Today’s Final Jeopardy – Thursday, March 12, 2026

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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

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Here’s today’s Final Jeopardy (in the category 21st Century Women) for Thursday, March 12, 2026 (Season 42, Game 134):

The Iowa legislature passed a resolution declaring February 22, 2024 her day across the state

(correct response beneath the contestants)

Today’s Jeopardy! contestants:

Lydia Cawley, a director of product from Arlington, Virginia

Luke Henson, a grocer from East Moline, Illinois

James Denison, a college professor & museum curator originally from Alexandria, Virginia (4-day total: $99,400)

Andy’s Pregame Thoughts:

Since Jeopardy! returned to the airwaves on September 10, 1984, 290 people have won five games. 188 more have had their win streak halted at four. We see today which of these groups James Denison—stopped short of $100,000 two games in a row—will find himself in at the conclusion of play today. James has dodged a couple of bullets thus far in that his nearest competitor has also gotten Final Jeopardy incorrect when he has; certainly, Luke Henson of Illinois and Lydia Cawley of Virginia would be happy if one of them managed to land a singleton get in Final Jeopardy.

The good thing is for James is that win or lose today, he is extremely likely to see a Tournament of Champions invitation—assuming, of course, that next year stays with a 21-player field.

Correct response: Who is Caitlin Clark?

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 honor of her college basketball accomplishments as a member of the Iowa Hawkweyes, including surpassing Pete Maravich as the NCAA Division I all-time leading scorer, the Iowa legislature declared February 22, 2024 as Caitlin Clark Day throughout the state of Iowa—the 22^nd was chosen due to her jersey number of 22. In what has been called the “Caitlin Clark effect”, she has singlehandedly raised the profile of women’s basketball in the United States.

I’m always curious to see how this sort of a Final Jeopardy clue plays, even moreso today because it’s a stealth sports clue—something the show doesn’t often do.

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:

As is often the case in modern Jeopardy!, the Daily Doubles proved to be the game’s major inflection points. A close game early looked like it was going to break James’s way when he picked up $4,400 just after the interviews thanks to a successful True Daily Double, only for things to come back to our challengers when James lost $5,400 on the game’s second Daily Double that proved to be as much current events as geography. (Yes, that does mean that if you’re studying for an upcoming appearance on the show, you really should be looking at studying Venezuela and/or Iran.)

To add insult to injury for our champion, Daily Double 3 was in James’s best category of the round (Entertainment by the Numbers), but it was Lydia who found it after going there before James did. Unfortunately for Lydia’s chances, she had some struggles with remembering the category constraints, missed the Daily Double, and was out of contention entering Final Jeopardy. James, however, was in a familiar position—Luke needed to be correct, with James incorrect, to unseat our champion.

Unfortunately for James and his fanbase, Final did not break in his direction today, as Luke was the only player correct in Final; that makes Luke our new champion. He’ll return tomorrow to defend—but I’m steeling for at least one game where we see a lot of top-row clues taken early.

Scores going into Final:

James $14,400
Luke $8,400
Lydia $1,200

Tonight’s results:

Lydia $1,200 – $27 = $1,173 (Who is Gauff)
Luke $8,400 + $8,398 = $16,798 (Who is Caitlin Clark?) (1-day total: $16,798)
James $14,400 – $5,999 = $8,401 (Who is Collins)

Game Stats:

Luke $8,400 Coryat, 13 correct, 4 incorrect, 26.32% in first on buzzer (15/57), 2/2 on rebound attempts (on 5 rebound opportunities)
James $16,000 Coryat, 24 correct, 4 incorrect, 40.35% in first on buzzer (23/57), 2/3 on rebound attempts (on 7 rebound opportunities)
Lydia $3,400 Coryat, 9 correct, 4 incorrect, 19.30% in first on buzzer (11/57), 1/1 on rebound attempts (on 6 rebound opportunities)
Combined Coryat Score: $27,800

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.

Luke Henson, to win:

2 games: 31.640%
3: 10.011%
4: 3.167%
5: 1.002%
6: 0.317%
Avg. streak: 1.463 games.

Andy’s Thoughts:

• I am wondering if they went back after this game concluded to reshoot James’s interview to ask him what he was going to do with the money, because it felt like an interesting interview choice if it was in the “normal” order.
• I have to say that one of the best parts of the WBBJ watching experience is the local ads and PSAs—including one for CrimeStoppers that sends me every time I see it.
• Today’s J!6 clues can be found at the monthly archive.

Final Jeopardy! wagering suggestions:

(Scores: James $14,400 Luke $8,400 Lydia $1,200)

James: Standard cover bet is $2,401. (Actual bet: $5,999)

Luke: You have to bet at least $3,600 to have any chance of winning. If you want to guarantee second, any bet here between $3,600 and $6,000 exactly does that—you do have the “paper tiebreaker” for second over Lydia. (Actual bet: $8,398)

Lydia: You’ve actually got a bit of a dilemma here in the battle for second, and no real way to tell how the other player will act. If you think Luke is more likely to go all in, bet small. If you think he’s more likely to bet exactly $6,001, go all in. Honestly, either strategy here is valid, as both strategies tend to be about equally likely from an unknown player and we have no indication what Luke will do. (Actual bet: $27)

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