Today’s Final Jeopardy – Thursday, October 16, 2025

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 U.S. Presidential Elections) for Thursday, October 16, 2025 (Season 42, Game 29):

The worst showing by an incumbent candidate in an election was when this man came in third with just 8 electoral votes

(correct response beneath the contestants)

Today’s Jeopardy! contestants:

Dave Keder, a tutor from Durham, North Carolina

Cindy del Rosario, a hospice & palliative care nurse from Denver, Colorado

Delaney O’Dea, an undergraduate student from Santa Monica, California (1-day total: $18,600)

Andy’s Pregame Thoughts:

Brown University sophomore Delaney O’Dea, who at 18 is one of the youngest regular-play contestants in show history (to say nothing about being one of the youngest regular-play champions in show history), defends her championship for the first time today against Cindy del Rosario of Denver and Dave Keder of Durham, North Carolina.

Again, I am fearful to outright declare anyone “the youngest champion” or even “the oldest champion” as contestant birthdates are currently not publicly available information the way sports players are. (Though, to be fair, age is a much more pertinent statistic for an athlete.)

Correct response: Who is William Howard Taft?

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.)

The 1912 presidential election saw a failed primary challenge of the incumbent Taft by previous president Teddy Roosevelt; Roosevelt then left the Republican party for the Progressives and ran third party. This caused Republican support to be split, leading to Taft only carrying Vermont and Utah, picking up 8 electoral votes as the Democrat Woodrow Wilson swept to a landslide victory. Taft himself finished a distant third to Wilson and Roosevelt.

The 1912 election has been a popular topic of Jeopardy! clues over the years; in my opinion, this should be straightforward for many longtime viewers, and I certainly have no idea how a younger player such as Delaney will handle this.

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Game Recap & Tonight’s Game Stats:

Looking to find out who won Jeopardy! today? Here’s the Thursday, October 16, 2025 Jeopardy! by the numbers, along with a recap:

Jeopardy! Round:

(Categories: That Guy’s The Worst; Around The Bathroom; Missing Links; Bible Bites; They Call Him Boss; Internet Celebrities)

Dave doubled up through the Daily Double just after two-thirds of the way through the opening segment and lead after 15 clues. At the break, the scores were Dave $4,800 Cindy $2,800 Delaney $2,600.

Statistics at the first break (15 clues):

Dave 6 correct 1 incorrect
Cindy 4 correct 0 incorrect
Delaney 3 correct 0 incorrect

Today’s interviews:

Dave was once visited by a four-foot-long snake in his home.
Cindy enjoys historic cabins.
Delaney is a huge fan of Ozzy Osbourne; one of her tattoos was dedicated to him when he passed away.

All three players had a good second half of the round as all three players were separated by just $1,600 after 30 clues.

Statistics after the Jeopardy round:

Dave 9 correct 1 incorrect
Cindy 10 correct 0 incorrect
Delaney 8 correct 0 incorrect

Scores after the Jeopardy! Round:

Dave $6,000
Cindy $5,400
Delaney $4,400

Double Jeopardy! Round:

(Categories: Bodies Of Water; 19th Century Drama; The Doctor Will See You Now; Fiendish Entertainment; Pleas; Thank You)

Dave missed DD2 midway through the round, dropping to second place. Then, Delaney jumped into the lead—but Cindy found DD3; her correct response meant she led going into Final, but a more aggressive bet (it was a second-row Daily Double) would have given Cindy a runaway going into Final Jeopardy.

Statistics after Double Jeopardy:

Cindy 19 correct 1 incorrect
Delaney 13 correct 0 incorrect
Dave 16 correct 4 incorrect
Total number of unplayed clues this season: 6 (0 today).

Scores going into Final:

Cindy $16,600
Delaney $11,600
Dave $6,700

Cindy was the only player correct in Final Jeopardy, and that makes her the new champion! She’ll be back tomorrow to defend.

Tonight’s results:

Dave $6,700 – $6,000 = $700 (Who is Hoover?)
Delaney $11,600 – $10,000 = $1,600 (Who is John Adams Hi Nana! <3 <3 + Mom)
Cindy $16,600 + $6,601 = $23,201 (Who is Taft?) (1-day total: $23,201)

Other Miscellaneous Game Statistics:

Daily Double locations:

1) THAT GUY’S THE WORST $600 (clue #11)
Dave 2000 +2000 (Delaney 1800 Cindy 2600)
2) PLEAS $1200 (clue #14)
Dave 8400 -2500 (Delaney 4400 Cindy 7400)
3) 19th CENTURY DRAMA $800 (clue #22, $4000 left on board)
Cindy 11000 +4000 (Delaney 11200 Dave 5900)
Overall Daily Double Efficiency for this game: 107

Clue Selection by Row, Before Daily Doubles Found:

J! Round:
Delaney 4 4 5
Cindy 3 3 5 3
Dave 5 4 4 3*

DJ! Round:
Delaney 4 5 4 5 5 4†
Cindy 3 4 5 2 3 5† 2*
Dave 4 5 3 3 2 2 4 3* 3

† – selection in same category as Daily Double

Average Row of Clue Selection, Before Daily Doubles Found:

Cindy 3.45
Delaney 4.44
Dave 3.46

Unplayed clues:

J! Round: None!
DJ! Round: None!
Total Left On Board: $0
Number of clues left unrevealed this season: 6 (0.21 per episode average), 0 Daily Doubles

Game Stats:

Cindy $13,400 Coryat, 19 correct, 1 incorrect, 29.82% in first on buzzer (17/57), 2/2 on rebound attempts (on 3 rebound opportunities)
Delaney $11,600 Coryat, 13 correct, 0 incorrect, 22.81% in first on buzzer (13/57), 0/0 on rebound attempts (on 4 rebound opportunities)
Dave $7,800 Coryat, 16 correct, 4 incorrect, 31.58% in first on buzzer (18/57), 0/0 on rebound attempts (on 1 rebound opportunity)
Combined Coryat Score: $32,800
Lach Trash: $14,600 (on 11 Triple Stumpers)
Coryat lost to incorrect responses (less double-correct responses): $6,600
Lead Changes: 15
Times Tied: 0

Player Statistics:

Delaney O’Dea, career statistics:

33 correct, 4 incorrect
0/1 on rebound attempts (on 8 rebound opportunities)
28.83% in first on buzzer (32/111)
1/2 on Daily Doubles (Net Earned: -$1,600)
1/2 in Final Jeopardy
Average Coryat: $13,400

Cindy del Rosario, career statistics:

20 correct, 1 incorrect
2/2 on rebound attempts (on 3 rebound opportunities)
29.82% in first on buzzer (17/57)
1/1 on Daily Doubles (Net Earned: $4,000)
1/1 in Final Jeopardy
Average Coryat: $13,400

Dave Keder, career statistics:

16 correct, 5 incorrect
0/0 on rebound attempts (on 1 rebound opportunity)
31.58% in first on buzzer (18/57)
1/2 on Daily Doubles (Net Earned: -$500)
0/1 in Final Jeopardy
Average Coryat: $7,800

Cindy del Rosario, to win:

2 games: 54.599%
3: 29.811%
4: 16.276%
5: 8.887%
6: 4.852%
Avg. streak: 2.203 games.

Andy’s Thoughts:

• This is one of the more interesting Final Jeopardy situations I’ve seen in awhile, to be quite honest—interesting enough to give it some extra time. I also thought Cindy and Delaney bet it quite well, all things considered—I just wish Dave had bet slightly more than he did.
• Today’s J!6 clues can be found at the monthly archive.

Final Jeopardy! wagering suggestions:

(Scores: Cindy $16,600 Delaney $11,600 Dave $6,700)

Delaney: You’re in Stratton’s Dilemma; you can’t both cover Dave and win a Triple Stumper. Being that Dave needs to be correct to win, he has occasion to bet big, so you might as well bet big yourself. That said, don’t go all in, saving at least $200, as Dave could bet most of his total in order to defend against your small range. (If you do want to just cover Dave in case Cindy overbets, bet $1,801—but there is Champions Wildcard at play here, so extra money won could be helpful here.) (Actual bet: $10,000)

Cindy: Standard cover bet over Delaney is $6,601. Don’t bet any more than this so as not to allow Delaney to potentially back into victory while still covering Dave. (Actual bet: $6,601)

Dave: If Delaney makes a small bet playing for a Triple Stumper, the maximum she can bet is $1,600. Thus, you should bet at least $6,502 in order to pass that if you’re both correct. (You have to be correct to win anyway, so you might as well make the big bet.) (Actual bet: $6,000)

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