Who won Jeopardy! tonight? October 17, 2022, Monday

Jeopardy! returned with a new episode on Monday, October 17. The game show, however, will not be airing season 39 episodes for the next two weeks. That means 11-day champion Cris Pannullo will return to the show next month.

Today, the game show aired Episode 1 of its first-ever Second Chance competition. Beginning on October 17, the competition will end on October 28, 2022, followed by the Tournament of Champions, starting on Monday, October 31, 2022.

In the latest episode, the show welcomed three Season 38 contestants. They were:

• Cindy Zhang, a user experience designer from New York, N.Y. (Thursday, November 4, 2021)
• Aaron Gulyas, a community college history instructor from Grand Blanc, Mich. (Friday, May 27, 2022)
• Jessica Stephens, a statistical research specialist from Nashville, Tenn. (Monday, October 11, 2021)

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Today’s Jeopardy! winner, Jessica Stephens

Season 38 contestants returned to the Second Chance competition on Monday, October 17, 2022. They were the ones who didn’t become champions in their first appearance on the show.

In the latest episode, the categories for the first round included “Literary First Lines, An Impressive Vocabulary, World Facts, Common Bonds, Lyrically Yours, Skin Care From A To Z With Michael Strahan."

Jessica Stephens and Cindy Zhang correctly answered nine questions, but the latter lost a lot of points after missing a Daily Double. Aaron Gulyas, too, played well in round 1, by the end of which, the scores were Jessica at $5,400, Aaron at $3,000, and Cindy at $2,000.

The categories for the second round were “Actors Get Their Roles Mixed Up, ‘If' At First…, Anagrams, Here’s Your Science Prize, Trying To Get Some Works Done, But I Have This Historic Meeting.”

Jessica was on a roll in round 2 as she gave 18 correct answers, including a Daily Double. She banked the highest amount in this round, $17,100. Cindy, on the other hand, delivered 14 correct and three incorrect answers and scored $6,800. Aaron got the opportunity to score big, but he missed a Daily Double and advanced to the final round with $2,800 in his pocket.

The Final Jeopardy round had two winners, Jessica and Aaron, as they gave the correct answer to the final question. Jessica scored the highest, followed by Cindy, who landed in second place even after losing the final round.

Hence, Jessica Stephens won Jeopardy! today.

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Final Jeopardy! results today

The category for today’s final round was “Famous Animals,” and the final clue read:

“In September 1964 the New York Times announced the passing of this pet, a gift, used as a symbol of honesty in 1952."

The correct answer was “Checkers.”

Jessica and Aaron gave the correct answers, while Cindy wrote “Thanks for having me!,” thereby indicating that she didn't know the answer.

Take a look at the final results of the October 17 episode:

Jessica Stephens: $17,100 + $3,000 = $20,100 (Who is Checkers?) (Finalist)

Cindy Zhang: $6,800 – $0 = $6,800 (Who Thanks for having me!)

Aaron Gulyas: $2,800 + $2,800 = $5,600 (Who is is Checkers?)

After today’s win, Jessica will return to the finale episodes on Thursday and Friday. To understand the format of the Second Chance competition, here’s the official synopsis:

“Second Chance, brought to you by Moderna, features 18 select contestants who didn’t become JEOPARDY! champions in their initial appearances returning to the stage for an unprecedented opportunity to change history.”

It continues:

“The competition will air over the course of two weeks; each week will feature three semifinal games and a two-day final. The winner of each week’s mini-tournament will earn a spot in the upcoming Tournament of Champions, which begins Monday, October 31.”

Meanwhile, the next episode will welcome three returning contestants from previous seasons. The episode will air on Tuesday, October 18, 2022.