with Isabella’s bet today in Final. Good for her!

• Today’s box score: February 24, 2023 Box Score.

Final Jeopardy! wagering suggestions:

(Scores: Jackson $16,200 Ryan $11,000 Isabella $10,400)

Jackson: Standard cover bet over Ryan is $5,801. (Actual bet: $5,801)

Ryan: You’re in Stratton’s Dilemma—you both can’t cover Isabella and win a Double Stumper with Jackson. While Isabella has strong reason to bet $0, there’s no guarantee she knows the strategy here, which makes this a tough decision for you. Either bet less than $599 or more than $9,801—both are defensible. (Actual bet: $9,801)

Isabella: If Jackson makes the standard cover bet, he falls to $10,399 if he misses Final. Bet $0. (Actual bet: $0)

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