recaps

Season 42

Today’s Final Jeopardy – Friday, March 20, 2026

Published Modified

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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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Are you looking for today’s Celebrity Jeopardy! recap? Find that here!

Warning: This page contains spoilers for the March 20, 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 10:30 AM Eastern today in some U.S. television markets.

Here’s today’s Final Jeopardy (in the category Jargon) for Friday, March 20, 2026 (Season 42, Game 140):

Former NFL QB Joe Theismann once joked that he had shouted this word over 10,000 times, but had no idea what it meant

(correct response beneath the contestants)

Today’s Jeopardy! contestants:

David Ley, an immersive theater director originally from Ithaca, New York

David Ley on Jeopardy!

Sinecio Morales, a student originally from Rockford, Illinois

Sinecio Morales on Jeopardy!

Jamie Ding, a bureaucrat & law student from Lawrenceville, New Jersey (5-day total: $131,802)

Jamie Ding on Jeopardy!

Andy’s Pregame Thoughts:

Jamie Ding is now a 5-time champion; many years ago, he’d have been retired. But that isn’t any fun for ratings, really—and so he gets to see how many more he can win. David Ley and Sinecio Morales are your challengers hoping to stop him—and, if what I’ve heard from some quarters is any indication, Sinecio may well be primed to take down our champion. Sinecio also has a strong quiz bowl background, and with our champion having had his worst game statistically thus far, there’s a reasonable chance that our streak might end today.

If you watch the show on a CBS affiliate, March Madness coverage is very likely to interrupt your viewing experience today. Check your local listings, or Matt Carberry’s Google sheet. Much like yesterday, there are markets hat will be airing the show at 10:30 AM Eastern today (1.5 hours earlier than the usual “first airing” out of WBBJ in Jackson, TN); thus, results will be posted earlier than usual today. And, as always, if your station has pre-empted the show entirely, remember that you can watch tonight’s episode beginning tomorrow morning on both Hulu and Peacock. (Crave TV in Canada.)

Thirdly, today sees use getting bonus Jeopardy!, as the second quarterfinal of Celebrity Jeopardy! All-Stars airs tonight at 8:00 (7:00 Central) on ABC and CTV. Tonight’s quarterfinal will be between Macaulay Culkin, Steven Weber, and Jackie Tohn.

(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!

Correct response: What is “hut”?

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 use of the word “hut!” as an interjection originated in the military, as Merriam-Webster defines it as “used to mark a marching cadence”. By the 1950s, football quarterbacks decided to take the military term for their own use, as it was a short and sharp syllable easily audible over a distance. Prior to “hut”, the term “hike” was popular, with “hike” originating with John Heisman’s teams in the 1890s.

I’m quite enjoying the “stealth” sports questions as of late; this one should be very playable for a general audience. We’ll see how this plays in-studio, though.

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:

David Ley held the lead today between Daily Double 1 and Daily Double 3; unfortunately, it was Jamie who found the last Daily Double, re-took the lead, and led entering Final Jeopardy on the strength of seven rebounds.

Final Jeopardy saw David put the pressure on Jamie with a correct response, but Jamie was up to the challenge, picking up win #6; he’ll go for #7 on Monday.

Scores going into Final:

Jamie $19,400
David $15,200
Sinecio $10,200

Tonight’s results:

Sinecio $10,200 – $10,200 = $0 (What is blue?)
David $15,200 + $6,800 = $22,000 (What is hut?)
Jamie $19,400 + $11,001 = $30,401 (What is hut?) (6-day total: $162,203)

Jamie Ding, today's Jeopardy! winner (for the March 20, 2026 game.)

Game Stats:

Jamie $17,000 Coryat, 22 correct, 1 incorrect, 26.32% in first on buzzer (15/57), 7/7 on rebound attempts (on 9 rebound opportunities)
David $10,400 Coryat, 17 correct, 6 incorrect, 31.58% in first on buzzer (18/57), 0/3 on rebound attempts (on 7 rebound opportunities)
Sinecio $10,200 Coryat, 13 correct, 6 incorrect, 31.58% in first on buzzer (18/57), 1/1 on rebound attempts (on 4 rebound opportunities)
Combined Coryat Score: $37,600

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.

Jamie Ding, to win:

7 games: 66.826%
8: 44.657%
9: 29.843%
10: 19.943%
11: 13.327%
Avg. streak: 8.014 games.

Andy’s Thoughts:

Final Jeopardy! wagering suggestions:

(Scores: Jamie $19,400 David $15,200 Sinecio $10,200)

Jamie: Standard cover bet over David is $11,001. (Actual bet: $11,001)

Sinecio: If Jamie and David cover, you can win on a Triple Stumper if you bet no more than $199. (Actual bet: $10,200)

David: Standard cover bet over Sinecio is $5,201. (Actual bet: $6,800)


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