Who won Jeopardy! tonight? December 12, 2022, Monday

A new week filled with Jeopardy! episodes has begun. On Monday, December 12, 2022, season 39 returned to the late Alex Trebek stage with one-day winner Matthew Ott.

Originally from Boston, Massachusetts, the accountant played against two new players — Sean McShane, a non-profit membership associate originally from West Islip, New York, and Kris Anne Bonifacio, a website manager from Raleigh, North Carolina.

The official description of the syndicated game show reads:

“The host tests the knowledge of the contestants on a wide range of subjects and the winner gets to claim the title and keep the prize money.”

Since 21-day champion Cris Pannullo’s exit, the Emmy-winning series has yet to find a winner who continued the winning streak beyond one game.

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Today's Jeopardy! winner is Sean McShane

Matthew Ott couldn’t win his second game as new player Sean McShane scored the highest in the December 12 episode. Only time will tell whether the latter will be able to maintain his winning streak in his second game. Meanwhile, let’s take a look at today’s game recap.

In the first round of Monday’s episode, the categories included “Ben Franklin, True Grime, With A Song In Your Brain, Lost For Words, Outbreaks, The Movie’S Title In Other Countries.”

Despite earning a Daily Double, Matthew couldn’t beat Sean in round 1. The returning player gave six correct answers and banked $3,400, while Sean scored $8,600 by correctly answering 15 questions. Kris Anne Bonifacio landed in third place after delivering five correct responses, scoring $2,600.

The categories in the second round were “19Th Century Literature, Chicago TV, “Y-U”, No Good, Low Down, Sew & Sew.”

Sean was leading the Double Jeopardy round as well. His total number of correct answers was 27 with two incorrect responses, while Matthew’s were 11 and Kris Anne’s were 10. In the second round, the first Daily Double went to Kris Anne, but she lost it due to an incorrect answer. The second Daily Double was found by Sean, who was able to double up his wagering amount by giving the correct response. The total scores of the players going into the final round were: Sean $23,600, Matthew $9,400, and Kris Anne $4,000

In the Final Jeopardy round, none of the players could deliver a correct answer to the final question. Kris Anne went all in and wagered the entire winning amount ($4,000). She lost the bet and went home with zero dollars. Matthew, on the other hand, wagered zero dollars and didn’t lose a penny, despite giving the wrong answer. Sean played safe as losing a bet in the final round didn’t affect his score. He was the top scorer.

Hence, Sean McShane won Jeopardy! today.

Sean McShane: Tonight's winner (Image via @OneEclecticMom/Twitter)

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Final Jeopardy! results today

The category of the final round of the December 12 episode was “Latin Phrases.” The clue, aka final question, read:

“Originally, this 3-word phrase referred to when a doctor or apothecary substituted one medicine for another.”

The correct answer was “quid pro quo.”

The players were unable to provide the correct response to the final question. Take a look at the final results of the December 12 episode:

Sean McShane: $23,600 – $3,000 = $20,600 (What is ?) (1-day total: $20,600)

Matthew Ott: $9,400 – $0 = $9,400 (What is placebo?)

Kris Anne Bonifacio: $4,000 – $4,000 = $0 (What is vis a vis?)

With a total score of $20,600, Sean won today’s game and became the one-day champion of season 39. He will return to the Ken Jennings-hosted show for a second game against two new players.

The next episode of Jeopardy! will air on Tuesday, December 13, 2022.