recaps
Today’s Final Jeopardy answer (in the category TV Anniversaries) and statistics for the Thursday, September 17, 2026 game between Mark Ramirez, Christie Ritten, and 1-day champion Jen Spinoglio.
Today's Final Jeopardy - Thursday, September 17, 2026
Current Champion
Greg Monson, career statistics:
18 correct, 5 incorrect
4/4 on rebound attempts (on 6 rebound opportunities)
29.82% in first on buzzer (17/57)
1/1 on Daily Doubles (Net Earned: $3,800)
0/1 in Final Jeopardy
Average Coryat: $13,400
To win:
2 games: 56.855%
3: 32.325%
4: 18.378%
5: 10.449%
6: 5.941%
Avg. streak: 2.318 games.
(Click Here for Methodology)
Upcoming Encore Presentations
October 10-11: S42 E176 (May 11, 2026)
October 17-18: S42 E177 (May 12, 2026)
October 24-25: S42 E178 (May 13, 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 17, 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 12:30 PM Eastern in some U.S. television markets.
Here's today's Final Jeopardy (in the category TV Anniversaries) for Thursday, September 17, 2026 (Season 43, Game 4):
In 2025 this show celebrated its 40th anniversary, sadly without its 4 main stars, the last of whom passed away in 2021 at age 99
(correct response beneath the contestants)
Today's Jeopardy! contestants:
Jen enters today's game as a 1-day champion with winnings of $10,801.
Andy's Pregame Thoughts:
We have a new champion today on Jeopardy! in Jen Spinoglio, who won $10,801 in yesterday's game after she unseated 4-time champion Matthew Riggle. Today, she faces off against Mark Ritten from Colorado and Christie Ritten, originally from Illinois.
In terms of if or when we might see Matthew again: we definitely won't be seeing him this coming January or February in the 34th Tournament of Champions; the show announced shortly before the start of the season that the postseason cutoff has happened, and they are moving strictly to season boundaries for tournament cutoffs. Thus, we won't be seeing any of this season's players back in postseason competition until January or February of 2028.
(Content continues below)
Would you like to be a guest on my new Jeopartalk! podcast? Friends are welcome to contact me via any method you have for me; current contestants who need that information can find my email in the About section.
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.
Are you looking for information on how to stream Jeopardy! in 2026? Find out information here on how to stream from most places in North America!
You can find game-by-game stats here at The Jeopardy! Fan of all 23 players, including Caleb Groen, Adam Remsen, Tristan Williams and Jamie Ding, that have won 10 or more games on Jeopardy!
Correct response: What is The Golden Girls?
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 famous American sitcom The Golden Girls, which aired for 7 seasons between 1985 and 1992, starred Bea Arthur, Estelle Gette, Rue McClanahan, and Betty White; it was White's passing in 2021 (at age 99) referred to at the end of today's Final Jeopardy clue.
Hopefully this plays straightforwardly in studio for our contestants; I anticipate it will play very straightforwardly for most of the viewership at home, most of whom I would anticipate will quite fondly remember The Golden Girls and might turn to cheer against any contestant who does get Final Jeopardy incorrect today. That being said, if Final Jeopardy is going to turn back to be more straightforward, I welcome that change—the threat of a straightforward Final Jeopardy clue is basically the only thing that keeps contestants betting aggressively in Final Jeopardy. (After all, you saw a lot of small bets over the summer at Jeopardy! Masters when contestants started to fear Final Jeopardy difficulty at that level.)
Game Recap:
Mark Ramirez built up a big lead today, thanks to 27 correct responses, and was able to survive a late True Daily Double from Christie Ritten, with Christie's late comeback caused by Mark's own strategy—instead of actively hunting for DD3, he selected the other four clues in the category where DD2 was, and four other $400-level clues. Markj even chose to ring in on the final clue when the only way he could possibly lose the game at that point was by having Christie rebound an incorrect response.
The home viewership will be happy to know that all three players were correct in Final Jeopardy, though, as Mark wisely chose to stand pat at this point in Final Jeopardy. He'll be back tomorrow to defend.
Scores going into Final:
Mark $20,800Christie $9,600
Jen $2,800
Tonight's results:
Jen $2,800 + $2,799 = $5,599 (What is the Golden Girls)Christie $9,600 + $2,400 = $12,000 (What is The Golden Girls?)
Mark $20,800 + $0 = $20,800 (What is The Golden Girls?) (1-day total: $20,800)
Game Stats:
Mark $22,600 Coryat, 27 correct, 6 incorrect, 47.37% in first on buzzer (27/57), 4/5 on rebound attempts (on 6 rebound opportunities)Christie $6,600 Coryat, 11 correct, 3 incorrect, 21.05% in first on buzzer (12/57), 0/0 on rebound attempts (on 8 rebound opportunities)
Jen $2,800 Coryat, 10 correct, 4 incorrect, 22.81% in first on buzzer (13/57), 1/1 on rebound attempts (on 6 rebound opportunities)
Combined Coryat Score: $32,000
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.
Mark Ramirez, to win:
2 games: 61.975%3: 38.409%
4: 23.804%
5: 14.753%
6: 9.143%
Avg. streak: 2.630 games.
Andy's Thoughts:
- Today's runaway game means that wagering suggestions are superfluous and do not need to be posted.
- After a cursory look at throwball, it seems to be rather popular in Texas—Austin has 4 teams and Dallas and Houston 3 apiece.
- I can understand why contestants generally work bottom-to-top when selecting clues,and it is unequivocally the best strategy when hunting for Daily Doubles, but if you're just going to do it for the sake of doing it and not actively hunt for Daily Doubles, just go top-to-bottom and make the viewers at home happy.
- Today's J!6 clues can be found at the monthly archive.
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