recaps

Season 42

(TJF Plus) Daily Details – Tuesday, January 20, 2026

Published Modified

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

September 26-27: S42 E174 (May 7, 2026)
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.

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Today’s Jeopardy! contestants:

Allegra Kuney, a Ph.D. candidate from New Brunswick, New Jersey

Allegra Kuney on Jeopardy!

Brendan Liaw, a law student & away-from-home son from Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada

Brendan Liaw on Jeopardy!

Andrew Hayes, a judicial law clerk originally from Tupelo, Mississippi

Andrew Hayes on Jeopardy!

Andy’s Pregame Thoughts:

After all of the announcements yesterday, you could be excused for forgetting that there was in fact a game played yesterday on Jeopardy! as Tom Devlin became the first semifinalist in the 33rd Tournament of Champions. Today’s quarterfinalists are Andrew Hayes, Brendan Liaw, and Allegra Kuney. Playing off the fact that he was introduced as a “stay-at-home son” in his regular games, Brendan has elected to include “away-from-home son” in his introduction for this tournament.

In terms of those announcements: the 18-player field for the next Jeopardy! Invitational Tournament, airing after this Tournament of Champions, was announced. Furthermore, the judges decided to revisit the Daily Double ruling against Stella Trout in the Champions Wildcard final, giving her a spot in the 2027 Tournament of Champions.

(Content continues below)

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Final Jeopardy! Category: Scientific Words

Final Jeopardy! Clue: A Nobel laureate coined this word “to avoid the repetition of the rather cumbersome phrase ‘mould broth filtrate'”

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Correct response: What is penicillin?

More Information About Final Jeopardy!:

Alexander Fleming, who shared the 1945 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for his 1928 discovery of penicillin, the world’s first broadly effective antibiotic; in that year, he observed that the contamination of a culture of Staphylococcus aureus bacteria with Penicillium rubens killed the bacteria. However, due to the difficulty of being able to produce enough penicillin for general use, it took until World War II—and the importance of saving soliders’ lives—for mass production techniques to be perfected.

I thought this was a relatively straightforward Final Jeopardy clue, especially for the Tournament of Champions. I personally have known that penicillin comes from mold (and was discovered by a Nobel-winning scientist) since my days competing in high school—it would not surprise me whatsoever if this Final Jeopardy played 3/3 today.

Game Recap & Tonight’s Game Stats:

Looking to find out who won Jeopardy! today? Here’s the Tuesday, January 20, 2026 Jeopardy! by the numbers, along with a recap:

Jeopardy! Round:

(Categories: A Cult Band; National Parks Of The World; Standing On Business; The Tale That Wags The Dog; Ranks & Titles; Rhyme Time)

Allegra did well in the Rhyme Time category early as Brendan and Andrew struggled early (including a shocking Triple Stumper on Jasper National Park). After 15 clues, the scores were Allegra $3,000 Brendan $200 Andrew -$1,600.

Statistics at the first break (15 clues):

Allegra 6 correct 1 incorrect
Brendan 2 correct 2 incorrect
Andrew 0 correct 2 incorrect

Today’s interviews:

Allegra stepped on a bee at the beach in Santa Monica.
Brendan got a lot of press coverage for being a stay-at-home son.
Andrew became a father a couple of months ago.

Brendan found the Daily Double right after the break, picked up $1,000, and had the lead by the end of the round. On the opening board, Allegra went 3/5 in dog stories and rhyme time, while Brendan went 4/5 in ranks & titles.

Statistics after the Jeopardy round:

Brendan 10 correct 2 incorrect
Allegra 9 correct 3 incorrect
Andrew 2 correct 2 incorrect

Scores after the Jeopardy! Round:

Brendan $3,600
Allegra $3,000
Andrew -$1,000

Double Jeopardy! Round:

(Categories: Occult Bands; Lawyers; What A Time To Be Alive; Role-Playing Roles; Pop-Up-Pourri; Back Words)

Andrew and Allegra found the Daily Doubles in Double Jeopardy, with Allegra taking the lead for good with her correct response on DD3. After that, she continued her strong play to the point where she’d claimed a runaway by the end of the round.

Statistics after Double Jeopardy:

Allegra 21 correct 4 incorrect
Brendan 14 correct 2 incorrect
Andrew 10 correct 3 incorrect
Total number of unplayed clues this season: 8 (0 today).

Scores going into Final:

Allegra $18,200
Brendan $8,000
Andrew $6,200

Allegra having that runaway was crucial as she didn’t get Final Jeopardy correct; she’s a semifinalist, though!

Tonight’s results:

Andrew $6,200 + $1,801 = $8,001 (What is penicillin?)
Brendan $8,000 + $1,337 = $9,337 (What’s penicillin)
Allegra $18,200 – $10 = $18,190 (What is agar?) (Semi-Finalist)

Allegra Kuney, today's Jeopardy! winner (for the January 20, 2026 game.)

Chances of winning Tournament of Champions:

Scott Riccardi: 17.715%
Laura Faddah: 3.693%
Paolo Pasco: 14.279%
Tom Devlin: 13.275%
Allegra Kuney: 13.919%
Bryce Wargin: 2.359%
Cameron Berry: 3.374%
Ben Ganger: 4.318%
Ashley Chan: 2.279%
W. Kamau Bell: 1.592%
Alex DeFrank: 6.099%
Steven Olson: 4.976%
Josh Weikert: 2.025%
Matt Massie: 4.063%
Lisa Ann Walter: 1.137%
Mike Dawson: 2.220%
TJ Fisher: 2.677%

Other Miscellaneous Game Statistics:

Daily Double locations:

1) NATIONAL PARKS OF THE WORLD $600 (clue #16)
Brendan 200 +1000 (Andrew -1600 Allegra 3000)
2) BACK WORDS $1600 (clue #5)
Andrew 200 +2000 (Brendan 5600 Allegra 5800)
3) WHAT A TIME TO BE ALIVE $1600 (clue #8, $23600 left on board)
Allegra 5000 +4000 (Andrew 2200 Brendan 5600)
Overall Daily Double Efficiency for this game: 280

Clue Selection by Row, Before Daily Doubles Found:

J! Round:
Andrew 4 5 4 5
Brendan 4 4 3*
Allegra 4 5 3 4 3 2 3 5 3

DJ! Round:
Andrew 5 4* 5† 3
Brendan 4
Allegra 3 3 4*

† – selection in same category as Daily Double

Average Row of Clue Selection, Before Daily Doubles Found:

Allegra 3.50
Brendan 3.75
Andrew 4.38

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:

Allegra $15,800 Coryat, 21 correct, 4 incorrect, 40.35% in first on buzzer (23/57), 1/1 on rebound attempts (on 5 rebound opportunities)
Brendan $7,600 Coryat, 14 correct, 2 incorrect, 24.56% in first on buzzer (14/57), 1/1 on rebound attempts (on 7 rebound opportunities)
Andrew $5,800 Coryat, 10 correct, 3 incorrect, 21.05% in first on buzzer (12/57), 0/0 on rebound attempts (on 6 rebound opportunities)
Combined Coryat Score: $29,200
Lach Trash: $16,000 (on 15 Triple Stumpers)
Coryat lost to incorrect responses (less double-correct responses): $8,800
Lead Changes: 8
Times Tied: 4

Player Statistics:

Andrew Hayes, career statistics:

169 correct, 25 incorrect
9/10 on rebound attempts (on 34 rebound opportunities)
35.75% in first on buzzer (163/456)
8/13 on Daily Doubles (Net Earned: $16,200)
6/8 in Final Jeopardy
Average Coryat: $16,050

Brendan Liaw, career statistics:

110 correct, 21 incorrect
4/6 on rebound attempts (on 22 rebound opportunities)
40.70% in first on buzzer (116/285)
3/5 on Daily Doubles (Net Earned: -$5,400)
2/4 in Final Jeopardy
Average Coryat: $15,720

Allegra Kuney, career statistics:

142 correct, 20 incorrect
5/6 on rebound attempts (on 19 rebound opportunities)
40.94% in first on buzzer (140/342)
8/10 on Daily Doubles (Net Earned: $19,100)
4/6 in Final Jeopardy
Average Coryat: $18,100

Andy’s Thoughts:


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