Who won Jeopardy! tonight? January 2, 2023, Monday

Jeopardy! Season 39 aired its first episode of 2023 on Monday, January 2, featuring the return of 12-day champion Ray Lalonde.

The scenic artist from Toronto, Canada, won his twelfth game last week and banked a total score of $354,300. On Monday, he returned to defend his win for the 13th time against two new players — Chris Blair, a development operations manager from Newbury Park, California, and Denise Carlon, an attorney from Seaside Heights, New Jersey.

In season 39, Ray has become the second-highest scorer and is not far behind the top-scorer, Cris Pannullo (21 wins). Only time will tell whether Ray will be able to continue his winning streak for a long time.

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Today's Jeopardy! winner is Ray Lalonde

Ray Lalonde has been unstoppable since his arrival on the game show. In the January 2 episode, he continued defeating new players.

The categories for the first round of the latest episode included “Giving You Some Metals, The Doctor Will See You Now, Let There Be Frogs, Grand Ole Opry Members, 3 Letters, Starts With “A”, History Comes Alive With Erik Larson.”

All three players had a good time in round 1. Ray tried his level best to find the first Daily Double but failed to do so. He was given tough competition by Denise Carlon, who picked the Daily Double and wagered $2,000.

Denise also gave the maximum number of correct answers (13), while Ray delivered 11 and Chris Blair gave four correct responses. Denise took the lead in the first round with a score of $8,800. Ray banked $3,800 and Chris earned $3,000.

In the second round of the Ken Jennings-hosted show, the categories were “From The New Testament To The Map, Writers’ Middle Names, State Governors, The Chase, Sacrificial Roles, Friends ‘Til The Ends.”

The competition between Denise and Ray became more intense in the Double Jeopardy round. Ray found two Daily Doubles, but couldn’t give correct answers and lost his wagering money both times. Ray dominated the scoreboard, but Denise kept on making it tough for the returning champion.

Chris, on the other hand, landed in the third position, but he was the only one with zero incorrect answers. He banked $8,200 in the second round, while Ray scored $16,100 and Denise banked $16,000.

In the Final Jeopardy round, Ray and Denise gave the correct answer to the final question. Denise ended up in second place with just a $100 difference from Ray’s score. The latter got lucky with his wagering amount, which gave him enough lead to top the scoreboard again for the 13th time.

Chris failed to give the correct answer, but he also wagered zero dollars, which means he didn’t lose any money even after giving the wrong answer.

Subsequently, Ray Lalonde won Jeopardy! today.

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

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Final Jeopardy! results today

In the January 2 episode, the category for the Final Jeopardy round was “Historical Crimes,” and the clue read:

“Saying it was stolen by Napoleon, self-styled Italian patriot Vincenzo Peruggia took it in 1911.”

The correct answer to the final question was “Mona Lisa.”

Denise and Ray gave the correct answer, while Chris wrote, “The shroud of turin.” Take a look at the final results of the January 2 episode:

Ray Lalonde: $16,100 + $16,000 = $32,100 (What is the Mona Lisa?) (13-day total: $386,400)

Denise Carlon: $16,000 + $16,000 = $32,000 (What is the Mona Lisa?)

Chris Blair: $8,200 – $0 = $8,200 (What is The Shroud of Turin)

With just a $100 difference, Ray won today’s episode and became the 13-day champion with a total score of $386,400. The second-highest scorer of season 39 has also qualified for the Tournament of Champions 2023.

After today’s win, Ray will return to play his 14th game against two new players. The next episode will air on Tuesday, January 3, 2022.