Today’s Final Jeopardy – Tuesday, February 20, 2024

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 Presidential Elections) for Tuesday, February 20, 2024 (Season 40, Game 117):

He’s the most recent presidential candidate to have officially declared his opponent in that campaign the victor

(correct response beneath the contestants)

Today’s Jeopardy! contestants:

Jesse Matheny, a customer success specialist originally from Huntington, Indiana

Alex Gordon, a surgical resident originally from Somers, New York

Kat Jepson, an artist from Roanoke, Virginia

Andy’s Pregame Thoughts:

Our last Champions Wildcard semifinal of this season features Kat Jepson, Alex Gordon, and Jesse Matheny. If past play is any indication here, I am expecting to see a great battle in this one between Kat and Alex. However, as Jesse showed in the quarterfinals, he can absolutely sneak through and take a victory!

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 Al Gore?

More information about Final Jeopardy:

(The following write-up is original content and is copyright 2024 The Jeopardy! Fan. It may not be copied without linked attribution back to this page.)

So, this clue isn’t a matter of knowing about various Presidential concession speeches. “Officially declared…the victor” has a specific meaning in American politics—and that is the previous Vice President, ex officio as President of the Senate, at the counting of the votes of the Electoral College on January 6. Thus, this clue is basically asking for the most recent sitting Vice President to lose the Presidential election—and that is Al Gore in 2000, losing to George W. Bush.

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Game Recap & Tonight’s Game Stats:

Looking to find out who won Jeopardy! today? Here’s the Tuesday, February 20, 2024 Jeopardy! by the numbers, along with a recap:

Jeopardy! Round:

(Categories: The 13 Colonies; Piles; The U.S. Postal Service; What’S That Smell?; Jewelry; Hansel Culture)

Alex started the game by running THE 13 COLONIES, but that didn’t faze Kat; she came roaring back to take the lead by the interviews.

Statistics at the first break (15 clues):

Kat 5 correct 0 incorrect
Alex 7 correct 1 incorrect
Jesse 3 correct 1 incorrect

Today’s interviews:

Jesse was about a day away from throwing away his flash cards when Champions Wildcard was announced.
Alex uses the pen light from his residency as a clicker to simulate the buzzer.
Kat got a professional haircut before the competititon.

It was Jesse who got to the Daily Double, but an incorrect response brought him back to $0. He recovered reasonably well by the end of the round, though. Meanwhile, Alex’s 3 incorrect responses over the entire round, compared to Kat’s 0, led to Kat having a good-sized lead after 30 clues.

Statistics after the Jeopardy round:

Kat 8 correct 0 incorrect
Alex 9 correct 3 incorrect
Jesse 9 correct 2 incorrect

Scores after the Jeopardy! Round:

Kat $5,600
Alex $2,600
Jesse $2,000

Double Jeopardy! Round:

(Categories: Taking Flight; Bodies Of Water; Artists & Their Subjects; 4, 4; Literary Helpers; Action Movies)

Jesse wasn’t knocked off his game by the first Daily Double miss; he successfully converted a pair of True Daily Doubles in the first 9 clues of the round! Jesse was in a runaway position for most of the round, but a strong run by Alex at the end of the round made sure that there was still something to play for in Final!

Statistics after Double Jeopardy:

Jesse 20 correct 2 incorrect
Alex 20 correct 6 incorrect
Kat 10 correct 0 incorrect
Total number of unplayed clues this season: 0 (0 today).

Scores going into Final:

Jesse $18,800
Alex $10,200
Kat $8,400

Jesse was the only player correct in Final Jeopardy, and that makes him a finalist!

Tonight’s results:

Kat $8,400 – $8,400 = $0 (Who is McCain?)
Alex $10,200 – $8,601 = $1,599 (Who is Mitt Romney?)
Jesse $18,800 + $1,601 = $20,401 (Who is Gore?) (Finalist)

Other Miscellaneous Game Statistics:

Daily Double locations:

1) THE U.S. POSTAL SERVICE $800 (clue #17)
Jesse 1600 -1600 (Kat 4200 Alex 3000)
2) 4, 4 $1200 (clue #3)
Jesse 2000 +2000 (Kat 5600 Alex 2600)
3) BODIES OF WATER $1600 (clue #9, $22000 left on board)
Jesse 6800 +6800 (Kat 5600 Alex 4200)
Overall Daily Double Efficiency for this game: 100

Clue Selection by Row, Before Daily Doubles Found:

J! Round:
Kat 4 4 3 5 5 2
Alex 3 2 5 1 1 2 3
Jesse 3 4 5 4*

DJ! Round:
Kat
Alex 4 3 2
Jesse 5 4 3* 5 5 4*

Average Row of Clue Selection, Before Daily Doubles Found:

Jesse 4.20
Alex 2.60
Kat 3.83

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:

Jesse $14,400 Coryat, 20 correct, 2 incorrect, 31.58% in first on buzzer (18/57), 1/1 on rebound attempts (on 5 rebound opportunities)
Alex $10,200 Coryat, 20 correct, 6 incorrect, 43.86% in first on buzzer (25/57), 0/1 on rebound attempts (on 1 rebound opportunity)
Kat $8,400 Coryat, 10 correct, 0 incorrect, 15.79% in first on buzzer (9/57), 1/1 on rebound attempts (on 6 rebound opportunities)
Combined Coryat Score: $33,000
Lach Trash: $13,200 (on 9 Triple Stumpers)
Coryat lost to incorrect responses (less double-correct responses): $7,800
Lead Changes: 2
Times Tied: 0

Player Statistics:

Kat Jepson, career statistics:

66 correct, 7 incorrect
5/5 on rebound attempts (on 17 rebound opportunities)
26.75% in first on buzzer (61/228)
3/3 on Daily Doubles (Net Earned: $15,000)
2/4 in Final Jeopardy
Average Coryat: $13,850

Alex Gordon, career statistics:

119 correct, 23 incorrect
4/9 on rebound attempts (on 22 rebound opportunities)
42.81% in first on buzzer (122/285)
5/6 on Daily Doubles (Net Earned: $9,200)
3/5 in Final Jeopardy
Average Coryat: $15,200

Jesse Matheny, career statistics:

78 correct, 16 incorrect
2/2 on rebound attempts (on 12 rebound opportunities)
34.80% in first on buzzer (79/227)
4/9 on Daily Doubles (Net Earned: $3,000)
1/4 in Final Jeopardy
Average Coryat: $13,100

Andy’s Thoughts:

• Chances of victory in the finals: Mira Hayward 38.853% (+140), Deb Bilodeau 35.191% (+170), Jesse Matheny 25.956% (+260).
• Today’s box score will be linked to when posted by the show.

Final Jeopardy! wagering suggestions:

(Scores: Jesse $18,800 Alex $10,200 Kat $8,400)

Kat: There’s not much you can do unless Jesse overbets. Go all in, though, because the margins are tight, and you never know. (Actual bet: $8,400)

Alex: Bet at least $7,000, but you might as well go all in. (Actual bet: $8,601)

Jesse: Standard cover bet over Alex is $1,601. (Actual bet: $1,601)

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