Who won Jeopardy! tonight? December 29, 2022, Thursday

Ray Lalonde’s winning streak continued in a brand new episode of Jeopardy! Season 39, aired on Thursday, December 29, 2022.

The scenic artist from Toronto, Ontario, Canada, returned to play against two new players — Emily Kawaler, a bioinformatician from New York, New York, and Rachel Cohen, a consultant from Denver, Colorado.

Ray first appeared on the show on Thursday, December 15, 2022, and since then, he has broken many records. One of them was that he became the second-highest scorer of season 39. Until Wednesday, Ray was the 10-day champion with a total score of $285,100.

The official synopsis of the game show reads:

“A returning champion and two challengers test their buzzer skills and their knowledge in a wide range of academic and popular categories.”

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Today's Jeopardy! winner is Ray Lalonde

Ray Lalonde returned to the game show to play his 11th match against Emily Kawaler and Rachel Cohen.

In the first round, the categories included “Along The Mississippi, Classic Flute Rock, You’Re Wearing Your Food, 3-Named Writers, Sheer Misery, Don’t Get…”

Since Ray’s arrival on the show, he has never missed a Daily Double. In the December 29 episode, the Toronto native missed it for the first time, which affected his score. He banked $1,200 by giving eight correct answers and landed in third place. The new players played pretty well in round 1. Emily correctly answered ten questions and scored $5,200, while Rachel gave nine correct answers and earned $4,600. All three players gave one wrong answer, respectively.

The categories for the second round of the Ken Jennings-hosted show were “The Comedy Of Eras; Break The “Code”; State Of The Heart; TV To See In 2022; The House Of Power; Rings Of Dragons.

It was an intense match between the players in the Double Jeopardy round. Ray was once again unfortunate in finding a Daily Double. The first one went to Rachel who failed to give the correct answer and lost $4,000. The second Daily Double went to Emily who correctly answered the question and won a small amount. Throughout round 2, a tough game was played between Ray and Emily. The returning champion took the lead in the game a few times, but eventually, Emily surpassed Ray’s total score. Emily banked $14,200, Ray scored $13,200 and Rachel earned $11,800.

Going by the results of the second round, it seemed like Ray’s winning streak might end in today’s episode. In the Final Jeopardy round, the top scorer of Thursday’s episode, Emily, was the only player who gave the incorrect answer to the final question. Her score fell drastically and put her in third place. Ray and Rachel gave the correct answer and won their respective wagering amounts. Rachel landed in second place, while Ray found his way back to the top on the scoreboard.

Hence, Ray Lalonde won Jeopardy! today.

Ray Lalonde: Tonight's winner (Image via @OneEclecticMom/Twitter)

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Final Jeopardy! results today

In the December 29 episode, the category for the final round was “Gods & Goddesses.” Under the category, the final question of the latest game read:

“Each morning she began her ride in her chariot across the sky ahead of her brother Sol, or Helios.”

The correct answer to the final clue was “Aurora (or Eos).”

Ray and Rachel gave the correct response, while Emily wrote “Luna.” Take a look at the final results of the December 29 episode:

Ray Lalonde: $13,200 + $13,200 = $26,400 (Who is Eos?) (11-day total: $311,500)

Rachel Cohen: $11,800 + $11,000 = $22,800 (Who is Eos?)

Emily Kawaler: $14,200 – $12,201 = $1,999 (Who is Luna?)

With today’s win, Ray became the 11-day champion. He will return to defend his win in the next episode against new players. Ray has also qualified for the Tournament of Champions 2023.

Jeopardy! Season 39 will airs its next episode on Friday, December 30, 2022.