Warning: This page contains spoilers for the January 29, 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 Bodies of Water) for Thursday, January 29, 2026 (Season 42, Game 104):
This body of water with over 1/3 of the world’s marine mammals, like the vaquita, has been called “the aquarium of the world”
(correct response beneath the contestants)
Today’s Jeopardy! contestants:
Ashley Chan, a publicist from Lewisville, Texas
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Cameron Berry, a data analyst & college administrator from Brighton, Massachusetts
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Paolo Pasco, a puzzle writer originally from San Diego, California
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Andy’s Pregame Thoughts:
Today sees the third and final semifinal of the 33rd Tournament of Champions; this game is between the seeded Paolo Pasco and quarterfinal winners Cameron Berry and Ashley Chan. Paolo does come in to this game as the favorite to advance to the finals and face Scott Riccardi and TJ Fisher, but as we’ve seen over the years, absolutely anything can happen. One thing that I do want to mention here after seeing the categories in J!6: the selection of “which board appears on which day” is done completely at random and with no knowledge of who the contestants are. Thus, it is just a fortuitous coincidence for someone named Cameron Berry to face a category called “I’m your ____berry” in Double Jeopardy.
An important scheduling note: in order to start the final on Monday, the exhibition game that was taped prior to the semifinals between Scott Riccardi, Laura Faddah, and Paolo Pasco will air tomorrow evening.
One thing that I don’t really think I’ve ever seen in a ratings discussion, whenever Wheel of Fortune and Jeopardy! are compared: Wheel of Fortune should dominate Jeopardy! in the ratings because Wheel has an inherent time slot advantage in a large portion of the United States. As a vestige of the time when Daytime Wheel of Fortune was a thing, and NBC wanted to avoid confusion between its network daytime offering and the syndicated offering which might air on a competing station in its local markets, the syndicated Wheel is required to air in prime access (between 7:00 and 8:00 Eastern/Pacific or between 6:00 and 7:00 Central and Mountain). Jeopardy! has no such restriction as there was no possibility of confusion, so Jeopardy! often gets pushed to the afternoon (or even late morning local time) in the Central Time Zone, especially in large markets such as Chicago or Houston. The fact that the two shows are actually generally close in viewership numbers in spite of Wheel‘s built-in advantages speaks to just how much viewers prefer Jeopardy, in my opinion.
(Content continues below)
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Correct response: What is the Gulf of California (Sea of Cortez)?
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.)
The Gulf of California (also known as the Sea of Cortez) is able to have such exceptional biodiversity because of its shape and location. Nearly 900 miles in length and extremely narrow, it is protected by the Baja Peninsula and mainland Mexico. Tidal mixing of the water also brings extremely nutrient-rich water to the surface, allowing for this extreme biodiversity. The nickname “The Aquarium of the World” was given to the area by Jacques Cousteau.
I like this clue as a “sometimes you just have to know things” clue for the Tournament of Champions. We’ll see how it plays in studio.
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Game Recap:
One of the most dramatic Jeopardy! games of all time saw a pair of large Daily Double wagers from both Paolo Pasco and Cameron Berry—Cameron getting his response in just in the nick of time—as the two were separated by less than $3,000 entering Final Jeopardy.
In Final, Paolo successfully predicted that it would be a hard Final, betting $0 from the lead and is now a finalist!
Scores going into Final:
Paolo $24,800
Cameron $22,000
Ashley $400
Tonight’s results:
Ashley $400 – $400 = $0 (What is Lake Baikal?)
Cameron $22,000 – $21,199 = $801 (What is the Mariana trench)
Paolo $24,800 – $0 = $24,800 (What a fun time! I dunno though sorry) (Finalist)
Chances of winning the Tournament of Champions:
Scott Riccardi: 46.573%
Paolo Pasco: 36.871%
TJ Fisher: 16.556%
Chances of 3 games: 12.287%
Chances of 4 games: 23.786%
Chances of 5 games: 30.122%
Chances of 6 games: 23.174%
Chances of 7 games: 10.631%
(The following chances will change as I will be including the exhibition game in the prediction model before the final.)
Andy’s Thoughts:
- I feel that at some point the betting meta is going to move more conservatively in Final Jeopardy—and the way to respond to that will be for the writers to make Final Jeopardy slightly easier in response.
- Today’s J!6 clues can be found at the monthly archive.
Final Jeopardy! wagering suggestions:
(Scores: Paolo $24,800 Cameron $22,000 Ashley $400)
Paolo: Standard cover bet here is $19,201. If you do want to force Cameron to be correct here, I would bet between $2 and $2,799—that way, he actually has to bet twice the score difference and just not just bet to pass you by $1. (Actual bet: $0)
Cameron: Your best chance of winning here comes with a bet between $5,601 (in case Paolo bets to force you to be right) and $16,399 (in case Paolo covers). (Actual bet: $21,199)
Ashley: You need a pair of overbets to have any hope. Bet whatever you like. (Actual bet: $400)
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