(TJF Plus) Daily Details - Thursday, September 24, 2026

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Game Recap & Tonight's Game Stats:

Looking to find out who won Jeopardy! today? Here's the Thursday, September 24, 2026 Jeopardy! by the numbers, along with a recap:

Jeopardy! Round:

(Categories: D.C.'s Black Heritage; J.Lo, J-Law & JHud; World Geography; Where Did I Leave My Wallet?; Organizations; Word Puzzles)

Nikolas got off to a strong start, but a missed Daily Double sent his score back to the starting line. After 15 clues, your scores were Carolyn $1,600 Nikolas $600 Emily $1,000.

Statistics at the first break (15 clues):

Carolyn 3 correct 0 incorrect
Emily 2 correct 1 incorrect
Nikolas 6 correct 2 incorrect

Today's interviews:

Carolyn is from "The Groundhog Capital of the World".
Nikolas once had to prove he read 60 books in a summer in a local library challenge.
Emily met her husband at a now-closed arts venue when she was hosting a poetry night.

All three players played well after the break as Carolyn led through 30. On the opening board, Emily got 3 in the J.Lo/J-Law/JHud category, while Nikolas got 4 in World Geography.

Statistics after the Jeopardy round:

Carolyn 6 correct 0 incorrect
Emily 6 correct 1 incorrect
Nikolas 10 correct 3 incorrect

Scores after the Jeopardy! Round:

Carolyn $3,200
Emily $2,400
Nikolas $1,400

Double Jeopardy! Round:

(Categories: Ancient "H"istory; Quasi-Related Pairs; I Speak For The Trees; Literature: Revisited; Movie Role, TV Role; 7-Letter Words)

Nikolas found DD2 early and used it to take the lead; about midway through the round, Emily was just $1,200 off that lead when she found DD3; unfortunately, her seeming to not really realize what the old standard of "Quasi-Related Pairs" was really about cost her $3,200 and ensured that Nikolas led entering Final Jeopardy. On that second board, though, Nikolas got 4 in the history category and 3 in the tree category, while Emily got 4 in movies/TV and Carolyn got 3 of the 7-letter words.

Statistics after Double Jeopardy:

Nikolas 20 correct 3 incorrect
Carolyn 11 correct 0 incorrect
Emily 15 correct 3 incorrect
Total number of unplayed clues this season: 0 (0 today).

Scores going into Final:

Nikolas $13,200
Carolyn $8,800
Emily $8,200

Nikolas, who went 4/5 in the geography category earlier, was the only player correct in this geography Final, and that makes him the new champion! He'll be back tomorrow to defend.

Tonight's results:

Emily $8,200 - $5,001 = $3,199 (What is prairie?)
Carolyn $8,800 - $8,800 = $0 (What is prairie)
Nikolas $13,200 + $4,401 = $17,601 (What is Everglades?) (1-day total: $17,601)

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Other Miscellaneous Game Statistics:

Daily Double locations:

1) ORGANIZATIONS $800 (clue #8)
Nikolas 3200 -3200 (Emily -1000 Carolyn 800)
2) ANCIENT "H"ISTORY $1600 (clue #2)
Nikolas 2600 +1800 (Emily 2400 Carolyn 3200)
3) QUASI-RELATED PAIRS $1600 (clue #16, $13200 left on board)
Emily 9600 -3400 (Nikolas 10800 Carolyn 3200)
Overall Daily Double Efficiency for this game: -66

Clue Selection by Row, Before Daily Doubles Found:

J! Round:
Emily 4
Nikolas 3 4 5 1 3 4*
Carolyn 2

DJ! Round:
Emily 4 5 3 2 1 4 5 3 4*
Nikolas 3 4* 5† 2† 3 4 5
Carolyn

† - selection in same category as Daily Double

Average Row of Clue Selection, Before Daily Doubles Found:

Nikolas 3.54
Emily 3.50
Carolyn 2.00

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 $16,200 Coryat, 20 correct, 3 incorrect, 35.09% in first on buzzer (20/57), 1/1 on rebound attempts (on 2 rebound opportunities)
Emily $11,600 Coryat, 15 correct, 3 incorrect, 29.82% in first on buzzer (17/57), 0/0 on rebound attempts (on 2 rebound opportunities)
Carolyn $8,800 Coryat, 11 correct, 0 incorrect, 19.30% in first on buzzer (11/57), 0/0 on rebound attempts (on 4 rebound opportunities)
Combined Coryat Score: $36,600
Lach Trash: $12,200 (on 12 Triple Stumpers)
Coryat lost to incorrect responses (less double-correct responses): $5,200
Lead Changes: 9
Times Tied: 1

Player Statistics:

Emily Burnham, career statistics:

32 correct, 9 incorrect
3/4 on rebound attempts (on 12 rebound opportunities)
28.07% in first on buzzer (32/114)
2/3 on Daily Doubles (Net Earned: $800)
1/2 in Final Jeopardy
Average Coryat: $11,400

Nikolas Polsinelli, career statistics:

21 correct, 3 incorrect
1/1 on rebound attempts (on 2 rebound opportunities)
35.09% in first on buzzer (20/57)
1/2 on Daily Doubles (Net Earned: -$1,400)
1/1 in Final Jeopardy
Average Coryat: $16,200

Carolyn Langton, career statistics:

11 correct, 1 incorrect
0/0 on rebound attempts (on 4 rebound opportunities)
19.30% in first on buzzer (11/57)
0/0 on Daily Doubles
0/1 in Final Jeopardy
Average Coryat: $8,800

Nikolas Polsinelli, to win:

2 games: 48.858%
3: 23.871%
4: 11.663%
5: 5.698%
6: 2.784%
Avg. streak: 1.955 games.

Andy's Thoughts:

With only 4 of the 10 clues in Word Puzzles and Quasi-Related Pairs answered correctly, it doesn't mean that the categories are a bad choice for the show. It just means that it didn't fit the contestants on the day. Wordplay categories are an important part of the show and should go nowhere.

I'm curious to see how many people today in the various Internet comment sections interpret Carolyn's Final Jeopardy betting scenario from only a 2-player perspective and not the 3-player perspective that the game actually is.

Today's J!6 clues can be found at the monthly archive.

Final Jeopardy! wagering suggestions:

(Scores: Nikolas $13,200 Carolyn $8,800 Emily $8,200)

Emily: You have to be correct to have a chance of victory. Bet at least $601. I'd probably set an upper limit here of $6,999, just in case Carolyn just bets to cover you, so you get the extra $1,000 for second in that instance if she's incorrect. (Actual bet: $5,001)

Nikolas: Standard cover bet today is $4,401. (Actual bet: $4,401)

Carolyn: You're in "Stratton's Dilemma". You can't both cover Emily and win a Triple Stumper, and unfortunately, Emily needs to be correct to pass Nikolas, so she has occasion to bet big. If you feel good about the category, bet at least $7,601 (or, you could go all in to ensure Nikolas makes a cover bet.) If you think the Triple Stumper is more likely, or you hate the category, bet $0, punt Final, and hope Nikolas is incorrect. (Actual bet: $8,800)