Today’s Final Jeopardy – Friday, November 21, 2025

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

September 26-27: S42 E174 (May 7, 2026)
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

Here’s today’s Final Jeopardy (in the category Scientists) for Friday, November 21, 2025 (Season 42, Game 55):

In a 1939 letter, he recalled a boyhood experience that inspired his life’s work: petting his cat on a cold winter’s night

(correct response beneath the contestants)

Today’s Jeopardy! contestants:

Sarah Wylie, a teacher from Boynton Beach, Florida

Jamie Kohlmeier, a beer specialist originally from Sarnia, Ontario, Canada

Harrison Whitaker, a researcher originally from Terre Haute, Indiana (8-day total: $218,600)

Andy’s Pregame Thoughts:

Despite what some of the A.I. hallucinations might have told you last night, Harrison Whitaker is still your Jeopardy! champion, having won his 8^th game after his nearest opponent bet too much in Final Jeopardy. (If you’re a prospective contestant, I would strongly suggest focusing on wagering until you can do it under any conceivable circumstance—because that will be the pressure you feel on the Alex Trebek Stage.) Harrison gets to the end of the tape day, going for victory #9 against Sarah Wylie of Boynton Beach, Florida and Jamie Kohlmeier of Sarnia, Ontario.

Correct response: Who is Nikola Tesla?

More information about Final Jeopardy:

(The following write-up is original content and is copyright 2025 The Jeopardy! Fan. It may not be copied without linked attribution back to this page.)

As a youngster growing up in the Balkans, Nikola Tesla had a favorite cat, named Macak. And on a cold (and dry) winter night in the Balkans, the air was ripe for large amounts of static electricity—and, as one might guess—Tesla was shocked by the cat when petting it. Tesla’s father, normally able to explain the world to his son, was unable to explain the electricity, leading to Tesla’s lifelong obsession with electricity. As he put it, “Is nature a gigantic cat? If so, who strokes its back?… Day after day I have asked myself, what is electricity?”

I think that this clue, as it’s showing up as “Clue of the Day”, needs one more word (Balkan) to prevent the incredibly obvious negbait (whose name I won’t say here, due to the stories about that other scientist’s predilections that have surfaced over the past few years.) I’d be impressed if this clue played any better than 1-for-3.

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Game Recap & Tonight’s Game Stats:

Looking to find out who won Jeopardy! today? Here’s the Friday, November 21, 2025 Jeopardy! by the numbers, along with a recap:

Jeopardy! Round:

(Categories: Lit Characters Go Reality TV; 2 Letters, 3 Letters; Around The Kitchen; The ____; Harlem; Globetrotters)

Sarah missed the Daily Double immediately before the commercial break, ensuring that Harrison led at the interviews; scores were Harrison $3,200 Sarah $800 Jamie $0.

Statistics at the first break (14 clues):

Harrison 4 correct 0 incorrect
Sarah 5 correct 1 incorrect
Jamie 1 correct 1 incorrect

Today’s interviews:

Sarah has been subjected to student pranks surrounding her fear of frogs.
Jamie learned geography from NCAA football video games.
Harrison was pranked into drinking sea water by a P.E.I. tour guide.

Harrison picked up another half-dozen correct responses to extend his lead.

Statistics after the Jeopardy round:

Harrison 10 correct 0 incorrect
Sarah 8 correct 3 incorrect
Jamie 5 correct 2 incorrect

Scores after the Jeopardy! Round:

Harrison $7,200
Sarah $1,600
Jamie $800

Double Jeopardy! Round:

(Categories: Spies Like Them; Best Picture Oscar Nominees Of The 2020s; 3-Word Phrases; Geography; Biblical Groups; “O” Pourri)

Harrison held his two challengers to a combined six correct responses in Double Jeopardy, picking up both Daily Doubles along the way and cruising to a runaway.

Statistics after Double Jeopardy:

Harrison 29 correct 1 incorrect
Sarah 13 correct 4 incorrect
Jamie 6 correct 2 incorrect
Total number of unplayed clues this season: 6 (0 today).

Scores going into Final:

Harrison $31,200
Sarah $5,200
Jamie $2,400

Harrison saved his best for last to close out the week, both getting a difficult Final correct and picking up $18,800 in Final, bringing him to an even $50,000 for the day! He’ll go for superchampion status on Monday.

Tonight’s results:

Jamie $2,400 – $2,398 = $2 (Who is Schrodinger?)
Sarah $5,200 – $5,200 = $0 (Who is Einstein?)
Harrison $31,200 + $18,800 = $50,000 (Who is Tesla?) (9-day total: $268,600)

Other Miscellaneous Game Statistics:

Daily Double locations:

1) GLOBETROTTERS $600 (clue #14)
Sarah 2800 -2000 (Harrison 3200 Jamie 0)
2) SPIES LIKE THEM $1600 (clue #4)
Harrison 10400 +4400 (Jamie 2400 Sarah 1600)
3) “O” POURRI $1200 (clue #12, $18400 left on board)
Harrison 19600 +2400 (Jamie 2400 Sarah 3600)
Overall Daily Double Efficiency for this game: -17

Clue Selection by Row, Before Daily Doubles Found:

J! Round:
Harrison 4 5 3 4 2 5 4
Jamie 3
Sarah 5 3 5 1 4 3*

DJ! Round:
Harrison 4 4* 4 3 3 2 3*
Jamie 3 5
Sarah 5 3† 5†

† – selection in same category as Daily Double

Average Row of Clue Selection, Before Daily Doubles Found:

Harrison 3.57
Jamie 3.67
Sarah 3.78

Unplayed clues:

J! Round: None!
DJ! Round: None!
Total Left On Board: $0
Number of clues left unrevealed this season: 6 (0.11 per episode average), 0 Daily Doubles

Game Stats:

Harrison $27,200 Coryat, 29 correct, 1 incorrect, 45.61% in first on buzzer (26/57), 2/2 on rebound attempts (on 4 rebound opportunities)
Jamie $2,400 Coryat, 6 correct, 2 incorrect, 14.04% in first on buzzer (8/57), 0/0 on rebound attempts (on 3 rebound opportunities)
Sarah $7,200 Coryat, 13 correct, 4 incorrect, 26.32% in first on buzzer (15/57), 0/1 on rebound attempts (on 3 rebound opportunities)
Combined Coryat Score: $36,800
Lach Trash: $13,200 (on 11 Triple Stumpers)
Coryat lost to incorrect responses (less double-correct responses): $4,000
Lead Changes: 0
Times Tied: 1

Player Statistics:

Harrison Whitaker, career statistics:

258 correct, 25 incorrect
19/20 on rebound attempts (on 39 rebound opportunities)
45.61% in first on buzzer (234/513)
12/20 on Daily Doubles (Net Earned: $18,200)
7/9 in Final Jeopardy
Average Coryat: $23,800

Jamie Kohlmeier, career statistics:

6 correct, 3 incorrect
0/0 on rebound attempts (on 3 rebound opportunities)
14.04% in first on buzzer (8/57)
0/0 on Daily Doubles
0/1 in Final Jeopardy
Average Coryat: $2,400

Sarah Wylie, career statistics:

13 correct, 5 incorrect
0/1 on rebound attempts (on 3 rebound opportunities)
26.32% in first on buzzer (15/57)
0/1 on Daily Doubles (Net Earned: -$2,000)
0/1 in Final Jeopardy
Average Coryat: $7,200

Harrison Whitaker, to win:

10 games: 70.461%
11: 49.648%
12: 34.982%
13: 24.649%
14: 17.368%
Avg. streak: 11.385 games.

Andy’s Thoughts:

• Normally I’d be disappointed by Harrison’s Daily Double wagering conservatism, but if you consider just how dominant he’s been on the rest of the clues in the game, there’s no point in taking such a big risk.
• Harrison moves to #17 all-time in terms of regular play winnings.
• Today’s double runaway means that no wagering suggestions are necessary.
• Today’s J!6 clues can be found at the monthly archive.

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