recaps
Detailed statistics for the Friday, September 25, 2026 episode of Jeopardy! (Sean Carpenter, Lydia Herndon, Nikolas Polsinelli).
(TJF Plus) Daily Details - Friday, September 25, 2026
Current Champion
Greg Monson, career statistics:
40 correct, 12 incorrect
5/5 on rebound attempts (on 10 rebound opportunities)
35.96% in first on buzzer (41/114)
3/4 on Daily Doubles (Net Earned: $10,800)
1/2 in Final Jeopardy
Average Coryat: $14,900
To win:
3 games: 60.736%
4: 36.889%
5: 22.405%
6: 13.608%
7: 8.265%
Avg. streak: 3.547 games.
(Click Here for Methodology)
Upcoming Encore Presentations
October 10-11: S42 E176 (May 11, 2026)
October 17-18: S42 E177 (May 12, 2026)
October 24-25: S42 E178 (May 13, 2026)
(Source: Bell Fibe TV program guide)
All Time Winnings
All Time Jeopardy! Winnings, Regular Play Only:
1. Ken Jennings $2,520,700
2. James Holzhauer $2,462,216
3. Matt Amodio $1,518,601
4. Amy Schneider $1,382,800
5. Jamie Ding $882,605
6. Cris Pannullo $748,286
7. Mattea Roach $560,983
8. Jason Zuffranieri $532,496
9. Scott Riccardi $455,000
10. David Madden $430,400
11. Julia Collins $428,100
12. Matt Jackson $411,612
13. Austin Rogers $411,000
14. Ray Lalonde $386,400
15. Harrison Whitaker $373,999
16. Adriana Harmeyer $349,600
17. Caleb Groen $346,968
18. Adam Remsen $306,415
19. Ryan Long $299,400
20. Arthur Chu $297,200
All Time Jeopardy! Winnings, Including Tournaments (and Consolation Prizes):
1. Brad Rutter $4,968,436
2. Ken Jennings $4,372,700
3. James Holzhauer $3,614,216
4. Matt Amodio $1,964,601
5. Amy Schneider $1,864,800
6. Yogesh Raut $1,598,403
7. Victoria Groce $1,023,801
8. Mattea Roach $897,983
9. Jamie Ding $885,605
10. David Madden $785,733
11. Cris Pannullo $754,286
12. Roger Craig $706,200
13. Andrew He $684,365
14. Larissa Kelly $671,930
15. Matt Jackson $623,612
16. Jason Zuffranieri $549,496
17. Paolo Pasco $548,717
18. Scott Riccardi $533,000
19. Jerome Vered $499,102
20. Julia Collins $495,767
21. Austin Rogers $493,000
22. Juveria Zaheer $491,000
23. Ben Ingram $449,201
24. Adriana Harmeyer $446,600
25. Buzzy Cohen $441,603
Welcome to the TJ!F Plus Daily Details section. For those free logged-in users, more information is available about the results of today's game!
Are you looking for today's main page? Find that here!
Today's Jeopardy! contestants:
Nikolas enters today's game as a 1-day champion with winnings of $17,601.
Andy's Pregame Thoughts:
Our final game of Week #2 of Jeopardy sees Orlando-area Nikolas Polsinelli take on a pair of Chicago-area contestants, Lydia Herndon and Sean Carpenter. It felt as if Nikolas was quite strong in both history and geography, a pair of categories that show up a significant amount on Jeopardy; that should help his chances of victory significantly.
This is also a reminder that I'll be putting out my second episode of "Jeopartalk" on Sunday at 6:00 PM Eastern, the live show is simulcast on both Twitch and YouTube.
Final Jeopardy! Category: Coinages of the 1980s
Final Jeopardy! Clue: Marc Kelly Smith had Cubs slugger Ernie Banks in mind when he chose a name for these literary events he had "invented"
(Content continues below)
Would you like to be a guest on my new Jeopartalk! podcast? Friends are welcome to contact me via any method you have for me; current contestants who need that information can find my email in the About section.
My friends over at Geeks Who Drink have a daily trivia game—Thrice! Existing to make daily clever trivia content accessible to a wide audience, it's a daily challenge that tries to get you to the answer via three separate clues. It has a shareable score functionality to challenge your friends and new questions every day will give you a new daily social ritual. You can find it at thricegame.com.
Are you going on the show and looking for information about how to bet in Final Jeopardy? Check out my Betting Strategy 101 page. If you want to learn how to bet in two-day finals, check out Betting Strategy 102. In case the show uses a tournament with wild cards in the future, there is also a strategy page for betting in tournament quarterfinals.
Are you looking for information on how to stream Jeopardy! in 2026? Find out information here on how to stream from most places in North America!
You can find game-by-game stats here at The Jeopardy! Fan of all 23 players, including Caleb Groen, Adam Remsen, Tristan Williams and Jamie Ding, that have won 10 or more games on Jeopardy!
Correct response: What is a poetry slam?
More Information About Final Jeopardy!:
(The following write-up is original content and is copyright 2026 The Jeopardy! Fan. It may not be copied without linked attribution back to this page.)
Chicago's Marc Kelly Smith, believing that poetry recitals were too "stuffy", wanted to take the art form back from academia, and began hosting open-mic poetry performance nights at the Get Me High Lounge in November 1984. The nights moved to its current home, the Green Mill Jazz Club, in 1986. Smith referred to his performance nights as "slams", being inspired by having watched Ernie Banks of the Cubs in past decades, as he has later recounted on a number of podcasts.
It feels hard for me to put a finger on how tonight's Final Jeopardy will play among players and fans; though usually when I say this it ends up playing 1/3 at best, and I end up thinking I'm just being kind to everyone.
Game Recap & Tonight's Game Stats:
Looking to find out who won Jeopardy! today? Here's the Friday, September 25, 2026 Jeopardy! by the numbers, along with a recap:
Jeopardy! Round:
(Categories: Inside Boston; Restricted Reading In America; Goats, Goats, Goats; Fowl Language; Polly; Wanna Cracker?)
Nikolas used the Daily Double—correct, this time—to jump into the lead after 15 clues. At the first set of advertisements, the scores were Nikolas $5,000 Lydia $1,600 Sean $1,000.
Statistics at the first break (15 clues):
Nikolas 6 correct 0 incorrectLydia 3 correct 1 incorrect
Sean 2 correct 1 incorrect
Today's interviews:
Sean got promoted at work and learned he was going to be a father on the same day he got The Call.Lydia is writing her dissertation on early Christian humor.
Nikolas was born on Thanksgiving Day.
Both challengers played well after the break to cut into Nikolas's lead. On the opening board, Nikolas got 3 of the (sports) GOATs and 3 in fowl language.
Statistics after the Jeopardy round:
Nikolas 9 correct 1 incorrectLydia 6 correct 1 incorrect
Sean 8 correct 2 incorrect
Scores after the Jeopardy! Round:
Nikolas $5,400Lydia $3,600
Sean $2,000
Double Jeopardy! Round:
(Categories: Name The U.K. Prime Minister; Their Mona Lisa; Scientific Adventurers; Questionable Pop Culture; Houses With Names; "Front" Or "Back")
Nikolas had a lot of success on the Daily Doubles in this round, finding them both and picking up a combined $10,000 from them. That was more than enough for him to cruise to a runaway victory. On the second board, Nikolas got 4 of the UK Prime Ministers and 3 in the Mona Lisa and Scientific Adventurers categories, while Lydia got 3 in questionable pop culture.
Statistics after Double Jeopardy:
Nikolas 23 correct 2 incorrectSean 16 correct 4 incorrect
Lydia 11 correct 1 incorrect
Total number of unplayed clues this season: 0 (0 today).
Scores going into Final:
Nikolas $26,200Sean $9,600
Lydia $7,600
Lydia got a modicum of pride with a singleton get in Final Jeopardy, but Nikolas defends his title thanks to his runaway. He'll be back Monday to defend!
Tonight's results:
Lydia $7,600 + $3,599 = $11,199 (What are poetry slams)Sean $9,600 - $5,601 = $3,999 (What is Grand slam)
Nikolas $26,200 - $3,800 = $22,400 (What is ?) (2-day total: $40,001)
Other Miscellaneous Game Statistics:
Daily Double locations:
1) RESTRICTED READING IN AMERICA $600 (clue #7)Nikolas 3000 +2000 (Lydia 0 Sean 800)
2) THEIR MONA LISA $2000 (clue #8)
Nikolas 11400 +4000 (Lydia 3600 Sean 4800)
3) SCIENTIFIC ADVENTURERS $2000 (clue #14, $14000 left on board)
Nikolas 18600 +6000 (Lydia 3600 Sean 5600)
Overall Daily Double Efficiency for this game: 134
Clue Selection by Row, Before Daily Doubles Found:
J! Round:Nikolas 3 4 3 4 5 3*
Lydia
Sean 5
DJ! Round:
Nikolas 3 4 5 5* 3 5 3 5*
Lydia
Sean 3 4 3 4 4 4
Average Row of Clue Selection, Before Daily Doubles Found:
Nikolas 3.93Lydia 0.00
Sean 3.86
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:
Nikolas $18,800 Coryat, 23 correct, 2 incorrect, 36.84% in first on buzzer (21/57), 1/1 on rebound attempts (on 3 rebound opportunities)Lydia $7,600 Coryat, 11 correct, 1 incorrect, 15.79% in first on buzzer (9/57), 2/3 on rebound attempts (on 5 rebound opportunities)
Sean $9,600 Coryat, 16 correct, 4 incorrect, 33.33% in first on buzzer (19/57), 0/1 on rebound attempts (on 2 rebound opportunities)
Combined Coryat Score: $36,000
Lach Trash: $11,000 (on 10 Triple Stumpers)
Coryat lost to incorrect responses (less double-correct responses): $7,000
Lead Changes: 2
Times Tied: 0
Player Statistics:
Nikolas Polsinelli, career statistics:
44 correct, 6 incorrect2/2 on rebound attempts (on 5 rebound opportunities)
35.96% in first on buzzer (41/114)
4/5 on Daily Doubles (Net Earned: $10,600)
1/2 in Final Jeopardy
Average Coryat: $17,500
Lydia Herndon, career statistics:
12 correct, 1 incorrect2/3 on rebound attempts (on 5 rebound opportunities)
15.79% in first on buzzer (9/57)
0/0 on Daily Doubles
1/1 in Final Jeopardy
Average Coryat: $7,600
Sean Carpenter, career statistics:
16 correct, 5 incorrect0/1 on rebound attempts (on 2 rebound opportunities)
33.33% in first on buzzer (19/57)
0/0 on Daily Doubles
0/1 in Final Jeopardy
Average Coryat: $9,600
Nikolas Polsinelli, to win:
3 games: 64.111%4: 41.102%
5: 26.351%
6: 16.894%
7: 10.831%
Avg. streak: 3.786 games.
Andy's Thoughts:
Today's J!6 clues can be found at the monthly archive.
Final Jeopardy! wagering suggestions:
(Scores: Nikolas $26,200 Sean $9,600 Lydia $7,600)
Nikolas: Bet no more than $6,999 and enjoy your victory. (Actual bet: $3,800)
Lydia: Your best chance of finishing second comes if you bet between $2,001 and $3,600. (Actual bet: $3,599)
Sean: In the battle for second, bet $5,601 to cover Lydia. (Actual bet: $5,601)
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