recaps
Today’s Final Jeopardy answer (in the category World of First Names) and a recap of the Thursday, September 10, 2026 game between Andrew He, Long Nguyen, and Roger Craig.
Today's Final Jeopardy - Thursday, September 10, 2026
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
September 10: S42 E119 (February 19, 2026)
September 11: S42 E120 (February 20, 2026)
September 12-13: S41 E145 (March 28, 2025)
September 19-20: S42 E173 (May 6, 2026)
September 26-27: S42 E174 (May 7, 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 September 10, 2026, game of Jeopardy! — please do not scroll down if you wish to avoid being spoiled. Please note that today's game is an encore presentation of the game that originally aired on February 19, 2026.
Here's today's Final Jeopardy (in the category World of First Names) for Thursday, September 10, 2026 (Season 42, Game 119):
Like an English-language one, this German first name of a physicist of sound & a 1930s film director means "serious"
(correct response beneath the contestants)
Today's Jeopardy! contestants:
Andrew enters this game with 1 victory, while both Roger and Long still have 0 victories.
Andy's Pregame Thoughts:
Our penultimate encore presentation of this summer features Game 2 of the Jeopardy! Invitational Tournament between Roger Craig, Long Nguyen, and Andrew He. Yesterday saw Andrew take a tightly-contested opening game to bring him 1 win away from a tournament 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 Ernst?
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.)
The German name "Ernst", similar to an English "Ernest", is a name meaning "serious" or "resolute" according to many baby name meaning websites. It is provided the first name of physicist Ernst Mach (famous for the Mach number, measuring an object's speed relative to the speed of sound) and director Ernst Lubitsch, 3-time Best Director Oscar nominee between 1928 and 1943. Lubitsch's best-known works include 1939's Ninotchka and 1943's Heaven Can Wait.
I think this is an important distinction that the clue writers made today: The first name Ernst is from the German language. It does not necessarily mean that the people in question are German (Mach was Austrian—but they speak German in Austria.) Yes, this could trip someone up—but I think that's part of the inherent difficulty of this clue. Certainly, I'm sure some will have the debate later as to whether this should be a thing when it comes to the writing, but the name is from the German language, not necessarily the people involved.
Game Recap & Tonight's Game Stats:
Looking to find out who won Jeopardy! today? Here's the Thursday, September 10, 2026 Jeopardy! by the numbers, along with a recap:Jeopardy! Round:
(Categories: Way Back When; Across The Liberal Arts; Wait! Measures!; Thistle Do Nicely; Rock Songs; Singular & Plural Are The Same)Long got off to the best start early, finding the first Daily Double, doubling up through it, and having a good lead after 15. At the interviews, the scores were Long $5,400 Roger $800 Andrew -$1,000.
Statistics at the first break (15 clues):
Long 5 correct 0 incorrectRoger 5 correct 4 incorrect
Andrew 0 correct 1 incorrect
Today's interviews:
Andrew would like to thank his partner Sarah and the writers.Long would like to thank his friend Stan, who drove him to the event.
Roger wants to thank his parents, his grandparents, his wife, and his teachers.
Andrew found the Daily Double shortly after the break, using it to double his score; he was into five figures after 30 clues. On the opening board, Andrew went 3/5 in sports, while Roger went 3/5 in quotes, inventions, and forestry fiction.
Statistics after the Jeopardy round:
Long 8 correct 0 incorrectRoger 10 correct 5 incorrect
Andrew 5 correct 2 incorrect
Scores after the Jeopardy! Round:
Long $6,600Roger $2,000
Andrew $400
Double Jeopardy! Round:
(Categories: All Over The Country; Mail Novels; Perusing Some Articles; Names In Fashion; Shows About Murder; Putting The "Double" In Double Jeopardy!)Long took a big lead early in this round, doubling up in a geography category. Andrew, though, wasn't finished: he doubled up through DD3 and carried the momentum enough to make sure that Long didn't have a runaway going into Final—but Andrew needed to be right and Long wrong to win. On that second board, Andrew went 3/5 in "double" phrases and Long went 3/5 in fashion.
Statistics after Double Jeopardy:
Long 16 correct 0 incorrectAndrew 15 correct 2 incorrect
Roger 15 correct 7 incorrect
Total number of unplayed clues this season: 8 (0 today).
Scores going into Final:
Long $21,600Andrew $12,800
Roger $5,200
Roger was the only player came up with the correct answer—thankfully, to extend the match, Andrew couldn't come up with it, making Long's response immaterial (in spite of Roger's wish). Thus, we do see a Game 3 tomorrow!
Tonight's results:
Roger $5,200 + $0 = $5,200 (What is I hope Long writes "Ernst"!?)Andrew $12,800 - $12,733 = $67 (What is Heinrich?)
Long $21,600 - $4,001 = $17,599 (What is Henrich?) (1 win)
Other Miscellaneous Game Statistics:
Daily Double locations:
1) ACROSS THE LIBERAL ARTS $800 (clue #11)Long 2400 +2400 (Roger 1400 Andrew -1000)
2) ALL OVER THE COUNTRY $1600 (clue #3)
Long 8200 +8200 (Roger 400 Andrew 400)
3) PUTTING THE "DOUBLE" IN DOUBLE JEOPARDY! $1200 (clue #8, $23600 left on board)
Andrew 2400 +2400 (Roger 0 Long 16400)
Overall Daily Double Efficiency for this game: 300
Clue Selection by Row, Before Daily Doubles Found:
J! Round:
Roger 5 4 3 5 5 3 5 4Long 4 3 4*
Andrew
DJ! Round:
Roger 5Long 4* 4 3
Andrew 4 4 4 3*
Average Row of Clue Selection, Before Daily Doubles Found:
Long 3.67Roger 4.33
Andrew 3.75
Unplayed clues:
J! Round: None!DJ! Round: None!
Total Left On Board: $0
Number of clues left unrevealed this season: 8 (0.07 per episode average), 0 Daily Doubles
Game Stats:
Long $13,400 Coryat, 16 correct, 0 incorrect, 17.54% in first on buzzer (10/57), 4/4 on rebound attempts (on 8 rebound opportunities)Roger $5,200 Coryat, 15 correct, 7 incorrect, 35.09% in first on buzzer (20/57), 1/2 on rebound attempts (on 2 rebound opportunities)
Andrew $11,600 Coryat, 15 correct, 2 incorrect, 28.07% in first on buzzer (16/57), 0/0 on rebound attempts (on 6 rebound opportunities)
Combined Coryat Score: $30,200
Lach Trash: $15,600 (on 14 Triple Stumpers)
Coryat lost to incorrect responses (less double-correct responses): $8,200
Lead Changes: 3
Times Tied: 3
Player Statistics:
Roger Craig, career statistics:
673 correct, 141 incorrect41/51 on rebound attempts (on 113 rebound opportunities)
40.30% in first on buzzer (690/1712)
38/45 on Daily Doubles (Net Earned: $164,200)
16/28 in Final Jeopardy
Average Coryat: $15,213
Long Nguyen, career statistics:
175 correct, 30 incorrect14/17 on rebound attempts (on 41 rebound opportunities)
31.97% in first on buzzer (164/513)
12/15 on Daily Doubles (Net Earned: $28,400)
6/9 in Final Jeopardy
Average Coryat: $13,800
Andrew He, career statistics:
630 correct, 92 incorrect40/47 on rebound attempts (on 119 rebound opportunities)
31.69% in first on buzzer (596/1881)
34/46 on Daily Doubles (Net Earned: $140,200)
16/33 in Final Jeopardy
Average Coryat: $14,939
Andy's Thoughts:
Final Jeopardy! wagering suggestions:
(Scores: Long $21,600 Andrew $12,800 Roger $5,200)Roger: Long has to overbet significantly for you to have a chance. Do whatever you like. (Actual bet: $0)
Long: Standard cover bet is $4,001. (Actual bet: $4,001)
Andrew: You have to be correct—and Long incorrect—to win. Thus, you might as well go all in. (Actual bet: $12,733)
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