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
Warning: This page contains spoilers for the January 1, 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 1:00 PM Eastern today in some U.S. television markets.
Here’s today’s Final Jeopardy (in the category It Happened In The U.S.) for Thursday, January 1, 2026 (Season 42, Game 84):
Trinitite is the name of a glass-like material that came to be after a historic event in this state
(correct response beneath the contestants)
Today’s Jeopardy! contestants:
Ryan Sharpe, a recent graduate from Oakville, Ontario, Canada
Abigail Arnold, an academic administrator from Waltham, Massachusetts
Dondi DeMarco, an operations executive from New York, New York
Andy’s Pregame Thoughts:
We have one spot left in Champions Wildcard as our contenders for the title of “33rd Tournament of Champions winner” now numbers 37. Our last set of finalists in this year’s Second Chance are Dondi DeMarco, Abigail Arnold, and Ryan Sharpe. As is always the case in these two-game finals, today’s scores get added to tomorrow’s scores in order to determine today’s overall winner.
Here are everyone’s statistics entering today’s game:
Dondi DeMarco:
38 correct, 3 incorrect
4/2 on rebound attempts (on 8 rebound opportunities)
31.58% in first on buzzer (36/114)
1/1 on Daily Doubles (Net Earned: $2,000)
1/2 in Final Jeopardy
Average Coryat: $17,400
Abigail Arnold:
47 correct, 5 incorrect
2/4 on rebound attempts (on 11 rebound opportunities)
37.72% in first on buzzer (43/114)
2/3 on Daily Doubles (Net Earned: $200)
0/2 in Final Jeopardy
Average Coryat: $21,100
Ryan Sharpe:
39 correct, 4 incorrect
3/3 on rebound attempts (on 6 rebound opportunities)
31.58% in first on buzzer (36/114)
2/2 on Daily Doubles (Net Earned: $10,400)
1/2 in Final Jeopardy
Average Coryat: $16,000
Over the course of the semifinals, Ryan went from a strong favorite to take victory to only having an average chance of taking victory; Abigail is now a slight favorite, but all three of these players look to be quite evenly matched and any one of them could easily take victory.
(Content continues 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.
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Correct response: What is New Mexico?
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.)
As a result of the Trinity nuclear test near Alamogordo, New Mexico on July 16, 1945, glassy residue, caused by melted sand and rock as a result of the high temperatures generated on the ground at the test site, was created and given the name Trinitite. Mildly radioactive but safe to handle, much of it was buried by the United States Atomic Energy Commission a few years after the test.
To me, this feels like one of those multi-step Final Jeopardy clues that can be solvable even if you’ve never heard of Trinitite itself. I quite enjoyed it.
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Game Recap:
Ryan picked up at least 3 correct responses in 6 of the 12 categories today, additionally taking a massive lead with a $13,600 True Daily Double early in Double Jeopardy. A small wager in Final from Ryan let Abigail cut into Ryan’s lead slightly, but Dondi was in a distant third after ending Double Jeopardy with $0.
Scores going into Final:
Ryan $33,104
Abigail $15,600
Dondi $0
Tonight’s results:
Dondi $0 (By rule, did not participate in Final Jeopardy)
Abigail $15,600 + $8,000 = $23,600 (What is New Mexico?)
Ryan $33,104 + $336 = $33,440 (What is New Mexico?)
Chances of winning Second Chance:
Ryan 64.242%
Abigail 32.660%
Dondi 3.098%
Andy’s Thoughts:
Because tomorrow’s scores can be doubled in Final Jeopardy, Ryan has an “effective lead” of $4,920 over Abigail and $16,720 over Dondi.
- No wagering suggestions will be posted today due to today being Game 1 of a final.
- Today’s J!6 clues can be found at the monthly archive.
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