Today’s Final Jeopardy – Thursday, December 18, 2025

Join TJF Plus

Get free access to all of our articles. Register a free account for TJF Plus.

Current Champion

Matthew Riggle, career statistics:
47 correct, 6 incorrect
1/1 on rebound attempts (on 4 rebound opportunities)
41.23% in first on buzzer (47/114)
3/3 on Daily Doubles (Net Earned: $7,600)
1/2 in Final Jeopardy
Average Coryat: $21,300

To win:
3 games: 68.027%
4: 46.277%
5: 31.481%
6: 21.415%
7: 14.568%
Avg. streak: 4.128 games.
(Next game: September 14)
(Click Here for Methodology)

Upcoming Encore Presentations

August 12: S42 E98 (January 21, 2026)
August 13: S42 E99 (January 22, 2026)
August 14: S42 E100 (January 23, 2026)
August 15-16: S41 E141 (March 24, 2025)
August 17: S42 E101 (January 26, 2026)
August 18: S42 E105 (January 30, 2026)
August 19: S42 E102 (January 27, 2026)
August 20: S42 E103 (January 28, 2026)
August 21: S42 E104 (January 29, 2026)
August 22-23: S41 E142 (March 25, 2025)
August 24: S42 E106 (February 2, 2026)
August 25: S42 E107 (February 3, 2026)
August 26: S42 E108 (February 4, 2026)
August 27: S42 E109 (February 5, 2026)
August 28: S42 E110 (February 6, 2026)
August 29-30: S41 E143 (March 26, 2025)
(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 $1,098,403
7. Mattea Roach $897,983
8. Jamie Ding $885,605
9. David Madden $785,733
10. Victoria Groce $773,801
11. Cris Pannullo $754,286
12. Roger Craig $706,200
13. Larissa Kelly $671,930
14. Matt Jackson $623,612
15. Jason Zuffranieri $549,496
16. Andrew He $534,365
17. Scott Riccardi $533,000
18. Jerome Vered $499,102
19. Julia Collins $495,767
20. Austin Rogers $493,000
21. Ben Ingram $449,201
22. Paolo Pasco $448,717
23. Adriana Harmeyer $446,600
24. Buzzy Cohen $441,603
25. Juveria Zaheer $441,000

DISCLAIMER

The Jeopardy! Fan is created by fans, for fans. The Jeopardy! game show and all elements thereof, including but not limited to copyright and trademark thereto, are the property of Jeopardy Productions, Inc. and are protected under law. This website is not affiliated with, sponsored by, or operated by Jeopardy Productions, Inc.

Here’s today’s Final Jeopardy (in the category U.S. Presidents) for Thursday, December 18, 2025 (Season 42, Game 74):

His mom Eliza, the first mother to attend her son’s inauguration, survived him by about 6 years; his wife, by 36

(correct response beneath the contestants)

Today’s Jeopardy! contestants:

Eugene Huang, a teacher from Paramus, New Jersey

Dave Widmayer, a trivia host from Portland, Oregon

Pete Johnston, a filmmaker & educator originally from Alma, Michigan

Andy’s Pregame Thoughts:

We have reached the finals of our first week of Second Chance play for this season. As has always been the case in this event, it is a two-day total-point affair, with today’s score being added to tomorrow’s in order to determine the overall champion.

Here are our three players’ stats entering today’s game:
Pete Johnston:
42 correct, 7 incorrect
2/5 on rebound attempts (on 9 rebound opportunities)
35.09% in first on buzzer (40/114)
2/2 on Daily Doubles (Net Earned: $5,800)
1/2 in Final Jeopardy
Average Coryat: $14,900

Dave Widmayer:
43 correct, 10 incorrect
5/7 on rebound attempts (on 13 rebound opportunities)
35.09% in first on buzzer (40/114)
3/4 on Daily Doubles (Net Earned: $7,200)
0/2 in Final Jeopardy
Average Coryat: $15,100

Eugene Huang:
37 correct, 4 incorrect
5/5 on rebound attempts (on 10 rebound opportunities)
27.19% in first on buzzer (31/114)
1/4 on Daily Doubles (Net Earned: -$4,000)
1/2 in Final Jeopardy
Average Coryat: $16,100

The Unified Prediction Model gives Pete a 39.553% chance of winning, compared to 32.937% for Dave and 27.510% for Eugene. As we saw in the semifinals, though, leading entering Final Jeopardy is zero guarantee that one will be leading exiting Final Jeopardy, all three of our players won from second place.

Correct response: Who is James Garfield?

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.)

James A. Garfield was just 49 years old when inaugurated to the office of President of the United States in 1881; his young age explains why his mother would have still been alive to see her son inaugurated. Unfortunately, the assassination of Garfield by Charles Guiteau also resulted in Garfield’s mother and wife both outliving him. He is also the subject of the recent miniseries Death by Lightning—however, this would provide very little help to contestants, as that miniseries was released 3 days after the November 3 taping of today’s episode.

With things already starting 0-for-9 this week on the Final Jeopardy front, it would not surprise me in the slightest if we went to 0-for-12. That being said, I think it would be foolhardy for contestants to take any chances on today’s Final Jeopardy, considering how difficult they have played overall this week. Even if I was quite far behind entering Final Jeopardy, I would rather stand pat and take my chances tomorrow on finding Daily Doubles.

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.

Game Recap & Tonight’s Game Stats:

Looking to find out who won Jeopardy! today? Here’s the Thursday, December 18, 2025 Jeopardy! by the numbers, along with a recap:

Jeopardy! Round:

(Categories: ‘Tis The Season; Art & Artists; The 14Th Century; New In The Cambridge Dictionary; Civics; Before Children)

Eugene had the best time early, leading after 15 clues. Scores at the interviews were Eugene $4,200 Dave $3,000 Pete $2,800.

Statistics at the first break (15 clues):

Eugene 5 correct 0 incorrect
Dave 5 correct 0 incorrect
Pete 5 correct 1 incorrect

Today’s interviews:

Eugene prepared by watching Ken telling people what to study.
Dave is a big Phliadelphia Eagles fan.
Pete was surprised at getting a Second Chance.

After the break, Pete found the Daily Double…but was incorrect, falling back to $0. Eugene led after 30 clues after going 3/5 in the sports (‘Tis the season) category.

Statistics after the Jeopardy round:

Eugene 9 correct 0 incorrect
Dave 9 correct 0 incorrect
Pete 10 correct 3 incorrect

Scores after the Jeopardy! Round:

Eugene $6,000
Dave $4,600
Pete $600

Double Jeopardy! Round:

(Categories: Bodies Of Water; Literary Awards; The Life Of A Showgirl; Useful Plants; Law & Order; Before Children)

Pete found the Daily Double immediately, but lost the maximum possible to another incorrect response. He rebounded well, but Dave found DD3; an incorrect response from him led to him sitting third entering Final Jeopardy. Pete did go 3/5 in plants and law, while Eugene went 3/5 in “Words before children in the dictionary”.

Statistics after Double Jeopardy:

Eugene 16 correct 2 incorrect
Pete 20 correct 5 incorrect
Dave 14 correct 2 incorrect
Total number of unplayed clues this season: 8 (0 today).

Scores going into Final:

Eugene $12,000
Pete $7,400
Dave $4,000

We are now 0-for-12 this week in Final Jeopardy—and a lot of money was lost. Eugene has a lead, but everything is still to play for tomorrow!

Tonight’s results:

Dave $4,000 – $4,000 = $0 (Who is William Henry Harrison?)
Pete $7,400 – $7,400 = $0 (Who William Henry Harrison?)
Eugene $12,000 – $6,000 = $6,000 (Who is Franklin D Roosevelt?)

Chances of winning Second Chance:

Eugene 42.658%
Pete 31.160%
Dave 26.182%

Other Miscellaneous Game Statistics:

Daily Double locations:

1) CIVICS $1000 (clue #16)
Pete 2800 -2800 (Dave 3000 Eugene 4200)
2) THE LIFE OF A SHOWGIRL $2000 (clue #1)
Pete 600 -2000 (Dave 4600 Eugene 6000)
3) BODIES OF WATER $1600 (clue #14, $14800 left on board)
Dave 8200 -4200 (Pete 6600 Eugene 8400)
Overall Daily Double Efficiency for this game: -251

Clue Selection by Row, Before Daily Doubles Found:

J! Round:
Pete 3 5 3 4 3 5*
Dave 4 4 3 4 3
Eugene 3 5 2 5 4

DJ! Round:
Pete 5* 3 3 4 5 3† 3 4 5
Dave 5 4*
Eugene 3 4 2

† – selection in same category as Daily Double

Average Row of Clue Selection, Before Daily Doubles Found:

Eugene 3.50
Dave 3.86
Pete 3.87

Unplayed clues:

J! Round: None!
DJ! Round: None!
Total Left On Board: $0
Number of clues left unrevealed this season: 8 (0.11 per episode average), 0 Daily Doubles

Game Stats:

Eugene $12,000 Coryat, 16 correct, 2 incorrect, 28.07% in first on buzzer (16/57), 2/2 on rebound attempts (on 3 rebound opportunities)
Dave $8,200 Coryat, 14 correct, 2 incorrect, 24.56% in first on buzzer (14/57), 0/1 on rebound attempts (on 5 rebound opportunities)
Pete $12,200 Coryat, 20 correct, 5 incorrect, 40.35% in first on buzzer (23/57), 0/0 on rebound attempts (on 2 rebound opportunities)
Combined Coryat Score: $32,400
Lach Trash: $9,400 (on 7 Triple Stumpers)
Coryat lost to incorrect responses (less double-correct responses): $12,200
Lead Changes: 2
Times Tied: 1

Player Statistics:

Pete Johnston, career statistics:

62 correct, 13 incorrect
2/5 on rebound attempts (on 11 rebound opportunities)
36.84% in first on buzzer (63/171)
2/4 on Daily Doubles (Net Earned: $1,000)
1/3 in Final Jeopardy
Average Coryat: $14,000

Dave Widmayer, career statistics:

57 correct, 13 incorrect
5/8 on rebound attempts (on 18 rebound opportunities)
31.58% in first on buzzer (54/171)
3/5 on Daily Doubles (Net Earned: $3,000)
0/3 in Final Jeopardy
Average Coryat: $12,800

Eugene Huang, career statistics:

53 correct, 7 incorrect
7/7 on rebound attempts (on 13 rebound opportunities)
27.49% in first on buzzer (47/171)
1/4 on Daily Doubles (Net Earned: -$4,000)
1/3 in Final Jeopardy
Average Coryat: $14,733

Andy’s Thoughts:

• Due to the fact that tomorrow’s scores can be doubled in Final Jeopardy, Eugene has an “effective lead” of $3,000.
• No wagering suggestions are posted due to it being Game 1 of a two-game final.
• Today’s J!6 clues can be found at the monthly archive.

---

The new TJ!F Plus section is active! In order to get the Daily Details of each episode coming soon, as well as the ability to comment on posts site-wide, make sure to register for your account! It should be noted that if you have not registered for an account since December 13, 2025, that registration for a new account is necessary.

Did you accidentally get logged out of your TJ!F Plus account? Log in here!

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.

---