Warning: This page contains spoilers for the January 19, 2026, 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 Famous Photos) for Monday, January 19, 2026 (Season 42, Game 96):
Being only 5’5″, photographer Joe Rosenthal had to climb on top of a Japanese sandbag to snap a photo while on this peak
(correct response beneath the contestants)
Today’s Jeopardy! contestants:
Aaron Levine, a sports anchor from Seattle, Washington
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Tom Devlin, an attorney from Washington, D.C.
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Liam Starnes, a payment program manager from Columbus, Ohio
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Andy’s Pregame Thoughts:
Welcome to the 33rd Tournament of Champions! 21 of the best recent Jeopardy! players are competing for a top prize of $250,000. Our opening quarterfinal will be between Liam Starnes, Tom Devlin, and Aaron Levine. Based on winnings alone, Liam might be seen as the favorite–and I think he’ll have the largest cheering section among the home viewership. However, that by no means makes him a lock to take victory today. Tom is an incredibly strong player in spite of only three victories, while Aaron would absolutely be looking to follow in the footsteps of other low seeds that have managed to snag opening-round ToC victories.
In terms of airing, it should be noted that today’s holiday NBA games on NBC (and college basketball on FOX) may cause schedule disruptions if you watch on an NBC or FOX affiliate. Check your local listings, or Matt Carberry’s Google sheet tracking preemptions. As things stand now, it appears as though WILX in Lansing is planning on airing the game at 11:30 AM Eastern, which will mean—if that airing does happen—today’s results will be posted 30 minutes earlier than usual.
(Content continues below)
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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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Correct response: What is Mount Suribachi?
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.)
Welcome to the 33rd Tournament of Champions! The material is more difficult, and the show usually asks for one more step to be taken. Regular play here would have asked for the island that the famous 1945 Joe Rosenthal World War II photograph was taken on—Iwo Jima—however, at the Tournament of Champions, our champions get asked for the specific peak on Iwo Jima, that being Mount Suribachi.
Will any of our players in studio make a “failing to completely read the clue” error today and respond with “What is Iwo Jima?” (If that does happen to you at home? Well, it is the Tournament of Champions.)
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Game Recap:
3-time champion Tom Devlin made a statement, picking up a Coryat-only $19,400 and cruising to a runaway entering Final Jeopardy, aided by Daily Double misses by both Liam and Aaron in the game itself. Aaron’s miss on DD3 was especially painful, as Aaron was the only player correct in Final Jeopardy, but Tom advances to the semifinals, and will be an especially difficult out in this tournament after that performance.
Scores going into Final:
Tom $19,400
Liam $6,200
Aaron $1,600
Tonight’s results:
Aaron $1,600 + $1 = $1,601 (What is Mt. Suribachi (on Iwo Jima) Bring back the Sonics!)
Liam $6,200 – $6,200 = $0 (What is Iwo Jima?)
Tom $19,400 – $0 = $19,400 (What is Mt. Fuji Iwo Jima) (Semi-Finalist)
Chances of winning Tournament of Champions:
Scott Riccardi: 18.254%
Laura Faddah: 3.807%
Paolo Pasco: 14.478%
Tom Devlin: 13.871%
Andrew Hayes: 3.419%
Brendan Liaw: 3.204%
Allegra Kuney: 4.491%
Bryce Wargin: 2.543%
Cameron Berry: 3.493%
Ben Ganger: 4.372%
Ashley Chan: 2.327%
W. Kamau Bell: 1.619%
Alex DeFrank: 6.210%
Steven Olson: 5.022%
Josh Weikert: 2.122%
Matt Massie: 4.313%
Lisa Ann Walter: 1.261%
Mike Dawson: 2.344%
TJ Fisher: 2.850%
Andy’s Thoughts:
- WILX (Onondaga, MI) did air the game at 11:30 AM Eastern this morning.
- Despite Tom’s runaway, Daily Doubles are still incredibly important in modern Jeopardy, as evidenced by the fact that Aaron came a Daily Double response away from winning this game, despite the very wide disparity in correct response totals and Coryat score between Aaron and Tom.
- A reminder (as I have to say this every time this comes up): the show’s rules are that if a response is already in the form of a question—much like the 1995 Oasis album title—it does not need to be doubly phrased as a question. I realize there are potentially viewers who are less neurotypical and this may upset their sensibilities, but the show’s rules disagree.
- Due to the fact that this is a runaway game, no wagering suggestions will be posted.
- Today’s J!6 clues can be found at the monthly archive.
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