Today’s Final Jeopardy – Wednesday, January 4, 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

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 Continental Geography) for Wednesday, January 4, 2023 (Season 39, Game 83):

Until a 1903 secession, this country’s contiguous territory spanned 2 continents

(correct response beneath the contestants)

Today’s Jeopardy! contestants:

Sarah Palmer, an executive assistant from Monterey, California

Francis Englert, a line cook from Scotch Plains, New Jersey

Lloyd Sy, a graduate student in literature originally from Rockford, Illinois (1-day total: $24,490)

Andy’s Pregame Thoughts:

If you missed yesterday’s game, you missed an exciting contest and the end of a streak—Ray Lalonde’s win streak ended last night after 13 victories! Lloyd Sy got to play giant-killer and gets to play from the champion’s lectern for his second appearance. Today’s challengers are Francis Englert and Sarah Palmer!

A little schedule reminder: The Celebrity Jeopardy! tournament resumes tomorrow with the seventh quarterfinal between Zoë Chao, Brianne Howey, and Michael Cera; the final five weeks will be running on Thursday nights at 8:00 PM Eastern. (I’m not the biggest fan of what ABC has done, choosing to break the show up and moving it to a different night. I enjoyed having the show on Sundays, but it’s their network and they can run it the way they want.)

PSA: The best way to keep COVID-19 at bay (and keep Jeopardy! producing new episodes) is for everybody to get their vaccinations as soon as they can, including any boosters as recommended. When wearing a mask, please ensure that your mask covers both your nose and your mouth.

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Correct response: What is Colombia?

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.)

For much of the 19th century, the territory of the modern-day Republic of Colombia contained what is now Panama. However, Panama’s relative isolation from the rest of Colombia (due to the inhospitable terrain of what is known today as the Darién Gap) and its strategic importance (namely, the United States really wanting a canal across the isthmus of Panama), made it easy for a Panamanian independence movement to take shape, and, in the early 1900s, the United States supported Panamanian separation from Colombia, in exchange for rights to the Panama Canal Zone; the Canal Zone belonged to the U.S. until 1999.

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Game Recap:

Jeopardy! Round:

(Categories: On Your State’S Left; Buy, & Large; Surnames; The Actors In That Movie; Start “Off”; Write Foot)

Sarah did a great job of finding the Daily Double—unfortunately, she saw her score fall back to $0. By the end of the round Lloyd and Francis were both at $6,200.

Statistics at the first break (15 clues):

Lloyd 6 correct 0 incorrect
Francis 4 correct 0 incorrect
Sarah 4 correct 1 incorrect

Statistics after the Jeopardy round:

Francis 10 correct 0 incorrect
Lloyd 13 correct 0 incorrect
Sarah 6 correct 1 incorrect

Double Jeopardy! Round:

(Categories: Transportation; The National Past Time; Tv Theme Songs; The Silent Type; Just A Little Nuclear Physics; Oh My Gods!)

Sarah immediately found the Daily Double and fared better on this one; Lloyd increased his score by $4,000 on the last one. While Francis did well on the lower-valued clues at the end of the round, Lloyd had dome well enough at the top of the board to lead going into clue #61. Scores going into the final round are Lloyd at $20,200, Francis at $14,200, Sarah at $8,200.

Statistics after Double Jeopardy:

Lloyd 23 correct 2 incorrect
Francis 21 correct 2 incorrect
Sarah 11 correct 1 incorrect
Total number of unplayed clues this season: 12 (0 today).

Lloyd was the only correct player in Final today; he’s now a 2-day champion!

Tonight’s Game Stats:

Looking to find out who won Jeopardy! today? Here’s the Wednesday, January 4, 2023 Jeopardy! by the numbers:

Scores going into Final:

Lloyd $20,200
Francis $14,200
Sarah $8,200

Tonight’s results:

Sarah $8,200 – $2,201 = $5,999 (What is Turkey?)
Francis $14,200 – $6,000 = $8,200 (What is Russia?)
Lloyd $20,200 + $8,888 = $29,088 (What is Colombia?) (2-day total: $53,578)

Scores after the Jeopardy! Round:

Francis $6,200
Lloyd $6,200
Sarah $2,200

Opening break taken after: 15 clues

Daily Double locations:

1) SURNAMES $1000 (clue #10)
Sarah 2400 -2400 (Lloyd 2400 Francis 2200)
2) OH MY GODS! $1200 (clue #1)
Sarah 2200 +2000 (Lloyd 6200 Francis 6200)
3) THE NATIONAL PAST TIME $1200 (clue #7, $26400 left on board)
Lloyd 10200 +4000 (Francis 6200 Sarah 5800)
Overall Daily Double Efficiency for this game: 30

Clue Selection by Row, Before Daily Doubles Found:

J! Round:
Lloyd 5 3 4 5
Francis 4 4 3
Sarah 5 2 5*

DJ! Round:
Lloyd 5 4 3*
Francis 3
Sarah 3* 4† 2†

† – selection in same category as Daily Double

Average Row of Clue Selection, Before Daily Doubles Found:

Lloyd 4.14
Francis 3.50
Sarah 3.50

Unplayed clues:

J! Round: None!
DJ! Round: None!
Total Left On Board: $0
Number of clues left unrevealed this season: 12 (0.14 per episode average), 0 Daily Doubles

Game Stats:

Lloyd $17,400 Coryat, 23 correct, 2 incorrect, 40.35% in first on buzzer (23/57), 1/1 on rebound attempts (on 2 rebound opportunities)
Francis $14,200 Coryat, 21 correct, 2 incorrect, 40.35% in first on buzzer (23/57), 0/0 on rebound attempts (on 2 rebound opportunities)
Sarah $9,800 Coryat, 11 correct, 1 incorrect, 15.79% in first on buzzer (9/57), 1/1 on rebound attempts (on 4 rebound opportunities)
Combined Coryat Score: $41,400
Lach Trash: $6,000 (on 4 Triple Stumpers)
Coryat lost to incorrect responses (less double-correct responses): $6,600

Lloyd Sy, career statistics:

39 correct, 5 incorrect
2/2 on rebound attempts (on 8 rebound opportunities)
32.46% in first on buzzer (37/114)
2/3 on Daily Doubles (Net Earned: $7,090)
2/2 in Final Jeopardy
Average Coryat: $14,200

Francis Englert, career statistics:

21 correct, 3 incorrect
0/0 on rebound attempts (on 2 rebound opportunities)
40.35% in first on buzzer (23/57)
0/0 on Daily Doubles
0/1 in Final Jeopardy
Average Coryat: $14,200

Sarah Palmer, career statistics:

11 correct, 2 incorrect
1/1 on rebound attempts (on 4 rebound opportunities)
15.79% in first on buzzer (9/57)
1/2 on Daily Doubles (Net Earned: -$400)
0/1 in Final Jeopardy
Average Coryat: $9,800

Lloyd Sy, to win:

3 games: 54.025%
4: 29.187%
5: 15.768%
6: 8.519%
7: 4.602%
Avg. streak: 3.175 games.

Today’s interviews:

Sarah enjoys spoilers along with her sister, but they think they’re the only ones like this. (Spoiler alert: They’re not.)
Francis won an amateur go-go dancing contest.
Lloyd is a big fan of American sports talk radio.

Andy’s Thoughts:

• Today’s box score: January 4, 2023 Box Score.

Final Jeopardy! wagering suggestions:

(Scores: Lloyd $20,200 Francis $14,200 Sarah $8,200)

Lloyd: Standard cover bet over Francis is $8,201. Because of the evenly spaced scores, you are greatly harming your chances of victory by going over this number. (Actual bet: $8,888)

Francis: Standard cover bet over Sarah is $2,201. Because of the evenly spaced scores, this exact bet gives you the best chance of winning today. (Actual bet: $6,000)

Sarah: Regardless of what you do, you must bet at least $3,800. Because you have to be correct to win, you might as well go all-in to maximize your potential winnings if you do win. (Actual bet: $2,201)

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