Who won Jeopardy! tonight? December 23, 2022, Friday

Ray Lalonde returned to Jeopardy! season 39 on Friday, December 23, 2022, after winning six games and banking $166,200.

The scenic artist from Toronto, Canada, came back to play his seventh game against two new players — Rebecca Triano, a chemistry lecturer from Lambertville, New Jersey, and Ardi Mendoza, an emergency medicine resident from New York, New York.

The official description of the longest-running 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.”

Since 21-day champion Cris Pannullo’s exit, Ray became the first player to surpass the three-game mark as no other contestants were able to cross it.

---

Today's Jeopardy! winner is Ray Lalonde

Ray Lalonde has continued to impress viewers with his winning streak. In the December 23 episode, the returning champion took the lead throughout the rounds.

In the first round, the categories were “Orchestral Maneuvers In The Park, Literature: Blank It & Bank It, Everyday Royalty & Nobility, Sports Equipment, That Was My Home, Prepositional Phrases.”

Before the commercial break, Ray struggled to score and was in third place. After 12 clues, he picked the "Orchestral Maneuvers In The Park” category and was then unstoppable. He took the lead in round 1 and also found the first Daily Double.

While Ray thrived, new players Rebecca Triano and Ardi Mendoza too played decently well. Rebecca was initially in the first place, followed by Ardi, but their ranks dropped one position after Ray took the lead. The first total scores of the players were Ray at $9,800, Rebecca at $3,800, and Ardi at $2,800.

The category for the second round included “Native American History, Around Asia, Biological Processes, All Stars, 5-Letter Words, Rian Johnson Loves A Whodunit.”

In the Double Jeopardy round, Ardi came close to Ray’s score after winning the Daily Double. The second Daily Double went to Rebecca, but she failed to give the correct answer and lost $5,000. Despite giving three incorrect answers, Ray took the lead in round 2 as well. He banned $20,200, while Ardi scored $13,200 and Rebecca earned $6,400.

The Final Jeopardy round had only one winner, Ray. He was the only player to correctly answer the final question. While he won his wagering amount, Ardi and Rebecca lost a lot of money as they respectively wagered big amounts.

Hence, Ray Lalonde won Jeopardy! today.

Ray Lalonde: Tonight's winner (Image via Jeopardy)

---

Final Jeopardy! results today

In the December 23 episode, the category for the final round was “American Poems.” The final question, in the form of a clue, read:

"In an 1847 poem this character sees her town of Grand-Pre burned, but finally reunites with her beau for a kiss before his death.”

The correct answer to the final clue was “Evangeline.”

Only the six-day champion Ray gave the correct response to the final question, while Rebecca wrote “Isolde,” and Ardi guessed “Bronte.”

Take a look at the final results of the December 23 episode, hosted by Ken Jennings:

Ray Lalonde: $20,200 + $6,300 = $26,500 (Who is Evangeline?) (7-day total: $192,700)

Ardi Mendoza: $13,200 – $10,000 = $3,200 (Who Bronte?)

Rebecca Triano: $6,400 – $5,000 = $1,400 (Who is Isolde?)

Today’s win made Ray the 7-day champion, scoring a total amount of $192,700. He became the second player of season 39 to win seven games. Only Cris Pannullo surpassed the mark, and another player, Luigi de Guzman, was eliminated after six games.

Ray will now return next week, post-Christmas, to defend his win against two new players. With his total wins, he has secured his place in the Tournament of Champions 2023.

Jeopardy! will air its next episode on Monday, December 26, 2022.