Warning: This page contains spoilers for the January 11, 2023, 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.
Here’s today’s Final Jeopardy (in the category Pop Stars) for Wednesday, January 11, 2023 (Season 39, Game 88):
In 2022 she became the first woman to have a Billboard Top 10 album in 5 decades starting with the 1980s
(correct response beneath the contestants)
Today’s Jeopardy! contestants:
Yogesh Raut, a blogger, podcaster & freelance writer originally from Springfield, Illinois |
Andrew Whatley, an academic administrator from Chicago, Illinois |
Connor Sears, a copy editor from Queens, New York (2-day total: $43,999) |
Andy’s Pregame Thoughts:
Connor Sears has made excellent use of the Daily Doubles in his first two victories today. However, anyone who has followed high-level quizzing over the past decade will tell you that Connor has his work cut out for him today if he wants to become a 3-day champion. Yogesh Raut, one of today’s challengers, is widely considered to be one of the top quizzers in the United States, if not the entire world. Of course, the history of the show is littered with quizzers with incredible pedigrees falling victim to the variance that is Jeopardy!—certainly being a strong quizzer helps, but it is absolutely no guarantee of embarking on a long run of victories, or even one victory on the program.
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Correct response: Who is Madonna?
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(The following write-up is original content and is copyright 2023 The Jeopardy! Fan. It may not be copied without linked attribution back to this page.)
This clue is worded unacceptably terribly. Jeopardy’s general disuse of commas makes it ambiguous as to how important the phrase “starting with the 1980s” is. This clue needed to be worded “In 2022 she became the first woman to have a Billboard Top 10 album in each decade from the 1980s through the 2020s” in order to be unequivocally pinned (The show can absolutely fit 115 characters on its screen, for what it’s worth). After all, Barbra Streisand was the first woman to have a Billboard top 10 album in 5 decades—in fact, she has one in six, the 1960s through 2010s. Two thumbs down to the writers and researchers. The show’s writing has noticeably decreased in quality since the departure of Harry Friedman and this is another example in a list that is growing longer by the month.
One other marked recent change in the show that has come since the death of Alex Trebek: the show lost a great deal of its humility with Trebek’s death. Trebek was never afraid to admit fault on part of the show when justified—especially in the earlier years of the program. To give one example, the third occasion ever of a player being returned to the show—Dorian Ellis on May 7, 1985—opened with Alex Trebek actually bringing research notes onto the set to assist with his opening and his explanation as to why Dorian was being brought back. I’d be shocked if I saw that in 2023.
Alex Trebek opened the May 7, 1985 episode of Jeopardy! holding paperwork explaining why Dorian Ellis was brought back. Credit: National Archives of Game Show History
That being said: All 14 of Madonna’s studio albums, and 23 in total, have peaked inside of the Top 10 of the Billboard 200, including her most recent compilation album, Finally Enough Love: 50 Number Ones.
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Game Recap:
Jeopardy! Round:
(Categories: That’s So Last Century; The Movie Athlete’s Sport; All About Mexico; What In The Whirled…; Horses On Wheels; Search High & Low)
Our two challengers got off to the best start today, but Yogesh found the Daily Double and used it to propel his score to five figures by the first break! Connor recovered to tie with Andrew after 30 clues.
Statistics at the first break (15 clues):
Yogesh 9 correct 0 incorrect
Andrew 3 correct 0 incorrect
Connor 2 correct 0 incorrect
Statistics after the Jeopardy round:
Yogesh 13 correct 0 incorrect
Andrew 7 correct 0 incorrect
Connor 9 correct 1 incorrect
Double Jeopardy! Round:
(Categories: The Ex-State Capital; Historical TV; Down Your Alley; Science Words; Questionable Book Titles; Score To Settle)
Both challengers got to play Daily Doubles in Double Jeopardy, with Andrew picking up $5,800 on his—and Yogesh just $4,000 on his, a curiously conservative choice considering his quizzing pedigree. Nonetheless, Yogesh led going into Final, but Andrew was within two-thirds today—Final will be very interesting indeed! Scores going into Final were Yogesh at $30,800, Andrew at $20,800, and Connor at $1,800.
Statistics after Double Jeopardy:
Yogesh 28 correct 1 incorrect
Andrew 18 correct 1 incorrect
Connor 11 correct 4 incorrect
Total number of unplayed clues this season: 12 (0 today).
Thankfully for the show, this controversial Final today was a triple get; Yogesh is your new champion and goes for win #2 tomorrow!
Tonight’s Game Stats:
Looking to find out who won Jeopardy! today? Here’s the Wednesday, January 11, 2023 Jeopardy! by the numbers:
Scores going into Final:
Yogesh $30,800
Andrew $20,800
Connor $1,800
Tonight’s results:
Connor $1,800 + $223 = $2,023 (Who is Madonna?)
Andrew $20,800 + $0 = $20,800 (Who is Madonna?)
Yogesh $30,800 + $10,801 = $41,601 (Who is Madonna) (1-day total: $41,601)
Scores after the Jeopardy! Round:
Yogesh $12,400
Andrew $3,800
Connor $3,800
Opening break taken after: 15 clues
Daily Double locations:
1) THAT’S SO LAST CENTURY $800 (clue #13)
Yogesh 6000 +4000 (Connor 800 Andrew 2600)
2) QUESTIONABLE BOOK TITLES $800 (clue #14)
Andrew 10200 +5800 (Connor 2200 Yogesh 20000)
3) DOWN YOUR ALLEY $1200 (clue #18, $8400 left on board)
Yogesh 22400 +4000 (Connor 1400 Andrew 17200)
Overall Daily Double Efficiency for this game: 141
Clue Selection by Row, Before Daily Doubles Found:
J! Round:
Connor 5 3
Andrew 4 4 3
Yogesh 5 5 4 5 4 5 5 4*
DJ! Round:
Connor 5 3 5 4
Andrew 4 3 4 2* 3 2
Yogesh 5 5 5 4 3 5 4 3*
Average Row of Clue Selection, Before Daily Doubles Found:
Yogesh 4.44
Andrew 3.22
Connor 4.17
Unplayed clues:
J! Round: None!
DJ! Round: None!
Total Left On Board: $0
Number of clues left unrevealed this season: 12 (0.14 per episode average), 0 Daily Doubles
Game Stats:
Yogesh $24,800 Coryat, 28 correct, 1 incorrect, 43.86% in first on buzzer (25/57), 1/2 on rebound attempts (on 4 rebound opportunities)
Andrew $15,800 Coryat, 18 correct, 1 incorrect, 28.07% in first on buzzer (16/57), 1/2 on rebound attempts (on 4 rebound opportunities)
Connor $1,800 Coryat, 11 correct, 4 incorrect, 26.32% in first on buzzer (15/57), 0/0 on rebound attempts (on 0 rebound opportunities)
Combined Coryat Score: $42,400
Lach Trash: $4,200 (on 3 Triple Stumpers)
Coryat lost to incorrect responses (less double-correct responses): $7,400
Connor Sears, career statistics:
57 correct, 11 incorrect
2/2 on rebound attempts (on 8 rebound opportunities)
34.50% in first on buzzer (59/171)
3/4 on Daily Doubles (Net Earned: $17,800)
2/3 in Final Jeopardy
Average Coryat: $11,933
Andrew Whatley, career statistics:
19 correct, 1 incorrect
1/2 on rebound attempts (on 4 rebound opportunities)
28.07% in first on buzzer (16/57)
1/1 on Daily Doubles (Net Earned: $5,800)
1/1 in Final Jeopardy
Average Coryat: $15,800
Yogesh Raut, career statistics:
29 correct, 1 incorrect
1/2 on rebound attempts (on 4 rebound opportunities)
43.86% in first on buzzer (25/57)
2/2 on Daily Doubles (Net Earned: $8,000)
1/1 in Final Jeopardy
Average Coryat: $24,800
Yogesh Raut, to win:
2 games: 83.936%
3: 70.453%
4: 59.135%
5: 49.636%
6: 41.662%
Avg. streak: 6.225 games.
Today’s interviews:
Yogesh was a high school quiz rival with James Holzhauer.
Andrew worked on a reservation during college.
Connor was working in Qatar when the 2022 World Cup was announced.
Andy’s Thoughts:
- I hope Yogesh starts playing more aggressively; he needs to take better advantage of Daily Doubles in the future, in order to build a long run.
- Today’s box score: January 11, 2023 Box Score.
Final Jeopardy! wagering suggestions:
(Scores: Yogesh $30,800 Andrew $20,800 Connor $1,800)
Connor: Bet whatever you like. (Actual bet: $223)
Andrew: If Yogesh makes a cover bet and is incorrect, he falls to $19,999. Thus, you should limit your bet to $799. (Actual bet: $0)
Yogesh: Standard cover bet over Andrew is $10,801. (Actual bet: $10,801)
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