Today’s Final Jeopardy – Friday, January 16, 2026

Join TJF Plus

Get free access to all of our articles. Register a free account for TJF Plus.

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

DISCLAIMER

The Jeopardy! Fan is created by fans, for fans. The Jeopardy! game show and all elements thereof, including but not limited to copyright and trademark thereto, are the property of Jeopardy Productions, Inc. and are protected under law. This website is not affiliated with, sponsored by, or operated by Jeopardy Productions, Inc.

Warning: This page contains spoilers for the January 16, 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.

Attention: There is also a new “Daily Details” post accompanying this game. If you’re looking for more detailed thoughts and statistics about today’s game of Jeopardy!, as well as the ability to leave a comment, make sure to check them out here! (Note that the page is only viewable to logged-in free subscribers to TJF Plus.)

Here’s today’s Final Jeopardy (in the category American Novelists) for Friday, January 16, 2026 (Season 42, Game 95):

This author’s wish to use different ink colors to represent multiple POVs was granted in 2012, 83 years after the novel’s publication

(correct response beneath the contestants)

Today’s Jeopardy! contestants:

Stella Trout, a software engineer originally from Houston, Texas (Yesterday’s total: $12,800)

Jonathan Hugendubler, an adjunct professor & trivia host from Baltimore, Maryland (Yesterday’s total: $1,200)

Cameron Berry, a data analyst & college administrator from Brighton, Massachusetts (Yesterday’s total: $10,000)

Andy’s Pregame Thoughts:

We are halfway through our two-game total-point affair here at Champions Wildcard; Stella Trout leads at the midpoint, with Cameron Berry second and Jonathan Hugendubler third. However, things are still very close—Stella’s “effective lead” is just $1,400 over Cameron and $5,800 over Jonathan—anything can happen on Day 2!

Correct response: Who is William Faulkner?

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.)

Upon the publication of his The Sound and the Fury in 1929, William Faulkner wrote, “If I could only get it printed the way it ought to be with different color types for the different times in Benjy’s section recording the flow of events for him, it would make it simpler, probably. I don’t reckon, though, it’ll ever be printed that way, and this’ll have to be the best, with the italics indicating the changes of events”. It took until 2012 for a version of the novel to be printed in multiple colors as Faulkner wished, thanks to the assistance provided by Faulkner scholars.

For me, I reasoned it out from thinking, “Which author of the late 1920s and early 1930s was most likely to make a more eccentric request?” After all, the show has used Faulkner’s eccentricities as clue fodder before—I vividly remember a Final from many years ago referencing the coffin pictogram from As I Lay Dying. It will be interesting to see which of our players either knew this or were able to reason it out.

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.

Game Recap:

Stella Trout was playing well in Double Jeopardy when she found the game’s last Daily Double. Making the correct decision to try for victory on that Daily Double instead of Final Jeopardy (as Daily Doubles, on average, are easier clues than Final Jeopardy clues are), an unfortunate incorrect response reset her score to $0. While she recovered well, the Daily Double miss did give Cameron the advantage entering Final Jeopardy.

Final Jeopardy turned out to be a Triple Stumper—and when the wagers and final scores were revealed, it turned out that Cameron Berry was headed to the Tournament of Champions.

Scores going into Final:

Jonathan $12,000
Cameron $10,000
Stella $6,400

Tonight’s results:

Stella $6,400 – $6,300 = $100 + $12,800 = $12,900 (Who is Walker?)
Cameron $10,000 – $5,601 = $4,399 + $10,000 = $14,399 (Who is Stein?)
Jonathan $12,000 – $12,000 = $0 + $1,200 = $1,200 (Who is Fitzgerald?)

If you are looking for more detailed statistics about today’s game of Jeopardy!, as well as the ability to leave a comment, make sure to check out the Daily Details section.

Andy’s Thoughts:

• There are going to be a lot of misinformed wagering opinions tonight on the Internet from people who don’t understand why players bet the way that they did. I would like to unequivocally state that none of our three players made a mistake with their wagers on either of the Daily Doubles or on Final Jeopardy and that any sort of results-based opinion from others comes entirely with the benefit of hindsight. In my opinion, Stella was 100% correct in going for an outright victory on the Daily Double instead of hoping for Final Jeopardy, as contestants have a better get rate on Daily Doubles compared to Final Jeopardy. Moreover, as you’ll see below, Jonathan’s score yesterday forced an all-in bet to give him a chance of victory, which then forces a cover bet out of Stella in Final.
• Today’s J!6 clues can be found at the monthly archive.

Final Jeopardy! wagering suggestions:

(Scores: Cameron $10,000 ($10,000) Jonathan $12,000 ($1,200) Stella $6,400 ($12,800))
Cameron’s current score: $20,000
Cameron’s maximum possible score: $30,000
Jonathan’s current score: $13,200
Jonathan’s maximum possible score: $25,200
Stella’s current score: $19,200
Stella’s maximum possible score: $25,600

Cameron: In order to cover Stella’s maximum possible 2-day score, bet $5,601. You should probably do this, because Jonathan’s all-in bet puts Stella in a position to potentially have to cover—which plays very much to your advantage if there’s a Triple Stumper. (Actual bet: $5,601)

Jonathan: If Cameron bets to cover Stella and is incorrect, he falls to $14,399. Since that is lower than your correct score, you might as well go all in to force Stella to make a cover bet against you. (Actual bet: $12,000)

Stella: You are in essentially the two-day equivalent of “Stratton’s Dilemma” in that you can’t both cover Jonathan and win a Triple Stumper. Because Jonathan has reason to go all in, this is usually resolved by making the cover bet of at least $6,001. However, if do you want to play the risk of being overtaken from behind by Jonathan, the play in that case would be to bet $0, punt Final, and pray for a hard clue. (Actual bet: $6,300)

---

The new TJ!F Plus section is active! In order to get the Daily Details of each episode coming soon, as well as the ability to comment on posts site-wide, make sure to register for your account! It should be noted that if you have not registered for an account since December 13, 2025, that registration for a new account is necessary.

Did you accidentally get logged out of your TJ!F Plus account? Log in here!

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.

---