Ray Lalonde

Ray Lalonde (b. 1961) is a scenic artist from Toronto, Ontario, Canada. He is the 4th and final superchampion in 2022, and the 16th overall.

Early Life[]

A resident of Toronto, Ontario, Ray Lalonde was born in Thunder Bay. Ray works as a scenic artist in The International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE) in the paint department. Ray went to Hillcrest High School and left his town at the age of 19 to attend university.

He provided his services in the art department in the television shows such as Killjoys (2015), Trauma (2010), and Au secours de Béatrice (2014). On the sets, the scenic artist works on plywood and makes it look like real things whether it’s a brick wall, stone walls, marble, or any other thing, but it’s all fake.

Jeopardy! Run[]

Regular-Season Play[]

He is the second-longest-streaking and second-highest winning Canadian champion both in regular play and overall, behind only Mattea Roach (23 wins, $560,983 in regular play, $570,983 overall).
He drew some controversy at the beginning of his streak for consistently swaying at his podium, though it was revealed after his third game that he is doing so because of a spinal cord injury that causes him to cramp up if he remains stationary for a long enough period of time.

Game No.	Air Date	Final score	Cumulative Winnings	Notes
1	December 15, 2022	$32,600	$32,600	Ray ended Sean McShane's 3-game winning streak. Cousin of 4-time champion and 2013 Jeopardy! Tournament of Champions semifinalist Dan McShane. Despite not fully making a cover bet in Final Jeopardy.
2	December 16, 2022	$28,000	$60,600	Ray's first runaway game.
3	December 19, 2022	$24,200	$84,800	Ray's second runaway game.
4	December 20, 2022	$10,500	$95,300
5	December 21, 2022	$36,900	$132,200
6	December 22, 2022	$34,000	$166,200
7	December 23, 2022	$26,500	$192,700
8	December 26, 2022	$26,600	$219,300
9	December 27, 2022	$35,800	$255,100	Ray's third runaway game.
10	December 28, 2022	$30,000	$285,100	Ray's fourth and final runaway game in regular-season play.
11	December 29, 2022	$26,400	$311,500	Ray's only come-from-behind win in regular-season play.
12	December 30, 2022	$42,800	$354,300	Last game of 2022. This winning score is believed to be the one-day record for a Canadian, breaking the $42,001 that Mattea Roach herself set in their 18th game. Taking doubled dollar values into account, the one-day record appears to be $55,600, set by Bob Blake on September 7, 1989 (Bob's record was also the only case in Jeopardy history where there was a tie for the overall one-day record). This record would stand until Juveria Zaheer beats it with a $51,200 score in 2023. Juveria's $51,200 score was on the first day of a 2-day total point affair, however, as it was amassed in one day, it would seem that Juveria has broken Ray's record.
13	January 2, 2023	$32,100	$386,400	First game of 2023.
14	January 3, 2023	$24,000	$388,400	Lost to Lloyd Sy, who went on a 2-game winning streak.

End of the Streak[]

He was defeated by Lloyd Sy on January 3, 2023. Ray played well throughout the Jeopardy! Round, and despite Lloyd finding the Daily Double (and wagering only $5), Ray held the lead in between rounds. However, Double Jeopardy! Seemed to really throw Ray of his game, as he picked up 4 incorrect responses - including dropping $3,000 on a Daily Double - the last of which would have given him a lead going into Final were he to get it correct.

But since he missed the clue, he entered Final Jeopardy with $12,000 to Lloyd's $12,490, with Claire Theoret in third at $11,200. While both Ray and Claire successfully doubled up in Final, Lloyd was also correct, and wagered enough to be ahead of Ray by just $490 after his answer and wager was revealed. Ray is the second seed in the 2023 Tournament of Champions lineup, only behind Cris Pannullo (x21, $748,286), whose loss came one week before Ray's debut.

Lloyd would end up winning his second game the following Wednesday. Also, giant killer broke the jinx that the second FJ can't correct unconditionally. he would, however, lose his third game to Patrick Curran.

Tournament of Champions[]

In his seventh quarterfinal game, he faced off against Melissa Klapper and Ike Barinholtz. Throughout the first two rounds, he came up with 17/17 correct responses. He and Ike got Final correct, but after losing to Ike (in a come from behind win), he and Melissa took $5,000 home.

Invitational Tournament[]

In the seventh quarterfinal game, he faced off against Robin Carroll and Ryan Long. Throughout the first two rounds, he came up with 18/22 correct responses (including 2/2 Daily Double). Nobody got Final correct, but he advanced to the semifinals, Robin and Ryan received $5,000.

In the third and final semifinal game, he faced off against Raymond Goslow and Juveria Zaheer. Throughout the first two rounds of the game, he came up with 7/9 correct responses. He and Juveria got Final Jeopardy! correct, but after losing to Juveria (who pulled off a come-from-behind win), he and Goslow received $10,000 each.

Evaluation[]

Ray's gameplay strategy is similar to that of 13-game champion Matt Jackson, in that both contestants make their first selections from the middle row in each round ($600 in the Jeopardy round and $1,200 in Double Jeopardy), as clues around this range are more likely to be Daily Doubles.

He has been nearly flawless on the 23 wagering clues he has answered thus far in his run, having yet to miss a single Daily Double (he has found 14 of the 27 thus far) and only having missed two of the nine Final Jeopardy clues.

Interestingly, his playstyle is often defined by sudden bursts of energy; he has had multiple games where he picks up more than 10 correct responses in any of the four 15-clue segments of the game. He is currently the second seed in the 31st ToC lineup, only behind Cris Pannullo (x21, $748,286), whose loss came less than two weeks before Ray's debut.

The Challenge's lineup is also similar to the former super champion, Cris. It seems that Cris recruited talented players at an appropriate time interval in case Cris stays in the championship for too long.

As previously stated, he suffered damage to his spine over the years and had to work hard to keep his legs from muscle cramps while being filmed on camera. Also, up to 12 consecutive victories, he had to record for 3 days in a row, and he was physically exhausted. Nevertheless, many people are praising him for overcoming these difficulties and winning 13.

After that, when he handed over the championship on January 3, he received a good response and ended with a happy ending.

Common with Other Champions[]

Matt Jackson[]

They defeated a male 3-time champ and became the new champion.
They broke their own record with 12 games.
Both are 13-win champions, handing over to the same gender. The difference is, Matt kept first place until he got off, and Ray had a come-from-behind experience once.

James Holzhauer[]

Both debuted on Thursday.
They once competed with a relative of a participant who went up to ToC. James went up against a sister (Sarah McNitt - Rebecca) in his 13th game, and Ray went up against a cousin in his first game.
They competed against the runner-up who received over $40,000. James in the 18th, Ray in the 12th.
Both of them have a record of 10 consecutive FJ correct answers, and they kept the record until they got off. For reference, James continued his streak of correct answers until the ToC Quarterfinal.
The new champions are from Illinois, and all contestants got FJ!.
Subsequent champions also broke some jinxes. James' successor, Emma Boettcher, broke the jinx that the person who won the Superchampion would never win a streak, and Lloyd, the Giant Killer, broke the jinx that a second FJ would never correct. In addition, the FJ question of the two was a matter of asking the country.
Both got off on the first week of the new month. The difference was James got off on Monday and Ray got off on Tuesday.
When they left, the new champions who've defeated them have succeeded in winning a second game. The only difference was James' opponent went on to win another game and qualified for the Tournament of Champions.

Amy Schneider[]

Based on the broadcast date, they earned more than 10 consecutive wins over two years.
They have a record of 10 consecutive correct FJ! responses.
Both were champions throughout the Christmas and New Years holidays.
Like James, they were defeated by an Illinois native.
In the ToC where I participated, more than two Superchamps did not even advance to the semifinals, and two participants beat Superchamps before the finals.
Both their giant killers made it to the Champions Wildcard Tournament. The difference was Ray's giant killer made it to the semifinals, while Amy's giant killer finished as a quarterfinalist.

Mattea Roach[]

Both are of Canadian origin and live in the same area.
The two had a confrontation with the same Canadian. Mattea in the 10th, Ray in the 5th.
They are the first Canadian 6-time+ champion by gender.
Both have at least one come-from-behind record.
Both got off on the first week of the new month. The difference was Ray got off on Tuesday and Mattea got off on Friday.
When they got off, they handed over the seat to the new champion by a narrow margin. Ray's is $490, Mattea's is only $1 difference. In addition, all successor champions finished with two consecutive wins.
In addition, both their giant killers made it to the Champions Wildcard Tournament and finished as a semifinalist.

Adriana Harmeyer[]

Both were in second place before FJ in their regular season runs. Ray in his 11th consecutive win against Emily Kawaler, and Adriana in her 13th straight win against Kaitlin Tarr.
FJ holds the record for correct answers more than 10 times in a row.
All subsequent champions succeeded in consecutive wins.

Personal Life[]

Ray is the identical twin brother of 3-time Jeopardy! champion Ron Lalonde.

Trivia[]

Ray is the fourth superchampion to be defeated on a Tuesday after Ken Jennings (regular game contestant), Jonathan Fisher, and Cris Pannullo.
He has designed sets for many TV shows and movies, including The Handmaid's Tale.
As per a news article released during the IATSE strike in December 2022, Ray was apparently 61 years old at that time, making him the oldest Jeopardy! superchampion out of the 18 thus far. The youngest superchampion is Mattea Roach, also from Canada.
He is believed to be one of only eight people to have gotten 10+ consecutive correct FJ! responses, Like Jennifer Quail, this is the 4th longest consecutive FJ correct answer record (11 questions). The other confirmed seven - Tom Cubbage, Ken Jennings, Larissa Kelly, Ben Ingram, James Holzhauer, Jennifer Quail, and Amy Schneider.
On the Jeopardy homepage, the list of ToC entrants is listed, but Ray's name and residence are all capitalized, while all other names are written in lowercase. Regarding this, netizens are talking about whether the website maker made a mistake on purpose.
On the other hand, when his circumstances became known, opinions were exchanged that all performers should sit in chairs and solve problems like the Art Fleming system.
Like Cris, who participated in the 2024 ToC, he also became a Super Champion who did not advance to the semifinals (the fifth time in history), and like Matt Amodio, he is a Super Champion who lost to the winner of another tournament at ToC.
He played seated in a tall chair in the 2025 Jeopardy! Invitational Tournament.
According to Evan Jones, Ray and Ron Lalonde are the second set of twins to become Jeopardy! champions, the first being Phyllis Massengale and Paula Massengale, who both won in 1989 and 1990, respectively.