recaps

Season 42

(TJF Plus) Daily Details – Friday, May 15, 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.

Are you looking for today’s main page? Find that here!

Today’s Jeopardy! contestants:

Valerie Fulton, an attorney from Greenville, South Carolina

Valerie Fulton on Jeopardy!

Chayce Griffith, a professor of tree fruit physiology originally from Saline, Michigan

Chayce Griffith on Jeopardy!

Tristan Williams, a data scientist originally from Lincoln, Nebraska (7-day total: $132,900)

Tristan Williams on Jeopardy!

Andy’s Pregame Thoughts:

Tristan Williams is a 7-game Jeopardy! champion, having won $132,900 thus far. Today, he goes for win #8 against Chayce Griffith and Valerie Fulton. If Tristan were to lose today, my ToC tracker has Tristan at just over a 30% chance of receiving a bye to the semifinals of the next Tournament of Champions. Certainly, more wins would make his bye chances much higher, but what will Chayce and Valerie have to say about that?

In any case, today also sees Season 2, Episode 5 of Pop Culture Jeopardy! as well as the final of Celebrity Jeopardy! All-Stars.

(Content continues below)

Add The Jeopardy! Fan to your preferred sources on Google by clicking the button below!

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 23 players, including Caleb Groen, Adam Remsen, 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!

Final Jeopardy! Category: Play Characters

Final Jeopardy! Clue: This title character of an 1890 play is often called “the female Hamlet”

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 late 2026! All previous orders will still be supported.

Correct response: Who is Hedda Gabler?

More Information About Final Jeopardy!:

The most prominent recent calling of Henrik Ibsen’s Hedda Gabler as “the female Hamlet” comes from a 2025 BBC article. The article says “Hedda is often nicknamed the ‘female Hamlet’ because of her mercurial nature and vast, perhaps fathomless complexity, and the fact that the character has long been considered one of the greatest, if not the greatest, stage roles for women ever written.”

As Jeopardy! tends to go to the Ibsen well on a frequent basis, this definitely feels like a “if you want to study for the show, watch the show” Final Jeopardy clue. We shall see how it plays in studio.

Game Recap & Tonight’s Game Stats:

Looking to find out who won Jeopardy! today? Here’s the Friday, May 15, 2026 Jeopardy! by the numbers, along with a recap:

Jeopardy! Round:

(Categories: ____ Of ____: Literary Edition; The Elements; A Meat Cute; Song Sung “Blue”; The Old West; Expressions From The Sporting World)

Chayce got off to a hot start, but it was Tristan who led after 15 clues; scores at the interviews were Tristan $4,000 Chayce $3,200 Valerie $600.

Statistics at the first break (15 clues):

Tristan 6 correct 0 incorrect
Chayce 4 correct 0 incorrect
Valerie 3 correct 2 incorrect

Today’s interviews:

Valerie has taken part in the Governor’s Frog Jump in South Carolina.
Chayce works at Michigan State University.
Tristan encountered Counting Crows at the movie theatre.

The Daily Double was a bit of a softball question; that said, Tristan got it incorrect. He did recover, though, to re-take the lead by the end of the round. On the opening board, Tristan went 3/5 in ____ of ____ and the Old West.

Statistics after the Jeopardy round:

Tristan 11 correct 1 incorrect
Chayce 5 correct 1 incorrect
Valerie 7 correct 3 incorrect

Scores after the Jeopardy! Round:

Tristan $3,200
Chayce $3,000
Valerie $1,400

Double Jeopardy! Round:

(Categories: Civil War-Era Numbers; Wings; TV Title Towns; Let’s Talk About “X”; Peoples; Court)

Both Chayce and Tristan found Daily Doubles; both players probably could have been more aggressive on them. Tristan led going into Final, but the money left on the table meant Chayce was barely within two-thirds.

Statistics after Double Jeopardy:

Tristan 24 correct 3 incorrect
Chayce 15 correct 3 incorrect
Valerie 9 correct 5 incorrect
Total number of unplayed clues this season: 11 (0 today).

Scores going into Final:

Tristan $18,900
Chayce $12,800
Valerie $600

Although Chayce took the pressure off by betting way too much in Final, Tristan got through anyway as a result of his being the only player correct on that 61st clue, and he’s now an 8-time champion. He’ll go for #9 on Monday.

Tonight’s results:

Valerie $600 – $599 = $1 (Who is No clue! So fun!)
Chayce $12,800 – $8,000 = $4,800 (Who is Ophelia)
Tristan $18,900 + $6,701 = $25,601 (Who Hedda Gabler) (8-day total: $158,501)

Tristan Williams, today's Jeopardy! winner (for the May 15, 2026 game.)

Other Miscellaneous Game Statistics:

Daily Double locations:

1) EXPRESSIONS FROM THE SPORTING WORLD $600 (clue #16)
Tristan 4000 -3000 (Chayce 3200 Valerie 600)
2) PEOPLES $2000 (clue #8)
Chayce 7800 +3000 (Tristan 4800 Valerie 1000)
3) LET’S TALK ABOUT “X” $1200 (clue #14, $16400 left on board)
Tristan 6000 +4500 (Chayce 12000 Valerie -200)
Overall Daily Double Efficiency for this game: 38

Clue Selection by Row, Before Daily Doubles Found:

J! Round:
Tristan 4 3 4 4 5 4 3 4 3*
Chayce 5 4 5 2
Valerie 3 3 3

DJ! Round:
Tristan 4 3 3 3*
Chayce 4 4 3 4 5* 3 5 4
Valerie 2 2

Average Row of Clue Selection, Before Daily Doubles Found:

Tristan 3.62
Chayce 4.00
Valerie 2.60

Unplayed clues:

J! Round: None!
DJ! Round: None!
Total Left On Board: $0
Number of clues left unrevealed this season: 11 (0.06 per episode average), 0 Daily Doubles

Game Stats:

Tristan $18,600 Coryat, 24 correct, 3 incorrect, 38.60% in first on buzzer (22/57), 3/3 on rebound attempts (on 6 rebound opportunities)
Chayce $11,800 Coryat, 15 correct, 3 incorrect, 28.07% in first on buzzer (16/57), 0/1 on rebound attempts (on 6 rebound opportunities)
Valerie $600 Coryat, 9 correct, 5 incorrect, 22.81% in first on buzzer (13/57), 0/1 on rebound attempts (on 4 rebound opportunities)
Combined Coryat Score: $31,000
Lach Trash: $12,400 (on 11 Triple Stumpers)
Coryat lost to incorrect responses (less double-correct responses): $10,600
Lead Changes: 6
Times Tied: 4

Player Statistics:

Tristan Williams, career statistics:

198 correct, 31 incorrect
13/16 on rebound attempts (on 34 rebound opportunities)
41.01% in first on buzzer (187/456)
11/18 on Daily Doubles (Net Earned: $7,300)
4/8 in Final Jeopardy
Average Coryat: $19,300

Chayce Griffith, career statistics:

15 correct, 4 incorrect
0/1 on rebound attempts (on 6 rebound opportunities)
28.07% in first on buzzer (16/57)
1/1 on Daily Doubles (Net Earned: $3,000)
0/1 in Final Jeopardy
Average Coryat: $11,800

Valerie Fulton, career statistics:

9 correct, 6 incorrect
0/1 on rebound attempts (on 4 rebound opportunities)
22.81% in first on buzzer (13/57)
0/0 on Daily Doubles
0/1 in Final Jeopardy
Average Coryat: $600

Tristan Williams, to win:

9 games: 63.469%
10: 40.283%
11: 25.567%
12: 16.227%
13: 10.299%
Avg. streak: 9.737 games.

Andy’s Thoughts:

Final Jeopardy! wagering suggestions:

(Scores: Tristan $18,900 Chayce $12,800 Valerie $600)

Tristan: Standard cover bet is $6,701. (Actual bet: $6,701)

Chayce: If Tristan covers and is incorrect in Final, he falls to $12,199. Bet no more than $599 for your best chance of victory. (Actual bet: $8,000)

Valerie: Bet whatever you like; you need a miracle to have a chance. (Actual bet: $599)


Add The Jeopardy! Fan to your preferred sources on Google by clicking the button below!

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.
Powered by Labrador CMS