Today’s Final Jeopardy – Tuesday, December 26, 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

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

Here’s today’s Final Jeopardy (in the category Book Characters) for Tuesday, December 26, 2023 (Season 40, Game 77):

Early in a 1966 novel, this title character beats the protagonist in maze races; later on he bites him

(correct response beneath the contestants)

Today’s Jeopardy! contestants:

Myles Karp, a journalist & consultant from Weston, Florida

Emily Kawaler, a bioinformatician from New York, New York

Christopher Pennant, a sports journalist & announcer from Chicago, Illinois

Andy’s Pregame Thoughts:

Today begins Week 2 of the originally planned Season 40, with a second group of Second Chance returnees. Today’s returnees are Christopher Pennant, Emily Kawaler, and Myles Karp. Christopher definitely had the signaling device timing down in his first appearance, picking up 25 correct responses in his first appearance, but also had a lot of incorrect responses. He’ll need to drop that number to have a better chance today.

Today feels like a good day to remind everyone that we are on this path because of the writer’s strike from the summer of 2023. I’m not entirely sure what other options the show had, other than “delay the start of the season and show reruns until the the strike ended”, at which point everyone complaining about tournaments instead would have complained about reruns. It’s almost as though many people in America don’t care about organized labor.

Another reminder that I have started a Sunday mailbag column where I answer fan & viewer questions regarding the show. If you have a question, feel free to send it to mailbag@thejeopardyfan.com!

Correct response: Who is Algernon?

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.)

While “Flowers for Algernon” originally began its life as a science fiction short story in the 1950s, author Daniel Keyes expanded the story into a 1966 novel. In that novel, protagonist Charlie, the first human set for intelligence-increasing surgery, is pitted against laboratory mouse Algernon, who has already received that surgery in testing. During the novel, Charlie realizes that the surgery will not ultimately succeed as Algernon regresses to his past state and dies. Charlie manages to publish the academic findings from the study before regressing himself.

The 1968 film Charly, which saw Cliff Robertson win the Oscar for Best Actor for playing the role of Charly Gordon, was also based upon the story.

In order to redesign our merchandise area to serve you better in 2026, all merchandise sales have been temporarily taken offline. Look for a return in late 2026! All previous orders will still be supported.

Game Recap & Tonight’s Game Stats:

Looking to find out who won Jeopardy! today? Here’s the Tuesday, December 26, 2023 Jeopardy! by the numbers, along with a recap:

Jeopardy! Round:

(Categories: Times: New Roman; Children’s Literature; Best Actress Oscar Winners; Homophonic Pairs; Forks, Knives, Spoons; Just “E”at It)

The opening segment saw Emily get off to the best start, with 7 of 15 correct responses before the interviews. However, an unsuccessful True Daily Double shortly after the break put Myles into the lead; Christopher worked himself into a tie for the lead with Myles by the end of the opening round.

Statistics at the first break (15 clues):

Emily 7 correct 0 incorrect
Myles 3 correct 0 incorrect
Christopher 4 correct 1 incorrect

Today’s interviews:

Myles wants to report that his banana plant is thriving, even though bananas at large may still be in danger.
Emily wants to shout out the OQL’s “Four Horse Girls of the Apocalypse”.
Christopher got a lot more sleep before Second Chance.

Statistics after the Jeopardy round:

Myles 7 correct 0 incorrect
Christopher 8 correct 1 incorrect
Emily 11 correct 2 incorrect

Scores after the Jeopardy! Round:

Myles $3,600
Christopher $3,600
Emily $2,200

Double Jeopardy! Round:

(Categories: Music Terms; TV Comedies By Workplace; Yellow Stone; Colleges & Universities; Literal National Names; Addend”um”)

The good news for Emily: She found the Daily Doubles immediately. The bad news for Emily: Her attempt to quadruple her score ended with an incorrect response on the second one, dropping her to $0 for a second time. She rebounded well, but couldn’t get back into the lead. As it was, Christopher held a $800 lead over Myles going into Final!

Statistics after Double Jeopardy:

Christopher 17 correct 3 incorrect
Myles 12 correct 1 incorrect
Emily 23 correct 5 incorrect
Total number of unplayed clues this season: 0 (0 today).

Scores going into Final:

Christopher $10,800
Myles $10,000
Emily $7,600

Christopher and Emily got Final correct; Christopher is now a finalist!

Tonight’s results:

Emily $7,600 + $3,300 = $10,900 (Who is Algernon? Hi Lauren <3)
Myles $10,000 – $5,201 = $4,799 (Who is Stuart)
Christopher $10,800 + $10,000 = $20,800 (Who is Algernon?) (Finalist)

Other Miscellaneous Game Statistics:

Daily Double locations:

1) BEST ACTRESS OSCAR WINNERS $800 (clue #17)
Emily 4800 -4800 (Christopher 1800 Myles 2000)
2) MUSIC TERMS $1600 (clue #1)
Emily 2200 +2200 (Christopher 3600 Myles 3600)
3) LITERAL NATIONAL NAMES $1200 (clue #2, $33200 left on board)
Emily 4400 -4400 (Christopher 3600 Myles 3600)
Overall Daily Double Efficiency for this game: -100

Clue Selection by Row, Before Daily Doubles Found:

J! Round:
Christopher 2 1 3 2 4
Emily 4 3 4 4 3 3 3 4*
Myles 3 5 4 2

DJ! Round:
Christopher
Emily 4* 3*
Myles

Average Row of Clue Selection, Before Daily Doubles Found:

Christopher 2.40
Emily 3.50
Myles 3.50

Unplayed clues:

J! Round: None!
DJ! Round: None!
Total Left On Board: $0
Number of clues left unrevealed this season: 0 (0.00 per episode average), 0 Daily Doubles

Game Stats:

Christopher $10,800 Coryat, 17 correct, 3 incorrect, 35.09% in first on buzzer (20/57), 0/0 on rebound attempts (on 3 rebound opportunities)
Emily $16,200 Coryat, 23 correct, 5 incorrect, 40.35% in first on buzzer (23/57), 2/2 on rebound attempts (on 3 rebound opportunities)
Myles $10,000 Coryat, 12 correct, 1 incorrect, 15.79% in first on buzzer (9/57), 3/4 on rebound attempts (on 6 rebound opportunities)
Combined Coryat Score: $37,000
Lach Trash: $7,000 (on 6 Triple Stumpers)
Coryat lost to incorrect responses (less double-correct responses): $10,000
Lead Changes: 6
Times Tied: 6

Player Statistics:

Christopher Pennant, career statistics:

43 correct, 10 incorrect
1/1 on rebound attempts (on 5 rebound opportunities)
43.86% in first on buzzer (50/114)
0/0 on Daily Doubles
1/2 in Final Jeopardy
Average Coryat: $10,800

Emily Kawaler, career statistics:

43 correct, 8 incorrect
3/3 on rebound attempts (on 7 rebound opportunities)
36.84% in first on buzzer (42/114)
2/4 on Daily Doubles (Net Earned: -$4,000)
1/2 in Final Jeopardy
Average Coryat: $14,100

Myles Karp, career statistics:

31 correct, 6 incorrect
4/5 on rebound attempts (on 10 rebound opportunities)
25.44% in first on buzzer (29/114)
1/1 on Daily Doubles (Net Earned: $3,800)
0/2 in Final Jeopardy
Average Coryat: $12,700

Andy’s Thoughts:

• This is the first recorded instance of Daily Doubles being found on the first two clues of Double Jeopardy since Hank D’Angelo did so on July 20, 1990. (Remember to cite your sources, folks, if putting this information elsewhere!)

• Today’s box score: December 26, 2023 Box Score.

Final Jeopardy! wagering suggestions:

(Scores: Christopher $10,800 Myles $10,000 Emily $7,600)

Christopher: Standard cover bet over Myles is $9,201. (Actual bet: $10,000)

Emily: The chances are very high that both Christopher and Myles are going to make cover bets. There’s no need to defend against $0 bets here, just limit your bet to $2,799 or less and play for a Triple Stumper. (Actual bet: $3,300)

Myles: Standard cover bet over Emily is $5,201. (Actual bet: $5,201)

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