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Jeopardy! Season 39 returned with a new episode on Wednesday, December 21, 2022, featuring a returning champion and two new contestants.
As per the show’s format, three players participate in the game, and one of them is a returning winner. The latter plays to defend his win against the two new players. Describing the origin of the show, its official website reads:
"Jeopardy! was born March 30, 1964, when the first-ever episode aired at 11:30 a.m. on NBC. The birth parents were Merv and Julann Griffin and attending was Art Fleming. The NBC daytime version of the show (which ran until 1975) paved the way for the current syndicated program that debuted in 1984.”
In the December 21 episode (hosted by Ken Jennings), returning champion Ray Lalonde (four-day winner) played against two contestants — Mary Dishigrikyan, a school psychologist from North Hollywood, California, and Michael Vaz, a tutor from Mississauga, Ontario, Canada.
Today's Jeopardy! winner is Ray Lalonde
Ray Lalonde didn’t have an easy win in the December 21 episode. New player Michael Vaz gave the four-day winner some tough competition. Interestingly, both players hail from Ontario, Canada.
In the latest episode, the categories for the first round included “Geography That Made History, Quotable Shakespeare Plays, Machines, Sounds Like A Bug, NBA Teams, Superlatives.”
Michael came out pretty strong in round 1 with 12 correct answers. He banked the highest amount, $7,600, which also included a Daily Double. Ray was just behind Michael with a score of $5,000. He could have won round 1 as he had 13 correct responses to his credit, but Ray also got three answers wrong. The third player, Mary Dishigrikyan, struggled with the signaling device. She ended up answering one correct and one incorrect answer, leaving her with a score of -$200.
The categories for the second round were “Pacific Islands, Putting On Heirs, Food & Drink, The Classic Song In Question, I’s In The Back, Of Your Head.”
Both Canadians played a competitive game in the Double Jeopardy round as well. Ray and Michael picked Daily Doubles, where the former wagered a large amount and won. This gave Ray a lead in round 2. Michael was not far behind, while Mary managed to score some points. The scores of the players were Ray $19,200, Michael $18,400, and Mary $3,000.
In the Final Jeopardy round, Ray and Michael delivered the correct answer to the final question. Ray took the lead on the scoreboard as he wagered a higher amount than Michael. The latter landed in second place, while the third position went to Mary.
Hence, Ray Lalonde won Jeopardy! today.
Final Jeopardy! results today
The category for the final round of the December 21 episode was “Children’s Lit,” and the clue/question read:
“The title object of this book ‘never looked more beautiful…each strand held dozens of bright drops of early morning dew.’”
The correct answer to the final clue was “Charlotte’s Web.”
Ray and Michael gave the correct answer to the final question, while Mary wrote, “Sleeping Beauty.”
Take a look at the final results of the December 21 episode:
Ray Lalonde: $19,200 + $17,700 = $36,900 (What is Charlotte’s Web?) (5-day total: $132,200)
Michael Vaz: $18,400 + $801 = $19,201 (What is Charlotte’s Web?)
Mary Dishigrikyan: $3,000 – $2,000 = $1,000 (What is Sleeping Beauty?)
Today’s win made Ray the five-day winner as he banked $132,200. He became the first player to score this high after Cris Pannullo’s exit.
With his fifth win, the scenic artist from Toronto, Ontario, Canada, has earned a spot in the Tournament of Champions 2023. Ray will return for his sixth game against two new players.
The next episode of the syndicated game show will air on Thursday, December 22, 2022.
