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
Welcome to the new Daily Details section! Free registration & login is required to see most of the information on this page.
Are you looking for today’s main page> Find that here!
Today’s Jeopardy! contestants:
Guy Branum, a writer & comedian from West Hollywood, California (Yesterday’s total: $16,000)
Michelle Tsai, a tutor originally from Honolulu, Hawai’i (Yesterday’s total: $19,200)
Melanie Hirsch, an attorney from Silver Spring, Maryland (Yesterday’s total: $12,000)
(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.
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!
You can now listen to Alex Trebek-hosted Jeopardy! episodes from TuneIn Radio without leaving The Jeopardy! Fan — listen now!
Andy’s Pregame Thoughts:
Michelle Tsai had an extremely dominant 10-clue stretch in yesterday’s Game 1 of the finals, but Final Jeopardy made things considerably closer entering Day 2 of this two-game final; today’s final scores get added to yesterday’s in order to determine the overall champion. Because today’s pre-Final scores can get doubled in Final Jeopardy, though, Michelle has an “effective lead” of just $1,600 over Guy Branum and $3,600 over Melanie Hirsch. Absolutely anything can happen in today’s second game with the scores this close!
I do also want to mention that I am reading the feedback regarding what is included in the “free” and “plus” sections of the recaps every night and am open to making changes on this front. Keep making your suggestions in the comments!
Final Jeopardy! Category: The 21st Century
Final Jeopardy! Clue: In 2015 a foreign government said this would be abolished to “increase labor supply & ease pressures from an aging population”
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Correct response: What is the (Chinese) one-child policy?
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.)
As a population planning initiative, the People’s Republic of China instituted a one-child policy in 1979 in order to curb population growth in the country. However, by the mid-2010s, the country was dealing with effects of the policy—namely, a shrinking workforce and an aging population—to the point where it changed the policy to two children in 2015. By July 2021, all birth limits had been removed in order to encourage more children.
There’s already been minor debate in some spaces as to whether the country will be required; personally, I don’t have a definitive answer here as a fan at publication time—I think we’ll all figure out if the judges have to rule on it. (That being said, I’d say give yourself credit without the country if playing along at home, unless of course the judges say otherwise on-air.)
Game Recap & Tonight’s Game Stats:
Looking to find out who won Jeopardy! today? Here’s the Friday, December 26, 2025 Jeopardy! by the numbers, along with a recap:
Jeopardy! Round:
(Categories: History “P”S & “Q”S; Soil, Breeze & Conflagration; 4-Letter Businesses; Why So Blue?; All Kinds Of Sports; One More Time)
Melanie found the Daily Double early; she picked up the maximum she could and led after 15 clues. At the first break, the scores were Melanie $5,400 Michelle $2,800 Guy $0.
Statistics at the first break (15 clues):
Melanie 7 correct 0 incorrect
Michelle 5 correct 1 incorrect
Guy 2 correct 2 incorrect
Today’s interviews:
Guy would like to thank other Second Chancers.
Michelle would like to thank her husband.
Melanie would also like to thank her husband.
After the break, Michelle had the best time, picking up enough to get close to Melanie’s lead. By the end of the round, Melanie went 3/5 in history and Michelle went 3/5 in sports.
Statistics after the Jeopardy round:
Melanie 11 correct 1 incorrect
Michelle 10 correct 2 incorrect
Guy 6 correct 2 incorrect
Scores after the Jeopardy! Round:
Melanie $6,200
Michelle $5,400
Guy $800
Double Jeopardy! Round:
(Categories: Alphabetically First; Around The World; A Riddle; Rapped; In A Mystery; Inside An Enigma)
Today’s Double Jeopardy round saw Guy pick up both Daily Doubles; unfortunately, an incorrect response on DD2 put him behind the 8-ball. However, a correct response on DD3 and 10 correct throughout the round, was just enough to make today’s last clue mean something. Melanie went 3/5 in mysteries, Michelle 3/5 in alphabetically first and riddles, while Guy went 3/5 in rap and “words using the letters of ‘enigma'”.
Statistics after Double Jeopardy:
Michelle 19 correct 3 incorrect
Melanie 16 correct 1 incorrect
Guy 16 correct 4 incorrect
Total number of unplayed clues this season: 8 (0 today).
Scores going into Final:
Michelle $14,600
Melanie $10,600
Guy $9,200
Everyone was correct in Final; while neither Guy nor Melanie bet enough, it ended up not mattering as Michelle’s correct response gave her the victory anyway. She’s on to Champions Wildcard and the January 6, 2026 game.
Tonight’s results:
Guy $9,200 + $3,801 = $13,001 + $16,000 = $29,001 (What is The One Child Policy?)
Melanie $10,600 + $10,500 = $21,100 + $12,000 = $33,100 (What China one child policy)
Michelle $14,600 + $601 = $15,201 + $19,200 = $34,401 (What is the one child policy?)
Other Miscellaneous Game Statistics:
Daily Double locations:
1) HISTORY “P”s & “Q”s $1000 (clue #3)
Melanie 800 +1000 (Michelle 0 Guy -1400)
2) ALPHABETICALLY FIRST $1600 (clue #5)
Guy 3600 -3600 (Melanie 6200 Michelle 6600)
3) IN A MYSTERY $1600 (clue #9, $22000 left on board)
Guy 1600 +2000 (Melanie 6200 Michelle 7800)
Overall Daily Double Efficiency for this game: 100
Clue Selection by Row, Before Daily Doubles Found:
J! Round:
Melanie 4 3 5*
Michelle
Guy
DJ! Round:
Melanie
Michelle 5 3 4
Guy 4 3 4* 5† 3† 4*
† – selection in same category as Daily Double
Average Row of Clue Selection, Before Daily Doubles Found:
Michelle 4.00
Melanie 4.00
Guy 3.83
Unplayed clues:
J! Round: None!
DJ! Round: None!
Total Left On Board: $0
Number of clues left unrevealed this season: 8 (0.10 per episode average), 0 Daily Doubles
Game Stats:
Michelle $14,600 Coryat, 19 correct, 3 incorrect, 36.84% in first on buzzer (21/57), 1/1 on rebound attempts (on 4 rebound opportunities)
Melanie $10,600 Coryat, 16 correct, 1 incorrect, 26.32% in first on buzzer (15/57), 1/1 on rebound attempts (on 6 rebound opportunities)
Guy $12,400 Coryat, 16 correct, 4 incorrect, 28.07% in first on buzzer (16/57), 2/2 on rebound attempts (on 4 rebound opportunities)
Combined Coryat Score: $37,600
Lach Trash: $10,000 (on 8 Triple Stumpers)
Coryat lost to incorrect responses (less double-correct responses): $6,400
Lead Changes: 2
Times Tied: 0
Player Statistics:
Melanie Hirsch, career statistics:
75 correct, 11 incorrect
2/2 on rebound attempts (on 15 rebound opportunities)
32.89% in first on buzzer (75/228)
3/5 on Daily Doubles (Net Earned: -$200)
3/4 in Final Jeopardy
Average Coryat: $13,100
Michelle Tsai, career statistics:
94 correct, 10 incorrect
9/10 on rebound attempts (on 22 rebound opportunities)
36.84% in first on buzzer (84/228)
4/6 on Daily Doubles (Net Earned: $4,600)
2/4 in Final Jeopardy
Average Coryat: $18,950
Guy Branum, career statistics:
72 correct, 11 incorrect
4/5 on rebound attempts (on 18 rebound opportunities)
30.70% in first on buzzer (70/228)
3/4 on Daily Doubles (Net Earned: $2,200)
4/4 in Final Jeopardy
Average Coryat: $9,550
Andy’s Thoughts:
- As you can see below, neither Melanie nor Guy bet enough in Final Jeopardy.
- One specific point regarding Guy’s interview: there are multiple different groups who meet up and play Jeopardy! online at this point that I’m aware of; these groups have been happening for over 20 years and I don’t see a need to link to them now.
- Today’s J!6 clues can be found at the monthly archive.
Final Jeopardy! wagering suggestions:
(Scores: Melanie $10,600 ($12,000) Michelle $14,600 ($19,200) Guy $9,200 ($16,000))
Melanie’s current score: $22,600
Melanie’s maximum possible score: $33,200
Michelle’s current score: $33,800
Michelle’s maximum possible score: $48,400
Guy’s current score: $25,200
Guy’s maximum possible score: $34,400
Melanie: If Michelle makes the standard cover bet and is incorrect, she falls to $33,199. Being that your maximum possible total is $33,200, you must go all in. (Actual bet: $10,500)
Michelle: Standard cover bet is $601. Normally I’d suggest adding on more, but because of where Melanie’s score is, you should trust your math and just bet the $601. (Actual bet: $601)
Guy: Bet at least $8,001 to cover Melanie. However, you probably should go all in to force Michelle to do the math right. (Actual bet: $3,801)
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