recaps
Season 39
Today’s Final Jeopardy – Thursday, December 1, 2022
Warning: This page contains spoilers for the December 1, 2022, game of Jeopardy! — please do not scroll down if you wish to avoid being spoiled. Please note that the game airs as early as noon Eastern in some U.S. television markets.
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 Language & Its Meanings) for Thursday, December 1, 2022 (Season 39, Game 59):
Now meaning someone with nocturnal habits, it catches a sleeping dove in Shakespeare’s “…Lucrece”
Editorial note: The clue above has been redacted from how it has been displayed on the show. The Jeopardy! website contains the full text of the clue.
(correct response beneath the contestants)
Today’s Jeopardy! contestants:
Jeri Zulli, an English professor from East Setauket, New York
Rob Lamanna, a product manager from Whitby, Ontario, Canada
Cris Pannullo, a customer success operations manager from Ocean City, New Jersey (18-day total: $637,923)
Andy’s Pregame Thoughts:
Cris Pannullo picked up victory #18 last night on Jeopardy!—if he wins today, he ties Jason Zuffranieri and David Madden at 19. Jeri Zulli and Rob Lamonna attempt to stop him.
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(Content continues below)
My friends over at Geeks Who Drink have a daily trivia game—Thrice! Existing to make daily clever trivia content accessible to a wide audience, it's a daily challenge that tries to get you to the answer via three separate clues. It has a shareable score functionality to challenge your friends and new questions every day will give you a new daily social ritual. You can find it at thricegame.com.
Are you going on the show and looking for information about how to bet in Final Jeopardy? Check out my Betting Strategy 101 page. If you want to learn how to bet in two-day finals, check out Betting Strategy 102. In case the show uses a tournament with wild cards in the future, there is also a strategy page for betting in tournament quarterfinals.
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Correct response: What is a night owl?
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.)
“The dove sleeps fast that this night-owl will catch” That is the requisite line from the Shakespeare poem; the term “night owl” is often used today to refer to a nocturnal person.
Now: I don’t know if Jeopardy! itself is attempting to trap websites by adding language that might get these sites demonetized, but it is my belief that if a publisher can not publish the full text of a clue out of fear of demonetization, that clue is completely inappropriate for use on the program. Be better, Jeopardy. Your writers’ behavior is puerile and sophomoric, and this clue’s wording is extremely inappropriate for 2022. There’s a reason why the Folger Shakespeare Library in D.C. just calls it “Lucrece” now—and you need to follow that lead.
I also understand that other publishers might choose a different editorial policy regarding this clue, and that is their prerogative. I have made my choice based on my own personal risk tolerance; I just don’t like how the show has put myself and others in a position to have to choose between potentially running afoul of its advertisers’ content guidelines and publishing what airs on the show.
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Game Recap:
Jeopardy! Round:
(Categories: Remembering Olivia Newton-John; Nickname’s The Same; Geography; Doctor-Ing Up Literature; 1, 2 & 3; Dollars To Donuts)
Cris had the best opening round, and was aided by Jeri going to the top row—this gave Cris the control he needed to get to the Daily Double. Cris’s score was over five figures after 30 clues today.
Statistics at the first break (15 clues):
Cris 8 correct 0 incorrect
Rob 4 correct 0 incorrect
Jeri 1 correct 0 incorrect
Statistics after the Jeopardy round:
Cris 19 correct 0 incorrect
Rob 6 correct 0 incorrect
Jeri 2 correct 0 incorrect
Double Jeopardy! Round:
(Categories: Biblical Demons, Devils & Spirits; Role In Common; World Museums; Hit The Sauce; Every Man A King; Contractions)
Double Jeopardy! started well for Rob, but he only ventured about half his score on the first Daily Double. Both fortunately and unfortunately for Cris, it was Jeri who found the last one when in a very distant third. As it was, Rob did just enough to keep Cris from having a runaway! Scores going into Final were Cris at $27,600, Rob at $14,200, and Jeri at $3,900.
Statistics after Double Jeopardy:
Cris 34 correct 0 incorrect
Rob 12 correct 2 incorrect
Jeri 5 correct 1 incorrect
Total number of unplayed clues this season: 12 (0 today).
Cris and Rob got Final correct today—Cris is now a 19-day champion; he’ll go for #20 tomorrow!
Tonight’s Game Stats:
Looking to find out who won Jeopardy! today? Here’s the Thursday, December 1, 2022 Jeopardy! by the numbers:
Scores going into Final:
Cris $27,600
Rob $14,200
Jeri $3,900
Tonight’s results:
Jeri $3,900 – $100 = $3,800 (What is sleepwalking?)
Rob $14,200 + $12,600 = $26,800 (What is a night owl?)
Cris $27,600 + $1,221 = $28,821 (What is night owl) (19-day total: $666,744)
Scores after the Jeopardy! Round:
Cris $11,600
Rob $3,800
Jeri $1,400
Opening break taken after: 15 clues
Daily Double locations:
1) DOCTOR-ING UP LITERATURE $800 (clue #6)
Cris 2200 +2200 (Rob 0 Jeri 1000)
2) BIBLICAL DEMONS, DEVILS & SPIRITS $1200 (clue #10)
Rob 8600 +4400 (Cris 16000 Jeri -200)
3) CONTRACTIONS $800 (clue #21, $4800 left on board)
Jeri 1800 +1700 (Cris 23600 Rob 14200)
Overall Daily Double Efficiency for this game: 236
Clue Selection by Row, Before Daily Doubles Found:
J! Round:
Cris 5 5 5 5 4*
Rob
Jeri 1
DJ! Round:
Cris 4 3 5 4 4 4 3 5 4 2 5
Rob 4 5 3 3 3* 5† 3 5
Jeri 2 2*
Average Row of Clue Selection, Before Daily Doubles Found:
Cris 4.19
Rob 3.88
Jeri 1.67
Unplayed clues:
J! Round: None!
DJ! Round: None!
Total Left On Board: $0
Number of clues left unrevealed this season: 12 (0.20 per episode average), 0 Daily Doubles
Game Stats:
Cris $26,200 Coryat, 34 correct, 0 incorrect, 56.14% in first on buzzer (32/57), 1/1 on rebound attempts (on 3 rebound opportunities)
Rob $11,000 Coryat, 12 correct, 2 incorrect, 21.05% in first on buzzer (12/57), 1/1 on rebound attempts (on 1 rebound opportunity)
Jeri $3,000 Coryat, 5 correct, 1 incorrect, 8.77% in first on buzzer (5/57), 0/0 on rebound attempts (on 2 rebound opportunities)
Combined Coryat Score: $40,200
Lach Trash: $9,800 (on 9 Triple Stumpers)
Coryat lost to incorrect responses (less double-correct responses): $4,000
Cris Pannullo, career statistics:
575 correct, 44 incorrect
30/31 on rebound attempts (on 73 rebound opportunities)
48.84% in first on buzzer (527/1079)
38/42 on Daily Doubles (Net Earned: $149,700)
12/19 in Final Jeopardy
Average Coryat: $25,316
Rob Lamanna, career statistics:
13 correct, 2 incorrect
1/1 on rebound attempts (on 1 rebound opportunity)
21.05% in first on buzzer (12/57)
1/1 on Daily Doubles (Net Earned: $4,400)
1/1 in Final Jeopardy
Average Coryat: $11,000
Jeri Zulli, career statistics:
5 correct, 2 incorrect
0/0 on rebound attempts (on 2 rebound opportunities)
8.77% in first on buzzer (5/57)
1/1 on Daily Doubles (Net Earned: $1,700)
0/1 in Final Jeopardy
Average Coryat: $3,000
Cris Pannullo, to win:
20 games: 92.470%
21: 85.506%
22: 79.068%
23: 73.114%
24: 67.608%
Avg. streak: 31.280 games.
Today’s interviews:
Jeri has a 46-year tradition of going to Homecoming at William & Mary.
Rob has a Charlie Murphy $5 chip as a treasured possession.
Cris dislikes olives.
Andy’s Thoughts:
- At $666,744, Cris moves to 7th all-time in terms of total winnings on the show (including tournaments).
- At 575, Cris passes David Madden for 9th all-time in terms of the number of correct responses given on the show. Julia Collins sits 8th at 584.
- This is not the type of game that a challenger needs to play if they want to defeat a champion like Cris; Cris needs to be starved of the Daily Doubles, and challengers need to take full advantage of them.
Today’s box score: December 1, 2022 Box Score.
Final Jeopardy! wagering suggestions:
(Scores: Cris $27,600 Rob $14,200 Jeri $3,900)
Cris: Standard cover bet over Rob is $801. (Actual bet: $1,221)
Rob: If Cris makes a cover bet and is incorrect, he falls to $26,799. Bet at least $12,601. (Actual bet: $12,600)
Jeri: Bet between $0 and $2,299 to stay ahead of Rob in case he’s incorrect. (Actual bet: $100)
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