Warning: This page contains spoilers for the December 16, 2025, game of Jeopardy! — please do not scroll down if you wish to avoid being spoiled. Please note that the game airs as early as noon Eastern in some U.S. television markets.
Here’s today’s Final Jeopardy (in the category International Geography) for Tuesday, December 16, 2025 (Season 42, Game 72):
Today a state 309,000 square miles in area, on its founding it occupied half a continent
(correct response beneath the contestants)
Today’s Jeopardy! contestants:
Ivanna Lopez, a librarian originally from Tampa, Florida
|
Evan Argyle, a data scientist from Salt Lake City, Utah
|
Dave Widmayer, a trivia host from Portland, Oregon
|
Andy’s Pregame Thoughts:
Our second postseason game on the round to the 33rd Tournament of Champions features Ivanna Lopez, Evan Argyle (wearing argyle again), and Dave Widmayer. The stats do make Dave the favorite to take victory, but, as I always say this time of year, there’s so much variance in the modern game. Between the Daily Doubles and Final Jeopardy, the margins are so slim; even the very best players only have about a 50% chance of victory in a 3-player game.
This is also a reminder that registration is necessary—specifically, for a free TJ!F Plus account—in order to access the comments section of the site. Regulars are also more than welcome to contact me if there’s been an issue registering and I’d be happy to walk you through the process.
Additionally, I have bad news about Pop Culture Jeopardy!: word on the street—at least if this Bluesky post from BuzzerBlog is to be believed, and in my experience, BuzzerBlog generally isn’t wrong on these matters—Season 2 will be contested between teams of two and not teams of three. Considering that the show was advertising teams of three in casting, this appears to be an extremely last-minute change emanating from Netflix—and because Jeopardy! is neither the National Football League nor the White House (apparently the only American entities right now with enough clout to tell a broadcaster to pound sand), the production team in Culver City has to go along with it to avoid gaining a negative reputation that will cause future production headaches. Of course, this isn’t the first time that a broadcast partner has insisted upon late-stage production changes that directly conflict with the show’s vision—the format of Masters changing from a straight round-robin to ABC insisting on “playoffs” comes to mind from 2023—it’s just that Netflix should have insisted upon this change before the start of casting. And, of course, the show will be forced into spinning this as positively as it can, because it can ill-afford to throw a broadcast partner under the bus in this day and age as well. Just know that this isn’t the show’s fault.
(Content continues below)
Did you accidentally get logged out of your TJ!F Plus account? Log in here!
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 20 players, now including 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!
Correct response: What is New South Wales?
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.)
Upon the settlement of the Sydney area in 1788, Arthur Phillip was given authority over the entire eastern half of the Australian continent—everything east of the 135th meridian east—including modern New South Wales, Queensland, Victoria, and Tasmania. By 1825, its boundary was moved westward further to the 129th meridian east, while eventually, the other eastern and southern Australian states were carved out of it—an area of just over 309,000 square miles remains and is still the Australian state of New South Wales.
In terms of the timing of Final Jeopardy today: Unfortunately, our players in this game would have been unable to pick up a clue from what I wrote back on November 10 when the Final Jeopardy about Queensland played—when I noted that Queensland had been carved out of New South Wales—as today’s game was recorded on November 3. Additionally, the show would have had no idea that the state—home to the world-famous Bondi Beach—would be squarely in world news this week.
In order to redesign our merchandise area to serve you better in 2026, all merchandise sales have been temporarily taken offline. Look for a return in early 2026! All previous orders will still be supported.
Game Recap & Tonight’s Game Stats:
Looking to find out who won Jeopardy! today? Here’s the Tuesday, December 16, 2025 Jeopardy! by the numbers, along with a recap:
Jeopardy! Round:
(Categories: Second Chancery; In Memoriam 2025; Something’s “Off”; Walking; Winter; Wonderland)
Dave was the beneficiary of a judges’ reversal—but fell back to $0 after an incorrect Daily Double. Evan took the lead just before the break; after 15 clues, the scores were Evan $2,400 Ivanna $2,200 Dave $800.
Statistics at the first break (15 clues):
Evan 4 correct 1 incorrect
Ivanna 3 correct 0 incorrect
Dave 4 correct 2 incorrect
Today’s interviews:
Ivanna used the children’s section of her library to help study.
Evan doesn’t always wear argyle.
Dave stood at the same lectern that his parents did when they were both on.
Everyone played well in the second half of the opening round as Evan led after 30 clues. Evan went 3/5 in walking and Ivanna 3/5 in winter.
Statistics after the Jeopardy round:
Evan 9 correct 1 incorrect
Ivanna 8 correct 0 incorrect
Dave 9 correct 2 incorrect
Scores after the Jeopardy! Round:
Evan $4,400
Ivanna $4,000
Dave $2,600
Double Jeopardy! Round:
(Categories: British History; You’ll Need Some Intelligence; Vamping It Up On TV; Science; That’s A Real Myth-Conception; Before & After)
Dave and Ivanna both traded $4,200 Daily Doubles as Ivanna held a slim $1,400 lead entering Final Jeopardy. Ivanna went 4/5 in British History, while Dave went 3/5 in intelligence, TV vampires, and science.
Statistics after Double Jeopardy:
Ivanna 18 correct 3 incorrect
Dave 20 correct 3 incorrect
Evan 14 correct 2 incorrect
Total number of unplayed clues this season: 8 (0 today).
Scores going into Final:
Ivanna $15,400
Dave $14,000
Evan $7,600
Much like yesterday, Final Jeopardy was a Triple Stumper; Dave went for a small bet and is a finalist as a result!
Tonight’s results:
Evan $7,600 – $5,000 = $2,600 (What is Mongolia)
Dave $14,000 – $1,401 = $12,599 (What is California?) (Finalist)
Ivanna $15,400 – $14,600 = $800 (What is Vatic)
Chances of winning Second Chance:
Eugene Huang 28.509%
Dave Widmayer 33.801%
Pete Johnston 15.337%
Allison Willard 10.075%
Chris Turner-Neal 12.278%
Other Miscellaneous Game Statistics:
Daily Double locations:
1) WONDERLAND $800 (clue #10)
Dave 2200 -2200 (Evan 1800 Ivanna 1600)
2) SCIENCE $1200 (clue #7)
Dave 4200 +4200 (Evan 5600 Ivanna 7600)
3) BEFORE & AFTER $1200 (clue #20, $6000 left on board)
Ivanna 11200 +4200 (Dave 10400 Evan 6000)
Overall Daily Double Efficiency for this game: 38
Clue Selection by Row, Before Daily Doubles Found:
J! Round:
Dave 4 5 3 4 3 4*
Evan 5 5 5
Ivanna 5
DJ! Round:
Dave 4 3* 3 4 3 4
Evan 5 4 5 5
Ivanna 5 4 3 2 1 5 4 3 5 3*
Average Row of Clue Selection, Before Daily Doubles Found:
Dave 3.67
Evan 4.86
Ivanna 3.64
Unplayed clues:
J! Round: None!
DJ! Round: None!
Total Left On Board: $0
Number of clues left unrevealed this season: 8 (0.11 per episode average), 0 Daily Doubles
Game Stats:
Dave $13,200 Coryat, 20 correct, 3 incorrect, 31.58% in first on buzzer (18/57), 2/3 on rebound attempts (on 5 rebound opportunities)
Evan $7,600 Coryat, 14 correct, 2 incorrect, 24.56% in first on buzzer (14/57), 2/2 on rebound attempts (on 5 rebound opportunities)
Ivanna $12,400 Coryat, 18 correct, 3 incorrect, 33.33% in first on buzzer (19/57), 1/1 on rebound attempts (on 4 rebound opportunities)
Combined Coryat Score: $33,200
Lach Trash: $11,200 (on 8 Triple Stumpers)
Coryat lost to incorrect responses (less double-correct responses): $9,600
Lead Changes: 13
Times Tied: 2
Player Statistics:
Dave Widmayer, career statistics:
43 correct, 10 incorrect
5/7 on rebound attempts (on 13 rebound opportunities)
35.09% in first on buzzer (40/114)
3/4 on Daily Doubles (Net Earned: $7,200)
0/2 in Final Jeopardy
Average Coryat: $15,100
Evan Argyle, career statistics:
39 correct, 8 incorrect
5/6 on rebound attempts (on 12 rebound opportunities)
33.33% in first on buzzer (38/114)
1/1 on Daily Doubles (Net Earned: $3,000)
0/2 in Final Jeopardy
Average Coryat: $11,600
Ivanna Lopez, career statistics:
37 correct, 7 incorrect
1/1 on rebound attempts (on 7 rebound opportunities)
35.09% in first on buzzer (40/114)
1/1 on Daily Doubles (Net Earned: $4,200)
0/2 in Final Jeopardy
Average Coryat: $13,100
Andy’s Thoughts:
- A reminder that to go from an incorrect response to a correct one that twice the clue’s value needs to be added to a contestant’s score.
- Today’s J!6 clues can be found at the monthly archive.
Final Jeopardy! wagering suggestions:
(Scores: Ivanna $15,400 Dave $14,000 Evan $7,600)
Dave: Standared cover bet over Evan is $1,201. You don’t need to go $1,401, at least until leaders make a habit out of betting $0 (which they aren’t.) (Actual bet: $1,401)
Evan: I would bet $5,201 here—just in case Dave just bets $1,201 to cover you. That way, you can still pass him if he’s incorrect. (Actual bet: $5,000)
Ivanna: Standard cover bet over Dave is $12,601. If you really think Dave will make a bet to just lock Evan out, you can defend against that with a bet between $2 and $198. (Actual bet: $14,600)
The new TJ!F Plus section is active! In order to get the Daily Details of each episode coming soon, as well as the ability to comment on posts site-wide, make sure to register for your account! It should be noted that if you have not registered for an account since December 13, 2025, that registration for a new account is necessary.
Did you accidentally get logged out of your TJ!F Plus account? Log in here!
Become a Supporter now! Make a monthly contribution to the site on Patreon!
Contestant photo credit: jeopardy.com
When commenting, please note that all comments on The Jeopardy! Fan must be in compliance with the Site Comment Policy.
If you are going to quote any information from this page or this website, attribution is required.
Have you had a chance to listen to our podcast game show, Complete The List, yet? Check it out! It's also available on Apple Podcasts.
I guessed it had to be in Australia due to at one time covering half a continent. And having to guess a state, I went with the one fresh in my mind from reading about the Bondi Beach massacre. New South Wales.
Same line of reasoning. In order to have covered half a continent, clue had to be referring to Australian. Then, New South Wales leapt to mind as the most logical as well as in recent memory.
Because it was “International Geography”, I quickly decided we weren’t talking US states and that basically left Australia. From there, it was deciding which state once covered half of the continent; Western Australia or New South Wales. The size seemed more accurate to NSW, so that was the way I went, but it was a pure, somewhat-educated, guess between those two.
India also has states.
So does Brazil and Germany.
As do Mexico and Brazil. I guess jumping to Australia would make sense if you realized how flipping big 309K Square Miles is, though.
Hi Andy,
Evan bet $5001, not $5000.
Does anyone else suspect that having just had a whole ‘British History’ category in the Double Jeopardy round made the contestants think this FJ clue wouldn’t be about anywhere related to British history?