recaps

Season 35

Today’s Final Jeopardy – December 26, 2018

Published Modified

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

Merry Christmas! Here’s today’s Final Jeopardy (in the category Historical Geography) for Wednesday, December 26, 2018 (Season 35, Episode 78):

Most of the land fighting in the First Punic War between Rome & Carthage was on this island

(correct response beneath the contestants)

Today’s contestants:

DeAnn Hale, a stay-at-home mom from Eagle Mountain, Utah

Deann Hale on Jeopardy!

Jon Barber, an investment professional from San Francisco, California

Jon Barber on Jeopardy!

Richard Koehler, a data scientist from Wilmington, Delaware (1-day total: $18,001)

Richard Koehler on Jeopardy!

The Jeopardy! Book of Answers is out now! Here’s my review.

(Content continues below)

Add The Jeopardy! Fan to your preferred sources on Google by clicking the button 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.

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!

You can now listen to Alex Trebek-hosted Jeopardy! episodes from TuneIn Radio without leaving The Jeopardy! Fan — listen now!

If you appreciate the work I do here on The Jeopardy! Fan and would like to make a one-time contribution to the site, you may do so here!

Correct response: What is Sicily?

More information about Final Jeopardy:

The First Punic War, which took place from 264 BC to 241 BC, was largely a naval war, but did take place in spots on land in Sicily and Africa. It began in Sicily between Hiero II of Syracuse and the Mamertines; the Mamertines enlisted the Carthaginian navy, and then proceeded to be turncoats, enlisting the help of the Romans. When the Romans sent assistance, Carthage was outraged, who then lent aid to Syracuse, and things escalated to a full-scale war.

While Carthage originally had naval superiority, the Romans quickly overcame that advantage and dominated the war.

There’s always something new coming into The Jeopardy! Fan Online Store, including something perfect for Boston baseball fans! Here are our top-selling items!

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.

Looking to find out who won Jeopardy! today? Tonight’s results are below!

Scores going into Final:
Jon $18,200
DeAnn $8,200
Richard $8,200

Tonight’s results:
Richard $8,200 + $8,200 = $16,400
DeAnn $8,200 – $8,198 = $2 (What is Crete?)
Jon $18,200 + $1,799 = $19,999 (1-day total: $19,999)

Jon Barber, today's Jeopardy! winner (for the December 26, 2018 game.)

Scores after the Jeopardy! Round:
Richard $4,600
Jon $2,800
DeAnn $2,200

Opening break taken after: 15 clues

Daily Double locations:
1) FAMILY TIES $1000 (27th pick)
Richard 7200 -3000 (Jon 2800 DeAnn 2000)
2) AROUND THE WORLD AT THE METROPOLITAN MUSEUM OF ART $1600 (18th pick)
Jon 11600 +4000 (DeAnn 9400 Richard 5800)
3) AMERICAN HISTORY $1200 (19th pick)
Jon 15600 -1000 (DeAnn 9400 Richard 5800)
Overall Daily Double Efficiency for this game: -14

Unplayed clues:
J! round: DEATH ON THE NILE $1000
DJ! Round: None!
Total $ Left On Board: $1,000

Game Stats:
Jon $16,800 Coryat, 25 correct, 6 incorrect, 50.00% in first on buzzer, 1/1 on rebound attempts
Richard $11,200 Coryat, 17 correct, 2 incorrect, 25.00% in first on buzzer, 4/4 on rebound attempts
DeAnn $8,200 Coryat, 11 correct, 2 incorrect, 19.64% in first on buzzer, 2/2 on rebound attempts
Combined Coryat Score: $36,200
Lach Trash: $6,200 (on 4 Triple Stumpers)
Coryat lost to incorrect responses (less double-correct responses): $10,600

Richard Koehler, final stats:
42 correct, 4 incorrect
4/4 on rebound attempts
35.78% in first on buzzer (39/109)
0/2 on Daily Doubles (Net Earned: -$5,600)
2/2 in Final Jeopardy
Average Coryat: $14,200

Jon Barber, stats to date:
26 correct, 6 incorrect
1/1 on rebound attempts
50.00% in first on buzzer (28/56)
1/2 on Daily Doubles (Net Earned: $3,000)
1/1 in Final Jeopardy
Average Coryat: $16,800

Jon Barber, to win:
2 games: 59.08%
3: 34.90%
4: 20.62%
5: 12.18%
6: 7.20%
Avg. streak: 2.444 games.

Tournament of Champions projections:
With a projected 162 regular-play games to go prior to the Tournament of Champions cutoff, after 500,000 simulations, our model shows:
An average of 4.5657 5+-time champions (standard deviation 1.788).
An average of 8.2452 4+-time champions (standard deviation 2.2099).

An early cutoff took place 29.010% of the time (or a 5-game winner will be left out).

Jon Barber qualified 12.261% of the time.
Dave Leffler qualified 42.870% of the time.
Alex Schmidt qualified 18.212% of the time.
Jackie Fuchs qualified 4.659% of the time.
Mary Ann Borer qualified 0.967% of the time.
Kyle Becker qualified 0.095% of the time.


Add The Jeopardy! Fan to your preferred sources on Google by clicking the button below!

Become a Supporter now! Make a monthly contribution to the site on Patreon!

Contestant photo credit: jeopardy.com

When commenting, please note that all comments on The Jeopardy! Fan must be in compliance with the Site Comment Policy.

If you are going to quote any information from this page or this website, attribution is required.

Have you had a chance to listen to our podcast game show, Complete The List, yet? Check it out! It's also available on Apple Podcasts.
Powered by Labrador CMS