Today’s Final Jeopardy – Wednesday, December 13, 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 Movie Musicals) for Wednesday, December 13, 2023 (Season 40, Game 68):

Of the musicals to win an Oscar for Best Picture, 1 of the 2 with one-word titles based on & named for literary characters

(correct response beneath the contestants)

Today’s Jeopardy! contestants:

Ed Coulson, an economics & real estate professor from Dana Point, California

Emma Saltzberg, a campaigns director from Brooklyn, New York

Tyler Vandenberg, a Marine officer currently serving in from Stuttgart, Germany

Andy’s Pregame Thoughts:

This is an interesting semifinal between three players who all struggled to some degree on the signalling device in their respective quarterfinals; Tyler was at 48%, while both Ed and Emma were below 40%. Someone’s going to improve, I’m sure! Of our three players, though, Ed did have the most quarterfinal attempts at 45; that may end up being what tilts today’s game in his favor (though Emma did go through the entire quarterfinal without being incorrect.)

In case you missed it yesterday, the entire group of 36 players returning for Season 39 Second Chance has been unveiled by the show; the first step in the road to the 31^st Tournament of Champions begins December 19.

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: What are Gigi or Oliver!?

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.)

This is one of those Final Jeopardy clues that stands the test of time; it wouldn’t have been out of place in 1984, either.

Gigi is a 1958 Lerner and Loewe movie musical that cleaned up its year’s Oscars, going 9-for-9, including Best Picture, Best Director (for Vincente Minnelli), and Best Song (“Gigi”). It was based on the 1944 novella Gigi by French author Colette.

Oliver! is a 1968 film version of Lionel Bart’s 1960 musical that wasn’t as successful as Gigi was on Oscar night, only winning six Oscars. It was based on Charles Dickens’ Oliver Twist.

To me, having memorized the old list of Best Picture winners, this wasn’t a particularly difficult final, especially knowing that Oliver! immediately fit all parts of the clue. Did I remember that Gigi was a musical? Nope. Did I need to? Nope—the clue only asked for one. I suspect that the Dickens character will be the easier of the two responses to this Final.

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Game Recap & Tonight’s Game Stats:

Looking to find out who won Jeopardy! today? Here’s the Wednesday, December 13, 2023 Jeopardy! by the numbers, along with a recap:

Jeopardy! Round:

(Categories: Science; Western Tv Shows; Holmes, Sherlock Holmes; Name That Carmaker; Slang For Liquor; Look! Up In The Sky! It’s…)

Ed and Tyler both got off to a strong start, Tyler buoyed by NAME THAT CARMAKER and Ed by HOLMES, SHERLOCK HOLMES. Ed got the Daily Double incorrect after the break, which led to Tyler holding the lead after 30 clues.

Statistics at the first break (15 clues):

Ed 7 correct 0 incorrect
Tyler 5 correct 0 incorrect
Emma 2 correct 0 incorrect

Today’s interviews:

Ed wants to thank the crew for helping out his 90-year-old parents at the studio.
Emma still gets emails for the wrong Emma Saltzberg in Brooklyn.
Tyler feels fortunate to have been contacted by the show when he did, as he was only able to respond on that specific day.

Statistics after the Jeopardy round:

Tyler 8 correct 1 incorrect
Ed 11 correct 2 incorrect
Emma 5 correct 1 incorrect

Scores after the Jeopardy! Round:

Tyler $4,800
Ed $3,600
Emma $2,600

Double Jeopardy! Round:

(Categories: French Connections; Who’s The Mrs.?; Your Day In “C”ourt; It Was An Olympic Year!; Oscar, Meyer, Wiener; Ad-jectives)

Double Jeopardy saw Emma and Ed playing the Daily Doubles; Emma got hers correct but only made a Tim Simons bet of a clue-value $1200; Ed took a big swing with a $6,000 bet but an incorrect response took him out of contention. Emma played well enough at the end of the round to keep Tyler from having a runaway going into Final.

Statistics after Double Jeopardy:

Tyler 18 correct 2 incorrect
Emma 13 correct 2 incorrect
Ed 19 correct 5 incorrect
Total number of unplayed clues this season: 0 (0 today).

Scores going into Final:

Tyler $18,400
Emma $10,600
Ed $2,800

Everyone bet it all in this Final Jeopardy. (Inexplicably, in Tyler’s case.) It’s probably a good thing that this Final went 3-for-3. Tyler advances to the finals in spite of his much-too-aggressive Final Jeopardy bet.

Tonight’s results:

Ed $2,800 + $2,800 = $5,600 (What is Gigi?)
Emma $10,600 + $10,600 = $21,200 (What is Oliver!?)
Tyler $18,400 + $18,400 = $36,800 (What is Oliver!) (Semi-Finalist)

Other Miscellaneous Game Statistics:

Daily Double locations:

1) SCIENCE $600 (clue #23)
Ed 4000 -1000 (Tyler 3400 Emma 2600)
2) IT WAS AN OLYMPIC YEAR! $1200 (clue #12)
Emma 5800 +1200 (Tyler 6800 Ed 4400)
3) YOUR DAY IN “C”OURT $1200 (clue #22, $10000 left on board)
Ed 8400 -6000 (Tyler 15200 Emma 7000)
Overall Daily Double Efficiency for this game: -76

Clue Selection by Row, Before Daily Doubles Found:

J! Round:
Tyler 1 2 4 5 1 4 4
Emma 3 2 3 5 1 1
Ed 3 2 4 5 1 3 5 2 2 3*

DJ! Round:
Tyler 1 4 5† 1† 2 3 5 5
Emma 1 2 4 5 3* 4†
Ed 1 3 2 3 2 4 2 3*

† – selection in same category as Daily Double

Average Row of Clue Selection, Before Daily Doubles Found:

Tyler 3.13
Emma 2.83
Ed 2.78

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:

Tyler $18,400 Coryat, 18 correct, 2 incorrect, 29.82% in first on buzzer (17/57), 2/3 on rebound attempts (on 5 rebound opportunities)
Emma $10,600 Coryat, 13 correct, 2 incorrect, 22.81% in first on buzzer (13/57), 1/1 on rebound attempts (on 4 rebound opportunities)
Ed $9,800 Coryat, 19 correct, 5 incorrect, 38.60% in first on buzzer (22/57), 0/0 on rebound attempts (on 3 rebound opportunities)
Combined Coryat Score: $38,800
Lach Trash: $7,200 (on 8 Triple Stumpers)
Coryat lost to incorrect responses (less double-correct responses): $8,000
Lead Changes: 11
Times Tied: 6

Player Statistics:

Tyler Vandenberg, career statistics:

99 correct, 12 incorrect
9/10 on rebound attempts (on 23 rebound opportunities)
30.88% in first on buzzer (88/285)
6/8 on Daily Doubles (Net Earned: $13,200)
3/5 in Final Jeopardy
Average Coryat: $15,800

Emma Saltzberg, career statistics:

114 correct, 16 incorrect
9/10 on rebound attempts (on 29 rebound opportunities)
31.09% in first on buzzer (106/341)
7/8 on Daily Doubles (Net Earned: $10,600)
3/6 in Final Jeopardy
Average Coryat: $14,933

Ed Coulson, career statistics:

98 correct, 15 incorrect
5/6 on rebound attempts (on 17 rebound opportunities)
33.33% in first on buzzer (95/285)
4/7 on Daily Doubles (Net Earned: $1,500)
3/5 in Final Jeopardy
Average Coryat: $14,560

Andy’s Thoughts:

• This was certainly the sort of game that will have the strategy wonks pulling their hair out.
• Contestants have not been kind to Garth Brooks in the fall of 2023.

• Today’s box score: December 13, 2023 Box Score.

Final Jeopardy! wagering suggestions:

(Scores: Tyler $18,400 Emma $10,600 Ed $2,800)

Tyler: Standard cover bet over Emma is $2,801. (Actual bet: $18,400)

Emma: If there were different prizes based on second and third place, a bet of exactly $5,000 would be perfect here, as it guarantees second while also passing Tyler by $1 if you’re right and he’s wrong. (Assuming he covers.) (Actual bet: $10,600)

Ed: You can’t win unless Tyler does something incredibly foolhardy. Bet whatever you like. (Actual bet: $2,800)

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