recaps
Today’s Final Jeopardy answer (in the category U.S. Geography) and statistics for the Thursday, September 24, 2026 game between Carolyn Langton, Nikolas Polsinelli, and 1-day champion Emily Burnham.
Today's Final Jeopardy - Thursday, September 24, 2026
Current Champion
Greg Monson, career statistics:
40 correct, 12 incorrect
5/5 on rebound attempts (on 10 rebound opportunities)
35.96% in first on buzzer (41/114)
3/4 on Daily Doubles (Net Earned: $10,800)
1/2 in Final Jeopardy
Average Coryat: $14,900
To win:
3 games: 60.736%
4: 36.889%
5: 22.405%
6: 13.608%
7: 8.265%
Avg. streak: 3.547 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 24, 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 U.S. Geography) for Thursday, September 24, 2026 (Season 43, Game 9):
Meaning "endless" & "grassy open place", this name for a region of thousands of square miles first appeared on a map in 1823
(correct response beneath the contestants)
Today's Jeopardy! contestants:
Emily enters today's game as a 1-day champion with winnings of $17,201.
Andy's Pregame Thoughts:
Emily Burnham is your Maine Character of Jeopardy! right now, or, as most people might say, your defending champion, following her victory in last night's game. Today, she looks to defend her title against student Nikolas Polsinelli of Florida and Carolyn Langton of Wisconsin.
(Content continues below)
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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 are the Everglades?
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.)
According to the National Park Service website, the etymology of "Everglades," known as "Pa-hay-okee" ("grassy waters") by the indigenous populations of the area, comes from the word "forever" and the Old English word "glades" (meaning "grassy open place").
This is your occasional reminder that contestants and game material are selected randomly from each taping day's pool of contestants and games, and independently of each other; that means that occasionally, a contestant from Florida will see a Final Jeopardy clue about something in Florida. It's just coincidental good fortune.
Game Recap:
Proving that there's nothing wrong with going for a True Daily Double early, Nikolas Polsinelli rebounded from an early Daily Double miss to hold the lead entering Final Jeopardy.
Nikolas, who did very well in history and geography categories throughout the game, put the capstone on today's performance by being the only player correct in Final Jeopardy, winning $17,601. He'll be back tomorrow to defend his title.
Scores going into Final:
Nikolas $13,200Carolyn $8,800
Emily $8,200
Tonight's results:
Emily $8,200 - $5,001 = $3,199 (What is prairie?)Carolyn $8,800 - $8,800 = $0 (What is prairie)
Nikolas $13,200 + $4,401 = $17,601 (What is Everglades?) (1-day total: $17,601)
Game Stats:
Nikolas $16,200 Coryat, 20 correct, 3 incorrect, 35.09% in first on buzzer (20/57), 1/1 on rebound attempts (on 2 rebound opportunities)Emily $11,600 Coryat, 15 correct, 3 incorrect, 29.82% in first on buzzer (17/57), 0/0 on rebound attempts (on 2 rebound opportunities)
Carolyn $8,800 Coryat, 11 correct, 0 incorrect, 19.30% in first on buzzer (11/57), 0/0 on rebound attempts (on 4 rebound opportunities)
Combined Coryat Score: $36,600
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.
Nikolas Polsinelli, to win:
2 games: 48.858%3: 23.871%
4: 11.663%
5: 5.698%
6: 2.784%
Avg. streak: 1.955 games.
Andy's Thoughts:
With only 4 of the 10 clues in Word Puzzles and Quasi-Related Pairs answered correctly, it doesn't mean that the categories are a bad choice for the show. It just means that it didn't fit the contestants on the day. Wordplay categories are an important part of the show and should go nowhere.
I'm curious to see how many people today in the various Internet comment sections interpret Carolyn's Final Jeopardy betting scenario from only a 2-player perspective and not the 3-player perspective that the game actually is.
Today's J!6 clues can be found at the monthly archive.
Final Jeopardy! wagering suggestions:
(Scores: Nikolas $13,200 Carolyn $8,800 Emily $8,200)
Emily: You have to be correct to have a chance of victory. Bet at least $601. I'd probably set an upper limit here of $6,999, just in case Carolyn just bets to cover you, so you get the extra $1,000 for second in that instance if she's incorrect. (Actual bet: $5,001)
Nikolas: Standard cover bet today is $4,401. (Actual bet: $4,401)
Carolyn: You're in "Stratton's Dilemma". You can't both cover Emily and win a Triple Stumper, and unfortunately, Emily needs to be correct to pass Nikolas, so she has occasion to bet big. If you feel good about the category, bet at least $7,601 (or, you could go all in to ensure Nikolas makes a cover bet.) If you think the Triple Stumper is more likely, or you hate the category, bet $0, punt Final, and hope Nikolas is incorrect. (Actual bet: $8,800)
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