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This Week's Contestants

2025-26 Second Chance – Week 1 Preview

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Current Champion

Matthew Riggle, career statistics:
47 correct, 6 incorrect
1/1 on rebound attempts (on 4 rebound opportunities)
41.23% in first on buzzer (47/114)
3/3 on Daily Doubles (Net Earned: $7,600)
1/2 in Final Jeopardy
Average Coryat: $21,300

To win:
3 games: 68.027%
4: 46.277%
5: 31.481%
6: 21.415%
7: 14.568%
Avg. streak: 4.128 games.
(Next game: September 14)
(Click Here for Methodology)

Upcoming Encore Presentations

August 12: S42 E98 (January 21, 2026)
August 13: S42 E99 (January 22, 2026)
August 14: S42 E100 (January 23, 2026)
August 15-16: S41 E141 (March 24, 2025)
August 17: S42 E101 (January 26, 2026)
August 18: S42 E105 (January 30, 2026)
August 19: S42 E102 (January 27, 2026)
August 20: S42 E103 (January 28, 2026)
August 21: S42 E104 (January 29, 2026)
August 22-23: S41 E142 (March 25, 2025)
August 24: S42 E106 (February 2, 2026)
August 25: S42 E107 (February 3, 2026)
August 26: S42 E108 (February 4, 2026)
August 27: S42 E109 (February 5, 2026)
August 28: S42 E110 (February 6, 2026)
August 29-30: S41 E143 (March 26, 2025)
(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 $1,098,403
7. Mattea Roach $897,983
8. Jamie Ding $885,605
9. David Madden $785,733
10. Victoria Groce $773,801
11. Cris Pannullo $754,286
12. Roger Craig $706,200
13. Larissa Kelly $671,930
14. Matt Jackson $623,612
15. Jason Zuffranieri $549,496
16. Andrew He $534,365
17. Scott Riccardi $533,000
18. Jerome Vered $499,102
19. Julia Collins $495,767
20. Austin Rogers $493,000
21. Ben Ingram $449,201
22. Paolo Pasco $448,717
23. Adriana Harmeyer $446,600
24. Buzzy Cohen $441,603
25. Juveria Zaheer $441,000

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It’s playoff time! The final road to the 33rd Tournament of Champions begins tomorrow with our first week of Second Chance. Which of these nine players will make their way through the week and end up at Champions Wildcard, beginning January 5?
As always, predictions have been done by the Unified Prediction Model.
You may also be wondering why this content has not been “TJ!F Plus” protected. As of now, I have decided to delay post-locking until January 5 and the start of Champions Wildcard.

Monday, December 15, 2025:

Erik Nielsen
Hollywood, California
Original appearance: September 25, 2025

Erik Nielsen on Jeopardy!


18 correct, 4 incorrect
2/3 on rebound attempts (on 7 rebound opportunities)
29.82% in first on buzzer (17/57)
1/1 on Daily Doubles (Net Earned: $2,300)
0/1 in Final Jeopardy
Average Coryat: $12,000

34.175% to advance to final
10.808% to win Second Chance

Erik got “The Call” on very short notice and fought valiantly against 4-time champion Steven Olson and Champions Wildcard participant Vickie Talvola.

Erin Li
New York, New York
Original appearance: April 7, 2025

Erin Li on Jeopardy!


19 correct, 2 incorrect
1/1 on rebound attempts (on 4 rebound opportunities)
31.58% in first on buzzer (18/57)
1/1 on Daily Doubles (Net Earned: $3,000)
0/1 in Final Jeopardy
Average Coryat: $14,000

36.228% to advance to final
12.069% to win Second Chance

In Mike Dawson’s second victory, Erin made a big Final Jeopardy bet when she might have been better off going for a small one—even moreso after Final ended up being a Triple Stumper.

Eugene Huang
Paramus, New Jersey
Original appearance: March 25, 2025

Eugene Huang on Jeopardy!


20 correct, 2 incorrect
4/4 on rebound attempts (on 6 rebound opportunities)
28.07% in first on buzzer (16/57)
0/2 on Daily Doubles (Net Earned: -$5,000)
1/1 in Final Jeopardy
Average Coryat: $15,600

29.597% to advance to final
7.821% to win Second Chance

In Josh Weikert’s third game, Eugene missed a pair of Daily Doubles; his 20 correct responses, though, saw him through to Second Chance.

(Content continues 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!

Tuesday, December 16, 2025:

Dave Widmayer
Portland, Oregon
Original appearance: April 10, 2025

Dave Widmayer on Jeopardy!


23 correct, 6 incorrect
3/4 on rebound attempts (on 8 rebound opportunities)
38.60% in first on buzzer (22/57)
2/2 on Daily Doubles (Net Earned: $5,200)
0/1 in Final Jeopardy
Average Coryat: $17,000

37.409% to advance to final
14.316% to win Second Chance

Dave was leading ToCer Andrew Hayes entering Final Jeopardy, but a singleton get from Andrew ended Dave’s chances of victory. A $17,000 Coryat, though, makes Dave the overall favorite to take victory in Week 1.

Evan Argyle
Salt Lake City, Utah
Original appearance: October 14, 2025

Evan Argyle on Jeopardy!


25 correct, 5 incorrect
3/4 on rebound attempts (on 7 rebound opportunities)
42.11% in first on buzzer (24/57)
1/1 on Daily Doubles (Net Earned: $3,000)
0/1 in Final Jeopardy
Average Coryat: $15,600

32.314% to advance to final
11.002% to win Second Chance

Evan was a Final Jeopardy away from victory back in October; his 25 correct means he’s back for Second Chance.

Ivanna Lopez
Tampa, Florida
Original appearance: July 16, 2025

Ivanna Lopez on Jeopardy!


19 correct, 3 incorrect
0/0 on rebound attempts (on 3 rebound opportunities)
36.84% in first on buzzer (21/57)
0/0 on Daily Doubles
0/1 in Final Jeopardy
Average Coryat: $13,800

30.277% to advance to final
10.158% to win Second Chance

Ivanna Lopez put up a strong performance in Scott Riccardi’s 10th game in order to garner a Second Chance invitation.

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.

Wednesday, December 17, 2025:

Pete Johnston
Alma, Michigan
Original appearance: July 15, 2025

Pete Johnston on Jeopardy!


21 correct, 2 incorrect
1/2 on rebound attempts (on 2 rebound opportunities)
35.09% in first on buzzer (20/57)
0/0 on Daily Doubles
1/1 in Final Jeopardy
Average Coryat: $15,600

37.145% to advance to final
13.849% to win Second Chance

The day before Ivanna, Pete got past the 20-correct mark against Scott Riccardi and forced a correct answer from Scott in Final in order to pick up win #9.

Allison Willard
Weddington, North Carolina
Original appearance: March 31, 2025

Allison Willard on Jeopardy!


19 correct, 6 incorrect
3/3 on rebound attempts (on 4 rebound opportunities)
35.09% in first on buzzer (20/57)
1/1 on Daily Doubles (Net Earned: $2,000)
0/1 in Final Jeopardy
Average Coryat: $11,000

29.288% to advance to final
8.764% to win Second Chance

Allison picked up a five-figure Coryat against a pair of ToCers in Bryce Wargin & Josh Weikert.

Chris Turner-Neal
New Orleans, Louisiana
Original appearance: October 8, 2025

Chris Turner-Neal on Jeopardy!


23 correct, 4 incorrect
3/3 on rebound attempts (on 8 rebound opportunities)
38.60% in first on buzzer (22/57)
0/1 on Daily Doubles (Net Earned: -$1,500)
1/1 in Final Jeopardy
Average Coryat: $14,200

33.567% to advance to final
11.213% to win Second Chance

Chris had one of the biggest heartbreaks of early Season 42; he was correct in Final, when leading—but he didn’t make the cover bet in Final, leading to TJ Fisher picking up win #5. It’s always interesting to see what the lack of a cover bet will do to a player in Second Chance.


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