recaps
Season 39
Today’s Final Jeopardy – Wednesday, September 28, 2022
Warning: This page contains spoilers for the September 28, 2022 game of Jeopardy! — please do not scroll down if you wish to avoid being spoiled. Please note that the game airs as early as noon Eastern in some U.S. television markets.
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 World Rivers) for Wednesday, September 28, 2022 (Season 39, Game 13):
These 2 rivers share the names of countries, end with the same 4 letters & both join up with the Parana River
(correct response beneath the contestants)
Today’s Jeopardy! contestants:
Emily Hackbarth, a middle school counselor from Ames, Iowa
Sam Wang, a statistics professor from Ithaca, New York
David Sibley, an Episcopal priest from Walla Walla, Washington (2-day total: $44,200)
Andy’s Pregame Thoughts:
David Sibley has definitely figured out the timing on the signaling device. The box score from last night says it all—Dave got in a stunning 79% of the time when he attempted. Today, Sam Wang and Emily Hackbarth make their way onto the Alex Trebek Stage—hopefully, for their sake, they have better luck than Charlotte Cook and Nick Keoki Kilstein did!
Meanwhile, I’ve started to notice a bunch of comments online regarding the outcome of Sunday’s Celebrity Jeopardy! quarterfinal. (The next paragraph does contain spoilers regarding Sunday; the episode is available to stream on both Hulu and ABC for those of you who haven’t had the opportunity to watch it yet.)
I am troubled by the number of people absolutely convinced that Andy Richter “let up” during the latter stages of Sunday night’s game against Ego Nwodim and Simu Liu. Of course, Richter fell just short of a runaway and was overtaken in Final Jeopardy! by Liu in a shock upset of a result. Firstly, the box score of the match says otherwise—Andy Richter attempted to ring in on 90% of the clues in the Triple Jeopardy! round. What did happen is that both Liu and Nwodim had improved themselves in figuring out the timing of the signaling device, and had gotten in just enough to prevent the runaway. What I find most troubling is that I don’t think many of these people don’t realize that the optics of what they’re implying is absolutely terrible. At best, it is gravely insulting to two people of color to imply that a white man let up to make things easier for them. At worst–well, I don’t think I need to say it.
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(Content continues below)
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Correct response: What are Uruguay & Paraguay?
More information about Final Jeopardy:
(The following write-up is original content and is copyright 2022 The Jeopardy! Fan. It may not be copied without linked attribution back to this page.)
The Paraná River is a major South American river; the second-longest on the continent (after only the Amazon). Its headwaters are in Brazil and it flows through Paraguay and Argentina; its confluence with the Uruguay River forms the famed Rio de la Plata estuary, upon which two world capitals are situated—Buenos Aires, Argentina, and Montevideo, Uruguay.
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Game Recap:
Jeopardy! Round:
(Categories: Off To New England; Hatchet Man; History; One-Named Rock Stars; Material; I Long For Long “U”)
Emily successfully converted a True Daily Double immediately before the first break. David and Sam clawed things back a bit, but Emily held the lead after Single Jeopardy!
Statistics at the first break (15 clues):
Emily 5 correct 0 incorrect
Sam 2 correct 0 incorrect
David 3 correct 2 incorrect
Statistics after the Jeopardy round:
Emily 9 correct 0 incorrect
Sam 7 correct 2 incorrect
David 7 correct 2 incorrect
Double Jeopardy! Round:
(Categories: Cliff Notes; A Letter, Then A Word; The Right Brothers; The Actor’s Studio; Naturalists; And The State Goes To…)
Double Jeopardy! today belonged to David, as he picked up 11 correct and both Daily Doubles! It wasn’t quite enough for a runaway, though! Scores going into Final were David at $14,600, Emily at $8,800, and Sam at $7,800.
Statistics after Double Jeopardy:
David 18 correct 4 incorrect
Emily 13 correct 1 incorrect
Sam 13 correct 3 incorrect
Total number of unplayed clues this season: 5 (1 today).
Final Jeopardy! today was a Triple Stumper, which played to David’s advantage, with him having a “crush game”; he only lost $3,001 and is now a 3-day champion! He goes for win #4 tomorrow!
Tonight’s Game Stats:
Looking to find out who won Jeopardy! today? Here’s the Wednesday, September 28, 2022 Jeopardy! by the numbers:
Scores going into Final:
David $14,600
Emily $8,800
Sam $7,800
Tonight’s results:
Sam $7,800 – $7,700 = $100 (What are Congo & Zimbabwe?)
Emily $8,800 – $6,000 = $2,800 (What are the Panama + ?)
David $14,600 – $3,001 = $11,599 (What is Peru + Ecuador?) (3-day total: $55,799)
Scores after the Jeopardy! Round:
Emily $7,600
Sam $2,600
David $2,200
Opening break taken after: 15 clues
Daily Double locations:
1) MATERIAL $800 (clue #15)
Emily 3000 +3000 (David 200 Sam 1000)
2) THE ACTOR’S STUDIO $2000 (clue #10)
David 7000 +2000 (Sam 3000 Emily 8400)
3) CLIFF NOTES $800 (clue #28, $800 left on board)
David 12600 +2000 (Sam 7400 Emily 8800)
Overall Daily Double Efficiency for this game: 144
Unplayed clues:
J! Round: None!
DJ! Round: NATURALISTS $400
Total Left On Board: $400
Number of clues left unrevealed this season: 5 (0.38 per episode average), 0 Daily Doubles
Game Stats:
David $13,400 Coryat, 18 correct, 4 incorrect, 32.14% in first on buzzer (18/56), 2/2 on rebound attempts (on 4 rebound opportunities)
Emily $6,600 Coryat, 13 correct, 1 incorrect, 21.43% in first on buzzer (12/56), 1/1 on rebound attempts (on 7 rebound opportunities)
Sam $7,800 Coryat, 13 correct, 3 incorrect, 28.57% in first on buzzer (16/56), 0/0 on rebound attempts (on 5 rebound opportunities)
Combined Coryat Score: $27,800
Lach Trash: $18,200 (on 15 Triple Stumpers)
Coryat lost to incorrect responses (less double-correct responses): $7,600
David Sibley, career statistics:
67 correct, 10 incorrect
8/9 on rebound attempts (on 17 rebound opportunities)
34.71% in first on buzzer (59/170)
6/6 on Daily Doubles (Net Earned: $14,800)
1/3 in Final Jeopardy
Average Coryat: $17,333
Sam Wang, career statistics:
13 correct, 4 incorrect
0/0 on rebound attempts (on 5 rebound opportunities)
28.57% in first on buzzer (16/56)
0/0 on Daily Doubles
0/1 in Final Jeopardy
Average Coryat: $7,800
Emily Hackbarth, career statistics:
13 correct, 2 incorrect
1/1 on rebound attempts (on 7 rebound opportunities)
21.43% in first on buzzer (12/56)
1/1 on Daily Doubles (Net Earned: $3,000)
0/1 in Final Jeopardy
Average Coryat: $6,600
David Sibley, to win:
4 games: 66.234%
5: 43.870%
6: 29.057%
7: 19.245%
8: 12.747%
Avg. streak: 4.962 games.
Today’s interviews:
Emily had the nickname “Grandma” during college.
Sam finds driving long distances to be relaxing.
David had to solve a mystery of who dropped off a large number of candles to his church.
Andy’s Thoughts:
Today’s box score: September 28, 2022 Box Score.
Final Jeopardy! wagering suggestions:
(Scores: David $14,600 Emily $8,800 Sam $7,800)
David: Standard cover bet over Emily is $3,001. (Actual bet: $3,001)
Sam: At an absolute minimum, you should bet $3,800. However, because you do need to be correct to win, it’s not terrible for you to go all-in (in order to maximize your winnings). That being said, a bet of no more than $5,799 gives you the best chance of taking second place as well. (Actual bet: $7,700)
Emily: Standard cover bet over Sam is $6,801. You should probably do that, because Sam does has occasion to bet most of his money. (Actual bet: $6,000)
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