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Who won Jeopardy! tonight? May 12, 2025, Monday

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The winner of tonight’s episode of Jeopardy! on May 12, 2025, was Andrew Jones, a graduate student from Queens, New York. Even though the Final Jeopardy round was tough and everyone had a hard time with the clue, Andrew's smart bet of $0 helped him win and earn a $5,600 bonus for the day.

Kara Peruccio, a professor at a university in Bangor, Maine, was ahead at the start of the Jeopardy round, but she had trouble in the Double Jeopardy round. A data analyst from Washington, D.C., named Rachel Hall, tried hard to win back but lost in the Final Jeopardy round. It was a close race to the end. Andrew's smart bets helped him win, and he will be back tomorrow to defend his title.

Jeopardy! has been a favorite of American TV for decades, with its mix of intellectual and entertaining trivia questions from a wide range of topics. Even though the format hasn't changed much, the show always has new contestants and new twists on the game.

Jeopardy! episode highlights May 12, 2025, Monday

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Tonight's episode of Jeopardy! had contestants from a wide range of backgrounds. Jeopardy and Double Jeopardy were the two main rounds of the game. Competitions were tough, with topics like Landlocked States By Cities, Mineralogy, That Food Is Fire, Letter Perfect, and Court. But in the end, the winner was decided by the Final Jeopardy! category, which was Texas Technology.

Jeopardy round

Jeopardy round had a mix of strong and weak performances from all three contestants. Kara Peruccio set a steady pace to lead the pack at the break, where she had $2,400. On the other hand, Andrew Jones and Rachel Hall had trouble with a few of the first questions. At one point, Andrew was at $400.

After 15 clues, the breakdown of correct answers was as follows:

Despite Kara's early success, the Jeopardy round was characterized by missed opportunities and scattered answers. Kara found the Daily Double but lost $1,000, a conservative yet understandable bet since the category was not fully understood at the time.

At the end of the Jeopardy round:

Double Jeopardy round

The Double Jeopardy round was a turning point for many players. The categories in this round included Ancient Persia, It Ain’t Shakespeare, Suburban Legend, We’ve Got Rights, Movie & Song, Same Title, and Jeoportmanteau!

Andrew, despite missing both Daily Doubles, played aggressively and made some smart moves to stay in the race. Meanwhile, Rachel, who was trailing Kara, capitalized on Andrew's missed opportunities to take the lead. However, the final mistake of the round, an incorrect response from Rachel on the last clue, allowed Andrew to catch up.

At the end of the Double Jeopardy round, the statistics were as follows:

The scores after Double Jeopardy:

Final Jeopardy Round

The last round of Jeopardy was a Triple Stumper, which means that none of the contestants got the clue about Texas Technology right. Because of the contestants' bets, this caused a huge change in the scores.

As Andrew chose a $0 bet, he stayed at $5,600 and won, while Rachel's wrong answer cost her a big chunk of her total earnings. Kara was in first place at the start, but after her bet was wiped out, she only won $400.

The results of Final Jeopardy were:

About the Contestants

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Kara Peruccio

Kara Peruccio is an academic who loves her job as a college professor in Bangor, Maine. In the first round of Jeopardy!, she got off to a good start and took the lead with $2,400. Kara is smarter than most people because she used to teach, and she's currently working on a book to get tenure.

Even though she had some problems in the Double Jeopardy! round and her performance went downhill, Kara kept her cool. She bet small in the Final Jeopardy! round and won $400 at the end of the game.

Kara was resilient since she was able to handle the pressure and get back on track even though she didn't win. The fact that she did so well on Jeopardy! shows how hard you have to work and how well you can do in school.

Andrew Jones

Andrew Jones, a graduate student from Queens, New York, showed that he could think strategically during his Jeopardy! appearance. Andrew played a smart and well-planned game, even though he missed both Daily Doubles in the Double Jeopardy! round.

It was a brave choice for him to bet nothing in the Final Jeopardy round, and it paid off in the end, giving him a score of $5,600 and the win. As a graduate student, he probably learned how to stay focused when things got tough.

Andrew's ability to stay calm and collected helped him deal with problems and seize opportunities when they were most important. He'll be back tomorrow to defend his title, which shows that you can win on Jeopardy! with strategy and patience.

Rachel Hall

Rachel Hall, a data analyst from Washington, D.C., showed how smart she was throughout the game, especially in Jeopardy, where she won $5,600 and moved on to Double Jeopardy). Rachel was very good at trivia because she had a background in data analysis and could see patterns and details right away.

She was in charge at one point, but she had a hard time in the Double Jeopardy round, and her bad answer in the Final Jeopardy round was what finally got her eliminated.

Rachel played a brave game anyway, and in the end she won $500. Her performance shows that skill and knowledge can make a difference on Jeopardy! even when the odds are against you.

Also read: Who won Jeopardy! tonight? May 6, 2025, Tuesday

How Is Jeopardy! different from regular game shows?

One thing that makes Jeopardy! different from other game shows is that the contestants have to answer in the form of a question. The fast-paced and structured nature of the show makes it exciting, especially during the Double Jeopardy and Final Jeopardy rounds, where players have to make important choices that could decide the winner.

Also read: Who won Jeopardy! tonight? May 2, 2025, Friday

Jeopardy! recap for May 12, 2025:

Jeopardy Round Categories:

Opening Segment:

Statistics at the Break (15 clues):

Player Interviews:

Daily Double (DD):

After the Jeopardy round:

Scores after Jeopardy:

Double Jeopardy Round Categories:

Double Jeopardy Round Highlights:

Statistics after Double Jeopardy:

Scores Going into Final Jeopardy:

Final Jeopardy:

Final Results:

Tonight’s Winner:

Tonight's Jeopardy! was a competitive game that showed how smart people can be when they think strategically, make quick decisions, and know a lot about a lot of different topics.

Read more: Today's Final Jeopardy! answer: Monday, May 12, 2025

Even though Kara was ahead early on, Andrew Jones won because he bet $0 in the Final Jeopardy round. He'll be back tomorrow to defend his title, and the game will likely be even more exciting..

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