Today’s Final Jeopardy – Wednesday, December 20, 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 Countries) for Wednesday, December 20, 2023 (Season 40, Game 73):

Of the 14 countries that border China, it’s the only monarchy & the only one with a population under 1 million

(correct response beneath the contestants)

Today’s Jeopardy! contestants:

Jake Garrett, a football coach & teacher from Trussville, Alabama

Sam Claussen, a history professor from Santa Clarita, California

Juveria Zaheer, a psychiatrist from Whitby, Ontario, Canada

Andy’s Pregame Thoughts:

Day 2 of the Season 39 returnees is today, with today’s matchup featuring Juveria Zaheer, Sam Claussen, and Jake Garrett, with all three players playing very well in their respective initial appearances. I do think Sam had the best initial game of the three, which likely makes him the favorite, but as yesterday’s game showed, anything can happen!

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 is Bhutan?

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.)

Bhutan is a small landlocked country in the eastern Himalayas, situated between China and India. Well-known in trivia circles for having a dragon on its flag, it is known as “Druk Yul” (Land of the Thunder Dragon). A constitutional monarchy, Druk Gyalpo is its current head of state.

Interestingly, prior to the country’s 2005 census, it was believed that Bhutan’s population was well over 1 million people; however, that census calculated the population at just 672,425, causing the United Nations Population Division to have to completely revise its population estimates. As per its 2022 census, its population was 727,145.

Honestly, I think this is going to be a very difficult Final unless you really know your Asian geography. I think Bhutan would have been my fourth guess, at best, on this clue.

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Game Recap & Tonight’s Game Stats:

Looking to find out who won Jeopardy! today? Here’s the Wednesday, December 20, 2023 Jeopardy! by the numbers, along with a recap:

Jeopardy! Round:

(Categories: Let’s Take A Peek; Quite A Site; Movie Viewing; A Look Back; Oh, “IC”; It’s A Vision Board)

Sam got to the first Daily Double just before the first break and used it to extend his lead! By the end of an opening round that had zero Triple Stumpers, Sam’s score was over $10,000, while Juveria sat second.

Statistics at the first break (14 clues):

Sam 8 correct 0 incorrect
Juveria 5 correct 0 incorrect
Jake 1 correct 0 incorrect

Today’s interviews:

Jake had not told many of his coworkers about his Chuck Norris story before his previous appearance.
Sam is currently on sabbatical.
Juveria brought her family, who has been helping her prepare.

Statistics after the Jeopardy round:

Sam 14 correct 0 incorrect
Juveria 10 correct 1 incorrect
Jake 6 correct 0 incorrect

Scores after the Jeopardy! Round:

Sam $10,400
Juveria $5,600
Jake $3,400

Double Jeopardy! Round:

(Categories: A Real Sob Story; 2020s TV; Don’t Eat With Your Hands; Famous Finns; Opera; Going To The Dog Breed Words)

Juveria kept going to OPERA and found the first Daily Double there; her $15,200 True Daily Double put her into a commanding lead! Then, a few clues later, Jake got the last one, and he pulled himself into contention! Sam and Jake played well enough in the second half of the round to make sure that the scores were massive and that Juveria didn’t have a runaway!

Statistics after Double Jeopardy:

Juveria 24 correct 4 incorrect
Sam 21 correct 0 incorrect
Jake 13 correct 0 incorrect
Total number of unplayed clues this season: 0 (0 today).

Scores going into Final:

Juveria $32,400
Sam $18,000
Jake $17,900

Everyone got Final Jeopardy today; Juveria is a finalist!

Tonight’s results:

Jake $17,900 + $17,900 = $35,800 (What is Bhutan)
Sam $18,000 + $18,000 = $36,000 (What is Bhutan Love you Emma, Aaron & #3)
Juveria $32,400 + $4,000 = $36,400 (What is Bhutan?) (Finalist)

Other Miscellaneous Game Statistics:

Daily Double locations:

1) A LOOK BACK $1000 (clue #14)
Sam 5200 +3000 (Juveria 3800 Jake 800)
2) OPERA $800 (clue #10)
Juveria 15200 +15200 (Sam 13200 Jake 4600)
3) GOING TO THE DOG BREED WORDS $2000 (clue #16, $12000 left on board)
Jake 7400 +7300 (Juveria 29200 Sam 15200)
Overall Daily Double Efficiency for this game: 256

Clue Selection by Row, Before Daily Doubles Found:

J! Round:
Juveria 4 5 3 4 3 3
Sam 4 3 2 4 4 5 5*
Jake 5

DJ! Round:
Juveria 3 4 4 3 5 2* 5 2 3
Sam 4 4 4
Jake 3 4 5 5*

Average Row of Clue Selection, Before Daily Doubles Found:

Juveria 3.53
Sam 3.90
Jake 4.40

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:

Juveria $18,000 Coryat, 24 correct, 4 incorrect, 47.37% in first on buzzer (27/57), 0/0 on rebound attempts (on 0 rebound opportunities)
Sam $16,000 Coryat, 21 correct, 0 incorrect, 31.58% in first on buzzer (18/57), 2/2 on rebound attempts (on 4 rebound opportunities)
Jake $12,600 Coryat, 13 correct, 0 incorrect, 21.05% in first on buzzer (12/57), 0/0 on rebound attempts (on 4 rebound opportunities)
Combined Coryat Score: $46,600
Lach Trash: $2,800 (on 2 Triple Stumpers)
Coryat lost to incorrect responses (less double-correct responses): $4,600
Lead Changes: 4
Times Tied: 2

Player Statistics:

Juveria Zaheer, career statistics:

45 correct, 10 incorrect
0/0 on rebound attempts (on 0 rebound opportunities)
44.74% in first on buzzer (51/114)
2/2 on Daily Doubles (Net Earned: $22,200)
1/2 in Final Jeopardy
Average Coryat: $14,800

Sam Claussen, career statistics:

45 correct, 1 incorrect
3/3 on rebound attempts (on 6 rebound opportunities)
35.09% in first on buzzer (40/114)
1/1 on Daily Doubles (Net Earned: $3,000)
1/2 in Final Jeopardy
Average Coryat: $17,200

Jake Garrett, career statistics:

36 correct, 3 incorrect
2/2 on rebound attempts (on 8 rebound opportunities)
29.82% in first on buzzer (34/114)
1/1 on Daily Doubles (Net Earned: $7,300)
2/2 in Final Jeopardy
Average Coryat: $12,500

Andy’s Thoughts:

• That was a very exciting game!
• I feel that many of the same people who criticized Mike’s Daily Double bet yesterday will praise Juveria’s bet today, just because the result turned out differently.

• Today’s box score: December 20, 2023 Box Score.

Final Jeopardy! wagering suggestions:

(Scores: Juveria $32,400 Sam $18,000 Jake $17,900)

Juveria: Standard cover bet over Sam is $3,601. (Actual bet: $4,000)

Sam: Bet at least $10,800. (Actual bet: $18,000)

Jake: Bet at least $10,900; I might consider leaving something back just in case Sam goes all in. (Actual bet: $17,900)

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