Current Champion
Nikolas Polsinelli, career statistics:
44 correct, 6 incorrect
2/2 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
To win:
3 games: 64.111%
4: 41.102%
5: 26.351%
6: 16.894%
7: 10.831%
Avg. streak: 3.786 games.
(Click Here for Methodology)
Upcoming Encore Presentations
October 3-4: S42 E175 (May 8, 2026)
October 10-11: S42 E176 (May 11, 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 new Daily Details section! Free registration & login is required to see most of the information on this page.
Are you looking for today’s main page? Find that here!
Today’s Jeopardy! contestants:
Will Thornton, a teacher from Worthington, Ohio
Laurel Gilmer, a music events director from Ithaca, New York
Tristan Williams, a data scientist originally from Lincoln, Nebraska (4-day total: $76,199)
(Content continues below)
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.
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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!
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Final Jeopardy! Category: U.S. Lakes
Final Jeopardy! Clue: This big lake named for a French marine minister begins its name with a way that official might conceivably cross the body of water
Andy’s Pregame Thoughts:
Today on Jeopardy!, Tristan Williams is looking to become the 292nd 5-time champion since the show returned to North American airwaves in September 1984, and the third automatic qualifier for the 34th Tournament of Champions. Looking to stop him from doing that are Laurel Gilmer of Ithaca, New York and Will Thornton of Worthington, Ohio.
Additionally, the Jeopardy! universe is featuring a pair of other games airing today; over in Pop Culture Jeopardy! land, One Baddie After Another is going for win #2 against Powered By Double A and Presto Strange-O, while Celebrity Jeopardy! All-Stars airs tonight at 8:00 (7:00 Central) on ABC, with a semifinal between Lisa Ann Walter, Katie Nolan, and Mina Kimes.
In order to redesign our merchandise area to serve you better in 2026, all merchandise sales have been temporarily taken offline. Look for a return in late 2026! All previous orders will still be supported.
Correct response: What is Lake Pontchartrain?
More Information About Final Jeopardy!:
When naming the large estuary in the New Orleans, Louisiana area, Pierre Le Moyne d’Iberville, founder of Louisiana, named the area Lake Pontchartrain, after Louis Phélypeaux, the comte de Pontchartrain, who was also French Minister of the Marine, Chancellor, and Controller-General of Finances during Louis XIV’s reign in France. Those who know French would also know that the word “pont” is French for “bridge”.
Remembering the Lake Pontchartrain Final Jeopardy clue from back in 2023 certainly helped me considerably in getting this clue correct; we shall see how it plays for our players today.
Game Recap & Tonight’s Game Stats:
Looking to find out who won Jeopardy! today? Here’s the Tuesday, May 12, 2026 Jeopardy! by the numbers, along with a recap:
Jeopardy! Round:
(Categories: Greenland; Holidays & Observances Of The Month; Potpourri; Gone With The Win; Game Of Bones; “Inter” Is Coming)
While the Daily Double stayed hidden in the opening segment, Tristan still got off to the best start; scores after 15 clues were Tristan $4,800 Will $2,000 Laurel $200.
Statistics at the first break (15 clues):
Tristan 6 correct 0 incorrect
Will 4 correct 1 incorrect
Laurel 1 correct 1 incorrect
Today’s interviews:
Will met his wife in high school; she convinced a teacher to help ask him to homecoming.
Laurel got to hold Yo-Yo Ma’s cello.
Tristan wants to rent the tennis courts at Flushing Meadows with some of his winnings.
Laurel found the Daily Double, but even doubling up through it wasn’t enough to keep herself out of third place by the end of the opening round. On the opening board, Tristan went 4/5 in “Inter” and 3/5 in wins and bones, while Laurel went 3/5 in Greenland.
Statistics after the Jeopardy round:
Tristan 13 correct 0 incorrect
Will 7 correct 1 incorrect
Laurel 7 correct 3 incorrect
Scores after the Jeopardy! Round:
Tristan $8,600
Will $2,800
Laurel $2,400
Double Jeopardy! Round:
(Categories: Cold War History; Arty Supreme; Meeting In The Middle; 4 Of The Same Vowel; Getting Lit; Stage Names)
Laurel found DD2 relatively early In the round, but an incorrect response dropped her score. The search for DD3 was going unluckily for all three players until Will, in a distant second, made the mistake of (finally) going back to the category where the first one was, only for Tristan to regain control, find DD3, and use it to cement the runaway entering Final Jeopardy. On that second board, Tristan went 4/5 in stage names and 3/5 in 4 of the same vowel.
Statistics after Double Jeopardy:
Tristan 27 correct 2 incorrect
Will 13 correct 2 incorrect
Laurel 13 correct 5 incorrect
Total number of unplayed clues this season: 11 (0 today).
Scores going into Final:
Tristan $23,700
Will $9,200
Laurel $4,600
Tristan was the only player correct in Final, putting the finishing touch on win #5! He’ll go for win #6 tomorrow.
Tonight’s results:
Laurel $4,600 – $4,600 = $0 (What is Champlain?)
Will $9,200 – $0 = $9,200 (What is Lake Swim!)
Tristan $23,700 + $3,600 = $27,300 (What is Lake Pontchartrain) (5-day total: $103,499)
Other Miscellaneous Game Statistics:
Daily Double locations:
1) “INTER” IS COMING $800 (clue #18)
Laurel 1200 +1200 (Tristan 5400 Will 2000)
2) ARTY SUPREME $800 (clue #7)
Laurel 4800 -3000 (Tristan 13000 Will 3600)
3) 4 OF THE SAME VOWEL $1600 (clue #23, $4400 left on board)
Tristan 19000 +1500 (Laurel 4200 Will 8400)
Overall Daily Double Efficiency for this game: 45
Clue Selection by Row, Before Daily Doubles Found:
J! Round:
Tristan 3 4 3 4 5 3 5 2 2
Laurel 3 4*
Will 4 4 4 3 5 5 3
DJ! Round:
Tristan 4 3 3 3 5 4 2 5 4*
Laurel 3 2 2* 2 3 4 2 2 3
Will 4 4 5 5 5†
† – selection in same category as Daily Double
Average Row of Clue Selection, Before Daily Doubles Found:
Tristan 3.56
Will 4.25
Laurel 2.73
Unplayed clues:
J! Round: None!
DJ! Round: None!
Total Left On Board: $0
Number of clues left unrevealed this season: 11 (0.06 per episode average), 0 Daily Doubles
Game Stats:
Tristan $23,800 Coryat, 27 correct, 2 incorrect, 43.86% in first on buzzer (25/57), 2/3 on rebound attempts (on 6 rebound opportunities)
Will $9,200 Coryat, 13 correct, 2 incorrect, 22.81% in first on buzzer (13/57), 2/2 on rebound attempts (on 6 rebound opportunities)
Laurel $7,200 Coryat, 13 correct, 5 incorrect, 26.32% in first on buzzer (15/57), 1/1 on rebound attempts (on 4 rebound opportunities)
Combined Coryat Score: $40,200
Lach Trash: $7,200 (on 7 Triple Stumpers)
Coryat lost to incorrect responses (less double-correct responses): $6,600
Lead Changes: 4
Times Tied: 1
Player Statistics:
Tristan Williams, career statistics:
126 correct, 18 incorrect
8/10 on rebound attempts (on 18 rebound opportunities)
41.75% in first on buzzer (119/285)
7/10 on Daily Doubles (Net Earned: $6,800)
2/5 in Final Jeopardy
Average Coryat: $20,080
Laurel Gilmer, career statistics:
13 correct, 6 incorrect
1/1 on rebound attempts (on 4 rebound opportunities)
26.32% in first on buzzer (15/57)
1/2 on Daily Doubles (Net Earned: -$1,800)
0/1 in Final Jeopardy
Average Coryat: $7,200
Will Thornton, career statistics:
13 correct, 3 incorrect
2/2 on rebound attempts (on 6 rebound opportunities)
22.81% in first on buzzer (13/57)
0/0 on Daily Doubles
0/1 in Final Jeopardy
Average Coryat: $9,200
Tristan Williams, to win:
6 games: 62.092%
7: 38.554%
8: 23.939%
9: 14.864%
10: 9.230%
Avg. streak: 6.638 games.
Andy’s Thoughts:
Final Jeopardy! wagering suggestions:
(Scores: Tristan $23,700 Will $9,200 Laurel $4,600)
Tristan: Bet no more than $5,299. (Actual bet: $3,600)
Laurel: Just in case Will forgets what the tiebreaker is for second and makes a small wager, I’d go all in here. (Actual bet: $4,600)
Will: You are guaranteed the second place prize money if you wager $0, as you hold the tiebreaker for second. (Actual bet: $0)
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