Today’s Final Jeopardy – Thursday, December 26, 2024

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

Here’s today’s Final Jeopardy (in the category Movies & Their Soundtracks) for Thursday, December 26, 2024 (Season 41, Game 79):

“Catch It” was a tagline for this 1970s film whose iconic soundtrack became one of the bestselling albums of all time

(correct response beneath the contestants)

Today’s Jeopardy! contestants:

Brad Grusnick, a voice actor from Aurora, Illinois

Carole Portas Keane, an education researcher originally from Jersey City, New Jersey

Laura Faddah, a manager from Memphis, Tennessee (5-day total: $58,400)

Andy’s Pregame Thoughts:

We’ve got a 5-day champion on Jeopardy! after Memphis manager Laura Faddah picked up a singleton get on yesterday’s Final Jeopardy clue. Today, she faces off against New Jersey’s Carole Portas Keane and Illinois’s Brad Grusnick.

There seemed to be a lot of Montrealers online yesterday complaining about how American-centric Jeopardy! is. To that—as a Canadian—I say: of course it is! It’s an American program! Imagine me going on Au Suivant and complaining about Québécois content on the show—the complaint would be just as absurd.

Correct response: What is Saturday Night Fever?

More information about Final Jeopardy:

(The following write-up is original content and is copyright 2024 The Jeopardy! Fan. It may not be copied without linked attribution back to this page.)

The soundtrack to the 1977 film Saturday Night Fever, which contained such iconic disco tracks as “Stayin’ Alive”, “A Fifth of Beethoven”, “and “Disco Inferno”, was the best-selling album in music history before it was overtaken by Michael Jackson’s Thriller. The film itself starred John Travolta as Tony Manero, “king of the discos”.

I really enjoyed this Final Jeopardy clue; it’s definitely one where the major clue becomes readily apparent after the correct response is heard—after all, what does one “catch”?

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 26, 2024 Jeopardy! by the numbers, along with a recap:

Jeopardy! Round:

(Categories: Bodies Of Water; Destiny’s Other Children; The 18-School Big Ten; Cleaning Up; The Simpsons Character Who Said…; From J To K)

All three players got off to a good start, but Laura took an early lead. At the interviews, the scores were Laura $2,000 Carole $1,200 Brad $800.

Statistics at the first break (15 clues):

Laura 4 correct 1 incorrect
Carole 5 correct 2 incorrect
Brad 4 correct 1 incorrect

Today’s interviews:

Brad is also a novelist who self-describes his works as “gross”.
Carole first tried out for the show 30 years ago in Atlantic City.
Laura does Wordle, Connections, and the Spelling Bee.

Brad, after doing well in the Simpsons category, found the Daily Double. Unfortunately, he fell back to $0 after an incorrect response. He recovered well, but sat third after the round. Laura continued to lead after another three correct responses.

Statistics after the Jeopardy round:

Laura 7 correct 1 incorrect
Carole 8 correct 2 incorrect
Brad 11 correct 2 incorrect

Scores after the Jeopardy! Round:

Laura $4,000
Carole $3,400
Brad $2,400

Double Jeopardy! Round:

(Categories: The Gadsden Purchase; Literary Geography; Science News; Differing By A Letter; It’s A Nice Day For…; A “White” Wedding)

Laura found DD2 midway through the round and picked up $1600 with a correct response. Brad went on a bit of a run, but inexplicably selected a $400 clue instead of a $1200 one, leading to Carole finding the last Daily Double; a minute later, a couple of high-value correct responses from Laura cemented a runaway game for Laura.

Statistics after Double Jeopardy:

Laura 21 correct 2 incorrect
Brad 16 correct 2 incorrect
Carole 12 correct 4 incorrect
Total number of unplayed clues this season: 23 (0 today).

Scores going into Final:

Laura $20,400
Brad $9,200
Carole $6,400

Everyone got Final correct; Laura goes for win #7 tomorrow!

Tonight’s results:

Carole $6,400 + $3,000 = $9,400 (What is Saturday Night Fever?)
Brad $9,200 + $0 = $9,200 (What is Saturday Night Fever?)
Laura $20,400 + $600 = $21,000 (What is Saturday Night Fever?) (6-day total: $79,400)

Other Miscellaneous Game Statistics:

Daily Double locations:

1) DESTINY’S OTHER CHILDREN $600 (clue #19)
Brad 2400 -2400 (Laura 2000 Carole 1200)
2) DIFFERING BY A LETTER $1200 (clue #17)
Laura 12400 +1600 (Carole 3400 Brad 3600)
3) THE GADSDEN PURCHASE $1200 (clue #27, $4000 left on board)
Carole 3400 +3000 (Laura 16800 Brad 9200)
Overall Daily Double Efficiency for this game: 1

Clue Selection by Row, Before Daily Doubles Found:

J! Round:
Laura 1 4 1 2 3 2
Carole 1 5 1 2 4 5
Brad 3 3 4 2 5 1 3*

DJ! Round:
Laura 3 5 1 1 2 3 4 5 1 3 5 2 3* 4† 5† 1 2 3
Carole 2 4 3*
Brad 2 4 4 5 2 1

† – selection in same category as Daily Double

Average Row of Clue Selection, Before Daily Doubles Found:

Laura 2.75
Carole 3.00
Brad 3.00

Unplayed clues:

J! Round: None!
DJ! Round: None!
Total Left On Board: $0
Number of clues left unrevealed this season: 23 (0.29 per episode average), 0 Daily Doubles

Game Stats:

Laura $20,000 Coryat, 21 correct, 2 incorrect, 36.84% in first on buzzer (21/57), 1/1 on rebound attempts (on 4 rebound opportunities)
Carole $4,600 Coryat, 12 correct, 4 incorrect, 22.81% in first on buzzer (13/57), 1/2 on rebound attempts (on 3 rebound opportunities)
Brad $11,600 Coryat, 16 correct, 2 incorrect, 29.82% in first on buzzer (17/57), 0/0 on rebound attempts (on 5 rebound opportunities)
Combined Coryat Score: $36,200
Lach Trash: $11,800 (on 10 Triple Stumpers)
Coryat lost to incorrect responses (less double-correct responses): $6,000
Lead Changes: 5
Times Tied: 0

Player Statistics:

Laura Faddah, career statistics:

106 correct, 18 incorrect
9/9 on rebound attempts (on 26 rebound opportunities)
30.95% in first on buzzer (104/336)
4/5 on Daily Doubles (Net Earned: $4,000)
3/6 in Final Jeopardy
Average Coryat: $13,233

Carole Portas Keane, career statistics:

13 correct, 4 incorrect
1/2 on rebound attempts (on 3 rebound opportunities)
22.81% in first on buzzer (13/57)
1/1 on Daily Doubles (Net Earned: $3,000)
1/1 in Final Jeopardy
Average Coryat: $4,600

Brad Grusnick, career statistics:

17 correct, 2 incorrect
0/0 on rebound attempts (on 5 rebound opportunities)
29.82% in first on buzzer (17/57)
0/1 on Daily Doubles (Net Earned: -$2,400)
1/1 in Final Jeopardy
Average Coryat: $11,600

Laura Faddah, to win:

7 games: 47.161%
8: 22.242%
9: 10.489%
10: 4.947%
11: 2.333%
Avg. streak: 6.893 games.

Andy’s Thoughts:

• Especially considering Laura’s tendency to bet conservatively from any spot in Final Jeopardy, I think more aggressive endgame play from Brad would have ended with a victory for him today.
• Today’s box score will be linked to when posted by the show.

Final Jeopardy! wagering suggestions:

(Scores: Laura $20,400 Brad $9,200 Carole $6,400)

Laura: Bet no more than $1,999. (Actual bet: $600)

Carole: If you think Brad will bet small, go all in. If you think he’ll bet to cover you, bet no more than $800. (Actual bet: $3,000)

Brad: Cover bet over Carole is $3,601. If you think Carole will bet small, bet $1,999. (Actual bet: $0)

---

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.

---