Today’s Final Jeopardy – Wednesday, November 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 Figures of Myth) for Wednesday, November 20, 2024 (Season 41, Game 53):

Ovid says he “toppled, beating wild with naked arms the unsustaining air…shrieking for succour from his sire”

(correct response beneath the contestants)

Today’s Jeopardy! contestants:

Mehal Shah, a software engineer from Seattle, Washington

Elizabeth Little, a writer from Los Angeles, California

Mikey McCullough, a librarian from Baltimore, Maryland (1-day total: $18,200)

Andy’s Pregame Thoughts:

Baltimore librarian (aren’t librarians always so good on this show?) Mikey McCullough won in yesterday’s matchup in near-runaway fashion; today, she faces off for the right to return again against L.A. writer Elizabeth Little and Seattle software engineer Mehal Shah.

Correct response: Who is Icarus?

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.)

Ovid wrote about Icarus and his father Daedalus in Metamorphoses; Daedalus had been trapped on Crete to prevent his knowledge of the Labyrinth from reaching the public. As an attempt at escape, Daedalus and his son attempt to escape by flying, attaching wings to their arms with wax. Daedalus warned Icarus not to fly too close to the water, lest the moisture make things too heavy, nor too close to the sun, lest the sun’s heat melt the wax. Unfortunately, Icarus did fly too close to the sun, toppling into the Mediterranean—the part of the sea where Icarus fell to his death is now known as the Icarian sea, after the myth.

Lest there be any confusion here—and I suspect there will be, because there always is when the show dares to use less-common verbiage—the word “sire” refers to one’s father, not one’s son. Reading this clue and thinking this isn’t pinned is a skill issue on the viewer’s part, not the show’s.

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Game Recap & Tonight’s Game Stats:

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

Jeopardy! Round:

(Categories: 21st Century Movie Moments; Road Trip; In The Zeitgeist; Tarot-A-Go-Go; Stock Symbols; Gladiators)

Mehal got the first five clues correct, including the Daily Double on clue #2; while Elizabeth got some of that back, Mehal led after 15. Scores at the first break were Mehal $5,400 Elizabeth $3,000 and Mikey $600.

Statistics at the first break (15 clues):

Mehal 8 correct 0 incorrect
Elizabeth 4 correct 0 incorrect
Mikey 3 correct 1 incorrect

Today’s interviews:

Mehal self-published his farewell email as a book when he left Amazon.
Elizabeth wanted to become a CIA officer.
Mikey spent her 30th birthday in Guadalajara, Mexico.

Mehal picked up another seven correct to continue leading after 30 clues.

Statistics after the Jeopardy round:

Mehal 15 correct 1 incorrect
Elizabeth 7 correct 0 incorrect
Mikey 5 correct 1 incorrect

Scores after the Jeopardy! Round:

Mehal $7,600
Elizabeth $4,600
Mikey $2,400

Double Jeopardy! Round:

(Categories: Animal Planet; A Little Night Music; Mmm, Leftovers; 3 Of The Same Letter; Authors’ Epitaphs; A Capital Happening)

Double Jeopardy saw a number of Triple Stumpers and a pair of missed Daily Doubles. However, Mehal only bet $800 on his—and that conservatism made sure he had a good-sized lead going into Final Jeopardy.

Statistics after Double Jeopardy:

Mehal 22 correct 4 incorrect
Mikey 10 correct 2 incorrect
Elizabeth 11 correct 2 incorrect
Total number of unplayed clues this season: 12 (2 today).

Scores going into Final:

Mehal $12,800
Mikey $7,600
Elizabeth $3,800

Final Jeopardy was a Triple Stumper; Mehal’s big lead going into the round makes him the new champion! He’ll return tomorrow to defend.

Tonight’s results:

Elizabeth $3,800 – $0 = $3,800 (Who is Polyphemus?)
Mikey $7,600 – $5,000 = $2,600 (Who is Prometheus?)
Mehal $12,800 – $3,001 = $9,799 (Who is Aeneas?) (1-day total: $9,799)

Other Miscellaneous Game Statistics:

Daily Double locations:

1) ROAD TRIP $800 (clue #2)
Mehal 400 +1000 (Mikey 0 Elizabeth 0)
2) 3 OF THE SAME LETTER $1600 (clue #6)
Elizabeth 6600 -4000 (Mikey 1200 Mehal 7600)
3) AUTHORS’ EPITAPHS $1600 (clue #20, $6800 left on board)
Mehal 12800 -800 (Mikey 6400 Elizabeth 3800)
Overall Daily Double Efficiency for this game: 33

Clue Selection by Row, Before Daily Doubles Found:

J! Round:
Mikey 2
Elizabeth
Mehal 4*

DJ! Round:
Mikey 2 3 5 3 5
Elizabeth 3 4 5 3 4* 5† 2 3 4
Mehal 4 3 5 4 2 4*

† – selection in same category as Daily Double

Average Row of Clue Selection, Before Daily Doubles Found:

Mehal 3.71
Elizabeth 3.67
Mikey 3.33

Unplayed clues:

J! Round: None!
DJ! Round: 3 OF THE SAME LETTER $400 AUTHORS’ EPITAPHS $400
Total Left On Board: $800
Number of clues left unrevealed this season: 12 (0.23 per episode average), 0 Daily Doubles

Game Stats:

Mehal $13,400 Coryat, 22 correct, 4 incorrect, 41.82% in first on buzzer (23/55), 1/1 on rebound attempts (on 2 rebound opportunities)
Elizabeth $7,800 Coryat, 11 correct, 2 incorrect, 20.00% in first on buzzer (11/55), 0/1 on rebound attempts (on 5 rebound opportunities)
Mikey $7,600 Coryat, 10 correct, 2 incorrect, 20.00% in first on buzzer (11/55), 1/1 on rebound attempts (on 3 rebound opportunities)
Combined Coryat Score: $28,800
Lach Trash: $16,000 (on 13 Triple Stumpers)
Coryat lost to incorrect responses (less double-correct responses): $8,400
Lead Changes: 0
Times Tied: 0

Player Statistics:

Mikey McCullough, career statistics:

32 correct, 5 incorrect
4/4 on rebound attempts (on 8 rebound opportunities)
27.27% in first on buzzer (30/110)
1/1 on Daily Doubles (Net Earned: $2,000)
0/2 in Final Jeopardy
Average Coryat: $13,300

Elizabeth Little, career statistics:

11 correct, 3 incorrect
0/1 on rebound attempts (on 5 rebound opportunities)
20.00% in first on buzzer (11/55)
0/1 on Daily Doubles (Net Earned: -$4,000)
0/1 in Final Jeopardy
Average Coryat: $7,800

Mehal Shah, career statistics:

22 correct, 5 incorrect
1/1 on rebound attempts (on 2 rebound opportunities)
41.82% in first on buzzer (23/55)
1/2 on Daily Doubles (Net Earned: $200)
0/1 in Final Jeopardy
Average Coryat: $13,400

Mehal Shah, to win:

2 games: 44.961%
3: 20.215%
4: 9.089%
5: 4.086%
6: 1.837%
Avg. streak: 1.817 games.

Andy’s Thoughts:

• Today’s box score will be linked to when posted by the show.

Final Jeopardy! wagering suggestions:

(Scores: Mehal $12,800 Mikey $7,600 Elizabeth $3,800)

Mikey: To have any chance of winning, you have to bet at least $2,800. I would limit my bet here to $3,799 to at least force Elizabeth to be correct to have a chance of beating me. (Actual bet: $5,000)

Elizabeth: I would probably bet $1,001 here—this would mean I pass Mikey if she’s incorrect, I’m correct, and she bets her minimum. (Actual bet: $0)

Mehal: Standard cover bet over Mikey is $2,401. (Actual bet: $3,001)

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