recaps
Today’s Final Jeopardy answer (in the category 1990s Nonfiction Bestsellers) and statistics for the Friday, October 9, 2026 game between Dan Perkey, Kendra Kendell, and 1-day champion Greg Monson.
Today's Final Jeopardy - Friday, October 9, 2026
Current Champion
Greg Monson, career statistics:
18 correct, 5 incorrect
4/4 on rebound attempts (on 6 rebound opportunities)
29.82% in first on buzzer (17/57)
1/1 on Daily Doubles (Net Earned: $3,800)
0/1 in Final Jeopardy
Average Coryat: $13,400
To win:
2 games: 56.855%
3: 32.325%
4: 18.378%
5: 10.449%
6: 5.941%
Avg. streak: 2.318 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
Warning: This page contains spoilers for the October 9, 2026, game of Jeopardy!—please do not scroll down if you wish to avoid being spoiled. Please note that the game airs as early as 12:30 PM Eastern in some U.S. television markets.
Here's today's Final Jeopardy (in the category 1990s Nonfiction Bestsellers) for Friday, October 9, 2026 (Season 43, Game 20):
This word began the titles of 2 bestsellers from the same man; one of the books is set in Alaska, the other in Nepal
(correct response beneath the contestants)
Today's Jeopardy! contestants:
Greg enters today's game as a 1-day champion with winnings of $8,700.
Andy's Pregame Thoughts:
Greg Monson of Portland is your new Jeopardy! champion after his victory in yesterday's game; today, our challengers are Kendra Kendell, representing the Denver area, and Dan Perkey, representing the Pittsburgh area. With both National League Division Series being complete, I assume that this won't mean a preemption in Denver on FOX, but local viewers should be aware that if the show is preempted on FOX, it airs at the same time on KDVR's sister station, KWGN (CW).
Those of you who have been reading my work for a long period of time should know that I am very protective of my work, and I am not afraid to issue copyright takedown requests when I feel as though my copyright is being infringed upon. I'm pretty sure that my work is now also being used to generate AI slop videos about the show; this is your warning to anyone doing so that "deliberate mistakes in order to detect copying" is a strategy that I have successfully utilized in the past, and I am not above doing it again against AI slop.
This is also a reminder that my next episode of the Jeopartalk podcast will be airing live on Sunday at 6:00 PM Eastern on both YouTube and Twitch.
(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 "Into"?
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.)
In the mid-1990s, mountaineer Jon Krakauer had a pair of nonfiction The New York Times bestsellers in 1996's Into The Wild and 1997's Into Thin Air. In the first, Krakauer, who was also writing for Outside magazine, wrote about the death of Chris McCandless in Alaska, while 1997's Into Thin Air was about the 1996 Mount Everest disaster that saw eight climbers killed.
This seems like a relatively straightforward Final Jeopardy clue for both viewer and player.
Game Recap:
A close game midway through Double Jeopardy was broken wide open by Greg Monson finding Daily Doubles on back-to-back clues as he came just short of a runaway game entering Final Jeopardy, while Kendra Kendell recovered well from a slow start to sit second entering Clue 61.
Final Jeopardy was a triple-get as Greg is now a 2-day champion. He'll go for win #3 on Monday.
Scores going into Final:
Greg $20,600Kendra $10,400
Dan $9,000
Tonight's results:
Dan $9,000 + $9,000 = $18,000 (What is Into?)Kendra $10,400 + $10,400 = $20,800 (What is into?)
Greg $20,600 + $2,000 = $22,600 (What is into) (2-day total: $31,300)
Game Stats:
Greg $16,400 Coryat, 21 correct, 7 incorrect, 42.11% in first on buzzer (24/57), 1/1 on rebound attempts (on 4 rebound opportunities)Kendra $10,400 Coryat, 14 correct, 3 incorrect, 26.32% in first on buzzer (15/57), 2/2 on rebound attempts (on 8 rebound opportunities)
Dan $9,000 Coryat, 15 correct, 2 incorrect, 21.05% in first on buzzer (12/57), 4/5 on rebound attempts (on 10 rebound opportunities)
Combined Coryat Score: $35,800
If you are looking for more detailed statistics about today's game of Jeopardy!, as well as the ability to leave a comment, make sure to check out the Daily Details section.
Greg Monson, to win:
3 games: 60.736%4: 36.889%
5: 22.405%
6: 13.608%
7: 8.265%
Avg. streak: 3.547 games.
Andy's Thoughts:
The situation that happened today, with Greg being refunded and there being 2 correct responses on a clue, is the opposite situation from "0 correct responses possible" that happened on Monday and is the exact reason why this rule is the way that it is on the show. If Reddit wants to ignore me when I continuously bring this up, that's fine, but anyone who chooses to—including any outlets who choose to amplify complaints about this, and I am expecting to see complaints as it was the difference today between there being a runaway and not—risks looking incompetent.
Today's J!6 clues can be found at the monthly archive.
Final Jeopardy! wagering suggestions:
(Scores: Greg $20,600 Kendra $10,400 Dan $9,000)
Greg: Standard cover bet today is $201. I would do this as there's no guarantee second place will realize the situation and make the necessary bet on their end. (Actual bet: $2,000)
Kendra: You have to bet at least $10,000 to have any chance of winning this game. (Actual bet: $10,400)
Dan: You need an overbet from Greg to have a chance. Thus, you're pretty much playing for second here. I would limit my bet here to $6,200, just in case Kendra just decides to make a cover bet for second instead of playing for the outright win. (Actual bet: $9,000)
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