(TJF Plus) Daily Details - Friday, September 18, 2026

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Game Recap & Tonight's Game Stats:

Looking to find out who won Jeopardy! today? Here's the Friday, September 18, 2026 Jeopardy! by the numbers, along with a recap:

Jeopardy! Round:

(Categories: Recaps Of Shakespeare; Talk Like A Pirate; Science; Food & Drink; False Berlin; Bizarre Little Men)

Buoyed by the Daily Double, it was Holly who got off to a fast start; she led through 15. At the interviews, the scores were Holly $5,600 Michael $1,800 Mark $1,200.

Statistics at the first break (15 clues):

Holly 7 correct 0 incorrect
Michael 3 correct 0 incorrect
Mark 3 correct 1 incorrect

Today's interviews:

Michael started a band; the group writes about their experiences with fatherhood.
Holly is a former Youth Governor of Delaware.
Mark applied to Smith College shortly after moving to the U.S.—without realizing it was an all-women's school.

Holly continued her strong play for most of the round, but Mark came on strong at the end to sit second. On the opening board, Holly picked up 3 on talking like a pirate (words beginning with "Ar"), science, and bizarre little men, while Mark got 4 in the category about Berlin in movies and 3 in food & drink.

Statistics after the Jeopardy round:

Holly 13 correct 1 incorrect
Mark 11 correct 1 incorrect
Michael 4 correct 1 incorrect

Scores after the Jeopardy! Round:

Holly $8,000
Mark $5,000
Michael $2,000

Double Jeopardy! Round:

(Categories: Midterm Elections; Legally Latin; Broadway Musicals By Songs; Religious Fruit; Portmanteaus & Blended Words; 5 "Bad" Places To See Before You Die)

There was certainly some perplexing strategy in the Double Jeopardy Round. Firstly, attorney Holly, when holding the advantage early, chose to completely ignore the legal category. Then, much like yesterday's game, there seemed to be no urgency from Mark to finding DD3, with 5 top-row clues selected. Then, when Mark found DD3 in a strong position, he chose not to bet for the runaway. Needless to say, Mark did not have the runaway entering Final. Meanwhile, Holly also struggled over the last 20 clues after back-to-back incorrect responses and sat third entering Final Jeopardy. On the second board, Mark got 4 in Broadway musicals and 3 in Latin and portmanteaus.

Statistics after Double Jeopardy:

Mark 24 correct 2 incorrect
Michael 8 correct 1 incorrect
Holly 17 correct 4 incorrect
Total number of unplayed clues this season: 0 (0 today).

Scores going into Final:

Mark $15,400
Michael $9,600
Holly $8,000

Final Jeopardy was a Triple Stumper, which suited Mark nicely, as his cover bet didn't need to be that large. He's now a 2-day champion, returning Monday to go for win #3.

Tonight's results:

Holly $8,000 - $7,402 = $598 (Who is Holden Caufield?)
Michael $9,600 - $6,401 = $3,199 (Who is ?)
Mark $15,400 - $3,900 = $11,500 (Who is Sauron?) (2-day total: $32,300)

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Other Miscellaneous Game Statistics:

Daily Double locations:

1) RECAPS OF SHAKESPEARE $800 (clue #4)
Holly 1200 +1200 (Mark 0 Michael 600)
2) MIDTERM ELECTIONS $1200 (clue #10)
Michael 4800 +4000 (Mark 6600 Holly 10000)
3) LEGALLY LATIN $1200 (clue #26, $4800 left on board)
Mark 13400 +2000 (Holly 7200 Michael 8800)
Overall Daily Double Efficiency for this game: 198

Clue Selection by Row, Before Daily Doubles Found:

J! Round:
Mark 3
Holly 3 4*
Michael 3

DJ! Round:
Mark 3 4 2 5 2 1 2 1 5 5 1 2 1 1 2 3*
Holly 4 3
Michael 3 5 4 4 3* 5† 3 4

† - selection in same category as Daily Double

Average Row of Clue Selection, Before Daily Doubles Found:

Mark 2.53
Michael 3.78
Holly 3.50

Unplayed clues:

J! Round: None!
DJ! Round: None!
Total Left On Board: $0
Number of clues left unrevealed this season: 0 (0.00 per episode average), 0 Daily Doubles

Game Stats:

Mark $14,600 Coryat, 24 correct, 2 incorrect, 42.11% in first on buzzer (24/57), 1/1 on rebound attempts (on 5 rebound opportunities)
Michael $6,800 Coryat, 8 correct, 1 incorrect, 12.28% in first on buzzer (7/57), 1/1 on rebound attempts (on 6 rebound opportunities)
Holly $7,600 Coryat, 17 correct, 4 incorrect, 31.58% in first on buzzer (18/57), 2/2 on rebound attempts (on 3 rebound opportunities)
Combined Coryat Score: $29,000
Lach Trash: $17,400 (on 11 Triple Stumpers)
Coryat lost to incorrect responses (less double-correct responses): $7,600
Lead Changes: 2
Times Tied: 2

Player Statistics:

Mark Ramirez, career statistics:

52 correct, 9 incorrect
5/6 on rebound attempts (on 11 rebound opportunities)
44.74% in first on buzzer (51/114)
1/2 on Daily Doubles (Net Earned: $200)
1/2 in Final Jeopardy
Average Coryat: $18,600

Holly Firlein, career statistics:

17 correct, 5 incorrect
2/2 on rebound attempts (on 3 rebound opportunities)
31.58% in first on buzzer (18/57)
1/1 on Daily Doubles (Net Earned: $1,200)
0/1 in Final Jeopardy
Average Coryat: $7,600

Michael Mott, career statistics:

8 correct, 2 incorrect
1/1 on rebound attempts (on 6 rebound opportunities)
12.28% in first on buzzer (7/57)
1/1 on Daily Doubles (Net Earned: $4,000)
0/1 in Final Jeopardy
Average Coryat: $6,800

Mark Ramirez, to win:

3 games: 61.692%
4: 38.059%
5: 23.479%
6: 14.485%
7: 8.936%
Avg. streak: 3.610 games.

Andy's Thoughts:

• I repeat my comments from this morning: Mark feels like an incredibly knowledgeable player, and it's those sorts of players whose runs end heartbreakingly early because they give too many opportunities to their opponents.
• Today's J!6 clues can be found at the monthly archive.

Final Jeopardy! wagering suggestions:

(Scores: Mark $15,400 Michael $9,600 Holly $8,000)

Mark: Standard cover bet is $3,801. (Actual bet: $3,900)

Holly: If you bet between $3,601 and $4,799, you will both pass Mark if he's incorrect in Final (and you're correct), and stay ahead of Michael if he is incorrect in Final. (Actual bet: $7,402)

Michael: Standard cover bet over Holly is $6,401. (Actual bet: $6,401)