recaps
Today’s Final Jeopardy answer (in the category Mammals) and a recap of the Tuesday, August 18, 2026 game between Paolo Pasco, Laura Faddah, and Scott Riccardi.
Today's Final Jeopardy - Tuesday, August 18, 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
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)
August 31: S42 E111 (February 9, 2026)
September 1: S42 E112 (February 10, 2026)
September 2: S42 E113 (February 11, 2026)
September 3: S42 E114 (February 12, 2026)
September 4: S42 E115 (February 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 $1,098,403
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
Warning: This page contains spoilers for the August 18, 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 January 30, 2026.
Here's today's Final Jeopardy (in the category Mammals) for Tuesday, August 18, 2026 (Season 42, Game 105):
Wrangel Island, off the coast of Siberia, may have been the last place on Earth where this 2-word prehistoric mammal lived
(correct response beneath the contestants)
Today's Jeopardy! contestants:
Andy's Pregame Thoughts:
The encore presentations continue today with our Tournament of Champions exhibition game between Scott Riccardi, Laura Faddah, and Paolo Pasco. Interesting, this game is now airing in taping order instead of being pushed back to Friday when this tournament aired the first time.
That being said: the point of this game was to ensure that all 21 players in the tournament have the same practice time on the buzzer. There are no stakes to this game. The Tournament of Champions semifinals begin tomorrow.
(Content continues below)
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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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!
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Correct response: What is the woolly mammoth?
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 famed elephant-like woolly mammoth once roamed the lands now in northern Asia and North America before populations began declining around 10,000 years ago. The last populations—as judged by fossil dating—were on St. Paul Island in Alaska until about 5,600 years ago and on Wrangel Island north of Siberia until about 4,000 years ago.
To me, this is the sort of relatively straightforward Final Jeopardy clue that these exhibition games have been known for.
Game Recap & Tonight's Game Stats:
Looking to find out who won Jeopardy! today? Here's the Tuesday, August 18, 2026 Jeopardy! by the numbers, along with a recap:Jeopardy! Round:
(Categories: Politics Rhyme Time; Sports; "Q_Ed"; I'm Talkin' Here!; Facts; Face Cards) Paolo got off to the best start with 8 correct; at the break, the scores were Paolo $6,200 Scott $1,400 Laura $800.Statistics at the first break (15 clues):
Paolo 8 correct 0 incorrectScott 3 correct 1 incorrect
Laura 1 correct 0 incorrect
Today's interviews:
Paolo heard from one of his teachers who gave him a hard time about a missed Daily Double.Laura held a "Dipmas" watch party.
Scott said he watched Citizen Kane, but still hasn't.
Paolo found the Daily Double, doubling up through it and taking a big lead into the second break. On the first board, Paolo went 4/5 in "Q_ED" and quotes, while Scott went 3/5 in "face" cards (responses with jack/queen/king in them).
Statistics after the Jeopardy round:
Paolo 13 correct 0 incorrectScott 9 correct 1 incorrect
Laura 4 correct 0 incorrect
Scores after the Jeopardy! Round:
Paolo $15,600Scott $3,200
Laura $2,400
Double Jeopardy! Round:
(Categories: International Colleges & Universities; The Films Of Alfred Hitchcock; Medicine; The 2012 Time 100; How Are You Feeling?; Nothing A Little Opera Can't Cure!) Paolo found DD2 and got $5,000 from it; while Laura found DD3, she went conservative. Paolo finished Double Jeopardy without any incorrect responses as he had a strong runaway entering Final Jeopardy.Statistics after Double Jeopardy:
Paolo 22 correct 0 incorrectLaura 10 correct 1 incorrect
Scott 15 correct 5 incorrect
Total number of unplayed clues this season: 8 (0 today).
Scores going into Final:
Paolo $29,000
Laura $8,800
Scott $5,200
Everyone was correct in Final as Paolo takes victory today.
Tonight's results:
Scott $5,200 + $0 = $5,200 (What is the Woolly Mammoth?)Laura $8,800 + $1,601 = $10,401 (What is a wooly mammoth?)
Paolo $29,000 + $1,118 = $30,118 (What is the woolly mammoth?) (Winner)
Other Miscellaneous Game Statistics:
Daily Double locations:
1) I'M TALKIN' HERE! $400 (clue #19)Paolo 7600 +7600 (Scott 1400 Laura 1200)
2) HOW ARE YOU FEELING? $1200 (clue #6)
Paolo 18400 +5000 (Scott 2800 Laura 4400)
3) INTERNATIONAL COLLEGES & UNIVERSITIES $2000 (clue #16, $10800 left on board)
Laura 6000 +2000 (Scott 3200 Paolo 26600)
Overall Daily Double Efficiency for this game: 161
Clue Selection by Row, Before Daily Doubles Found:
J! Round:
Scott 3 4 5 5Laura 3 4 4 2
Paolo 3 5 4 3 3 4 3 4 5 2 2*
DJ! Round:
Scott 4 5 5 4 5 5Laura 3 3 5*
Paolo 4 3* 4 3 3 3 4
Average Row of Clue Selection, Before Daily Doubles Found:
Paolo 3.44Laura 3.43
Scott 4.50
Unplayed clues:
J! Round: None!DJ! Round: None!
Total Left On Board: $0
Number of clues left unrevealed this season: 8 (0.08 per episode average), 0 Daily Doubles
Game Stats:
Paolo $18,000 Coryat, 22 correct, 0 incorrect, 35.09% in first on buzzer (20/57), 0/0 on rebound attempts (on 6 rebound opportunities)Laura $8,800 Coryat, 10 correct, 1 incorrect, 15.79% in first on buzzer (9/57), 1/1 on rebound attempts (on 5 rebound opportunities)
Scott $5,200 Coryat, 15 correct, 5 incorrect, 35.09% in first on buzzer (20/57), 0/0 on rebound attempts (on 1 rebound opportunity)
Combined Coryat Score: $32,000
Lach Trash: $15,200 (on 13 Triple Stumpers)
Coryat lost to incorrect responses (less double-correct responses): $6,800
Lead Changes: 3
Times Tied: 0
Player Statistics:
Scott Riccardi, career statistics:
502 correct, 39 incorrect28/30 on rebound attempts (on 76 rebound opportunities)
42.38% in first on buzzer (459/1083)
26/33 on Daily Doubles (Net Earned: $83,200)
13/19 in Final Jeopardy
Average Coryat: $21,884
Laura Faddah, career statistics:
166 correct, 35 incorrect14/14 on rebound attempts (on 47 rebound opportunities)
26.87% in first on buzzer (165/614)
7/11 on Daily Doubles (Net Earned: $4,400)
4/11 in Final Jeopardy
Average Coryat: $11,236
Paolo Pasco, career statistics:
247 correct, 15 incorrect13/13 on rebound attempts (on 39 rebound opportunities)
39.12% in first on buzzer (223/570)
14/16 on Daily Doubles (Net Earned: $46,000)
7/10 in Final Jeopardy
Average Coryat: $19,880
Andy's Thoughts:
- The cumulative stats above are per the "Jeopardy! Air Time" as per the initial airings (taking the semifinals into account).
- Today's J!6 clues can be found at the monthly archive.
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