Warning: This page contains spoilers for the December 18, 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 U.S. Presidents) for Thursday, December 18, 2025 (Season 42, Game 74):
His mom Eliza, the first mother to attend her son’s inauguration, survived him by about 6 years; his wife, by 36
(correct response beneath the contestants)
Today’s Jeopardy! contestants:
Eugene Huang, a teacher from Paramus, New Jersey
|
Dave Widmayer, a trivia host from Portland, Oregon
|
Pete Johnston, a filmmaker & educator originally from Alma, Michigan
|
Andy’s Pregame Thoughts:
We have reached the finals of our first week of Second Chance play for this season. As has always been the case in this event, it is a two-day total-point affair, with today’s score being added to tomorrow’s in order to determine the overall champion.
Here are our three players’ stats entering today’s game:
Pete Johnston:
42 correct, 7 incorrect
2/5 on rebound attempts (on 9 rebound opportunities)
35.09% in first on buzzer (40/114)
2/2 on Daily Doubles (Net Earned: $5,800)
1/2 in Final Jeopardy
Average Coryat: $14,900
Dave Widmayer:
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
Eugene Huang:
37 correct, 4 incorrect
5/5 on rebound attempts (on 10 rebound opportunities)
27.19% in first on buzzer (31/114)
1/4 on Daily Doubles (Net Earned: -$4,000)
1/2 in Final Jeopardy
Average Coryat: $16,100
The Unified Prediction Model gives Pete a 39.553% chance of winning, compared to 32.937% for Dave and 27.510% for Eugene. As we saw in the semifinals, though, leading entering Final Jeopardy is zero guarantee that one will be leading exiting Final Jeopardy, all three of our players won from second place.
(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 21 players, now including 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!
Correct response: Who is James Garfield?
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.)
James A. Garfield was just 49 years old when inaugurated to the office of President of the United States in 1881; his young age explains why his mother would have still been alive to see her son inaugurated. Unfortunately, the assassination of Garfield by Charles Guiteau also resulted in Garfield’s mother and wife both outliving him. He is also the subject of the recent miniseries Death by Lightning—however, this would provide very little help to contestants, as that miniseries was released 3 days after the November 3 taping of today’s episode.
With things already starting 0-for-9 this week on the Final Jeopardy front, it would not surprise me in the slightest if we went to 0-for-12. That being said, I think it would be foolhardy for contestants to take any chances on today’s Final Jeopardy, considering how difficult they have played overall this week. Even if I was quite far behind entering Final Jeopardy, I would rather stand pat and take my chances tomorrow on finding Daily Doubles.
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 Thursday, December 18, 2025 Jeopardy! by the numbers, along with a recap:
Jeopardy! Round:
(Categories: ‘Tis The Season; Art & Artists; The 14Th Century; New In The Cambridge Dictionary; Civics; Before Children)
Eugene had the best time early, leading after 15 clues. Scores at the interviews were Eugene $4,200 Dave $3,000 Pete $2,800.
Statistics at the first break (15 clues):
Eugene 5 correct 0 incorrect
Dave 5 correct 0 incorrect
Pete 5 correct 1 incorrect
Today’s interviews:
Eugene prepared by watching Ken telling people what to study.
Dave is a big Phliadelphia Eagles fan.
Pete was surprised at getting a Second Chance.
After the break, Pete found the Daily Double…but was incorrect, falling back to $0. Eugene led after 30 clues after going 3/5 in the sports (‘Tis the season) category.
Statistics after the Jeopardy round:
Eugene 9 correct 0 incorrect
Dave 9 correct 0 incorrect
Pete 10 correct 3 incorrect
Scores after the Jeopardy! Round:
Eugene $6,000
Dave $4,600
Pete $600
Double Jeopardy! Round:
(Categories: Bodies Of Water; Literary Awards; The Life Of A Showgirl; Useful Plants; Law & Order; Before Children)
Pete found the Daily Double immediately, but lost the maximum possible to another incorrect response. He rebounded well, but Dave found DD3; an incorrect response from him led to him sitting third entering Final Jeopardy. Pete did go 3/5 in plants and law, while Eugene went 3/5 in “Words before children in the dictionary”.
Statistics after Double Jeopardy:
Eugene 16 correct 2 incorrect
Pete 20 correct 5 incorrect
Dave 14 correct 2 incorrect
Total number of unplayed clues this season: 8 (0 today).
Scores going into Final:
Eugene $12,000
Pete $7,400
Dave $4,000
We are now 0-for-12 this week in Final Jeopardy—and a lot of money was lost. Eugene has a lead, but everything is still to play for tomorrow!
Tonight’s results:
Dave $4,000 – $4,000 = $0 (Who is William Henry Harrison?)
Pete $7,400 – $7,400 = $0 (Who William Henry Harrison?)
Eugene $12,000 – $6,000 = $6,000 (Who is Franklin D Roosevelt?)
Chances of winning Second Chance:
Eugene 42.658%
Pete 31.160%
Dave 26.182%
Other Miscellaneous Game Statistics:
Daily Double locations:
1) CIVICS $1000 (clue #16)
Pete 2800 -2800 (Dave 3000 Eugene 4200)
2) THE LIFE OF A SHOWGIRL $2000 (clue #1)
Pete 600 -2000 (Dave 4600 Eugene 6000)
3) BODIES OF WATER $1600 (clue #14, $14800 left on board)
Dave 8200 -4200 (Pete 6600 Eugene 8400)
Overall Daily Double Efficiency for this game: -251
Clue Selection by Row, Before Daily Doubles Found:
J! Round:
Pete 3 5 3 4 3 5*
Dave 4 4 3 4 3
Eugene 3 5 2 5 4
DJ! Round:
Pete 5* 3 3 4 5 3† 3 4 5
Dave 5 4*
Eugene 3 4 2
† – selection in same category as Daily Double
Average Row of Clue Selection, Before Daily Doubles Found:
Eugene 3.50
Dave 3.86
Pete 3.87
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:
Eugene $12,000 Coryat, 16 correct, 2 incorrect, 28.07% in first on buzzer (16/57), 2/2 on rebound attempts (on 3 rebound opportunities)
Dave $8,200 Coryat, 14 correct, 2 incorrect, 24.56% in first on buzzer (14/57), 0/1 on rebound attempts (on 5 rebound opportunities)
Pete $12,200 Coryat, 20 correct, 5 incorrect, 40.35% in first on buzzer (23/57), 0/0 on rebound attempts (on 2 rebound opportunities)
Combined Coryat Score: $32,400
Lach Trash: $9,400 (on 7 Triple Stumpers)
Coryat lost to incorrect responses (less double-correct responses): $12,200
Lead Changes: 2
Times Tied: 1
Player Statistics:
Pete Johnston, career statistics:
62 correct, 13 incorrect
2/5 on rebound attempts (on 11 rebound opportunities)
36.84% in first on buzzer (63/171)
2/4 on Daily Doubles (Net Earned: $1,000)
1/3 in Final Jeopardy
Average Coryat: $14,000
Dave Widmayer, career statistics:
57 correct, 13 incorrect
5/8 on rebound attempts (on 18 rebound opportunities)
31.58% in first on buzzer (54/171)
3/5 on Daily Doubles (Net Earned: $3,000)
0/3 in Final Jeopardy
Average Coryat: $12,800
Eugene Huang, career statistics:
53 correct, 7 incorrect
7/7 on rebound attempts (on 13 rebound opportunities)
27.49% in first on buzzer (47/171)
1/4 on Daily Doubles (Net Earned: -$4,000)
1/3 in Final Jeopardy
Average Coryat: $14,733
Andy’s Thoughts:
- Due to the fact that tomorrow’s scores can be doubled in Final Jeopardy, Eugene has an “effective lead” of $3,000.
- No wagering suggestions are posted due to it being Game 1 of a two-game final.
- Today’s J!6 clues can be found at the monthly archive.
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 misread the clue thinking that the mother had outlived his wife by 36 years, meaning that the president would have been widowed young. And that did not lead me to Garfield. I went with Benjamin Harrison. This is one of those Final Jeopardy’s where you ‘have’ to put an answer because there are only so many US presidents and you just may get a lucky guess.
Knew this from having visited Garfield’s tomb in Cleveland’s Lake View Cemetery. Worth a stop if you’re in the area. While there be sure also to visit the Wade Memorial Chapel, featuring Tiffany glass and mosaics.
My son and I visited the James A. Garfield National Historic Site in Mentor OH (a bit east of Cleveland) several years back so this was an instant get for me.
Not only was Garfield the first president to have his mother attend his inauguration, he was also the last president to be born in a log cabin. (I believe JFK was the first to have BOTH parents attend his inauguration.)
Among the family artifacts at the house is a dried wreath that was sent to Garfield’s widow by Queen Victoris.
I knew the 2 youngest POTUS at death were Kennedy and Garfield, so I took an educated guess. But, had I not known this, I don’t think I could have pieced it out in 30 seconds.
I knew it wouldn’t have been JFK – his mother Rose is well known in my lifetime – and lived to be 104.
I was barely able to get to Garfield, as I assumed the “survived” portion of the clue meant that the president met an untimely end. I was pretty sure Kennedy’s wife didn’t live that long after him, so I guessed Garfield.
Jackie did live another 30+ years – but passed relatively young.
Are players in this round playing for money?
It is fixed prize amounts.
I’ve always thought of the assassinated presidents as a special group so I paid more attention to them than some of the others. Because of this particular interest of mine, I knew that Garfield had died young. That led me to believe that both his mother and his wife would survive him so he was my choice. Maybe, that’s a somewhat morbid interest of mine but it paid off in getting today’s final.
I think Andy’s advice to stand pat today would have been good advice to follow. Had Pete just stood pat, he would now be leading going into tomorrow’s game.
It’s tough to say. On one hand, yes, all three players had just seen the previous three FJs that were arguably more appropriate for ToC than for Second Chance; on the other, FJ on Day 1 of a 2DTPA is usually much more straightforward and (dare I say) easier than FJs normally are, and with a category like U.S. Presidents, the possible pool of answers is small enough that you have a more than 2% chance of being correct just by pulling one out of that pool before you even see the clue. Knowing that, I’m not gonna blame either Pete or Dave for going all-in here, nor will I blame Eugene for holding something back just in case it did end up being a stupidly difficult clue again.
That being said, Eugene’s effective lead is only $3,000, and that can easily be completely wiped away if either of the other two get a Daily Double correct or get a couple of good bottom-row responses – this is not over yet!