recaps
Season 42
Today’s Final Jeopardy – Thursday, September 18, 2025
Warning: This page contains spoilers for the September 18, 2025, game ofJeopardy!— 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.
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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Here’s today’s Final Jeopardy (in the category Award Winners) for Thursday, September 18, 2025 (Season 42, Game 9):
He became the first person to win both an Olympic medal & an Academy Award thanks to a short film he made about his sport
(correct response beneath the contestants)
Today’s Jeopardy! contestants:
Kelly Anneken, a content designer from Alameda, California
Greg Shipman, a geoscience cartographer from Houston, Texas
Paolo Pasco, a puzzle writer originally from San Diego, California (6-day total: $162,117)
Andy’s Pregame Thoughts:
Paolo Pasco goes for victory #7 today on Jeopardy! after a closely fought victory yesterday in which he didn’t find a single Daily Double. His challengers today include Greg Shipman and a familiar name to Jeopardy! fans in Kelly Anneken; Kelly would be known to Jeopardy! fans as Amy Schneider’s ex-wife and podcast co-host.
In the aftermath of the extremely controversial firing of Jimmy Kimmel last night, this is also the first time where I actually fear that my predictions last November—that Jeopardy! might be immune from political interference due to the “bread and circuses” theory—might not be as correct as I initially thought. Remembering that Nexstar controls 37 affiliates that air the show (a number that would go over 50 if its merger with Tegna is approved) and the recent capitulation by the major broadcast networks at nearly every opportunity, I don’t think I have ever been as worried for my own job as I have been over the past month. (And to those of you who watch on an affiliate that’s part of the ABC network and are choosing to boycott that network: while this website is not intended to serve as a substitute for watching the show, there is a daily recap of each episode here at The Jeopardy! Fan.)
(Content continues below)
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.
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Correct response: Who is Kobe Bryant?
More information about Final Jeopardy:
(The following write-up is original content and is copyright 2025 The Jeopardy! Fan. It may not be copied without linked attribution back to this page.)
Professional basketball legend Kobe Bryant, who won a pair of Olympic gold medals as a member of the 2008 and 2012 Olympic basketball teams, won his Oscar for the 2017 animated short film Dear Basketball.
Honestly, I think that this clue, as it’s been presented for Clue of the Day, is missing one more clue to be in the “sweet spot”; I think that if we’d been given a year/decade/even the 21st century, you’d eliminate a significant number of people guessing Johnny Weissmuller.
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Game Recap & Tonight’s Game Stats:
Looking to find out who won Jeopardy! today? Here’s the Thursday, September 18, 2025 Jeopardy! by the numbers, along with a recap:
Jeopardy! Round:
(Categories: Kentucky History; 80s Words In The OED; Communication Information; “Little” “Black” Books; A Basket Of Clues; Sketchy Characters)
Paolo got off to the best start, picking up 7 correct and leading after 15 clues. At the interviews, the scores were Paolo $5,600 Greg $3,000 Kelly $0.
Statistics at the first break (15 clues):
Paolo 7 correct 0 incorrect
Greg 4 correct 0 incorrect
Kelly 2 correct 2 incorrect
Today’s interviews:
Kelly was the first comedy curator for Pandora.
Greg often finds himself on TV at Texas Longhorns football games.
Paolo has a Canadian girlfriend; she hosts bar trivia in Toronto.
Paolo got the most number of clues correct, but Greg found the Daily Double, doubling up through it to have an $1,800 lead after 30 clues.
Statistics after the Jeopardy round:
Greg 9 correct 0 incorrect
Paolo 14 correct 0 incorrect
Kelly 5 correct 2 incorrect
Scores after the Jeopardy! Round:
Greg $9,600
Paolo $7,800
Kelly $1,400
Double Jeopardy! Round:
(Categories: World Capitals; First Names; In Theory; Sax Tracks; Gendered Language?; Sketchy Characters)
Clue 1: Kelly found the Daily Double. Clue 2: Kelly picked the same category. Clue 3: Paolo found the last Daily Double. Paolo picked up $5,100 and 13 other correct responses in the round to cruise to a runaway going into clue #61.
Statistics after Double Jeopardy:
Paolo 28 correct 0 incorrect
Greg 13 correct 1 incorrect
Kelly 14 correct 4 incorrect
Total number of unplayed clues this season: 0 (0 today).
Scores going into Final:
Paolo $29,300
Greg $12,400
Kelly $8,600
Both Greg and Paolo were correct in Final; Paolo is now a 7-day champion; will he get to #8 tomorrow? Find out then!
Tonight’s results:
Kelly $8,600 – $4,801 = $3,799 (Who is Lance Armstrong)
Greg $12,400 + $4,801 = $17,201 (Who is Kobe Bryant)
Paolo $29,300 + $4,300 = $33,600 (Who is Kobe Bryant?) (7-day total: $195,717)
Other Miscellaneous Game Statistics:
Daily Double locations:
1) KENTUCKY HISTORY $400 (clue #20)
Greg 4600 +4600 (Paolo 5600 Kelly 1200)
2) FIRST NAMES $1600 (clue #1)
Kelly 1400 +2000 (Paolo 7800 Greg 9600)
3) WORLD CAPITALS $1200 (clue #3, $31200 left on board)
Paolo 9800 +5100 (Greg 9600 Kelly 3400)
Overall Daily Double Efficiency for this game: 252
Clue Selection by Row, Before Daily Doubles Found:
J! Round:
Paolo 4 4 3 3 5 5 5 5 3 5
Greg 4 4 4 3 4 2*
Kelly 3 5 2 3
DJ! Round:
Paolo 3*
Greg
Kelly 4* 5†
† – selection in same category as Daily Double
Average Row of Clue Selection, Before Daily Doubles Found:
Paolo 4.09
Greg 3.50
Kelly 3.67
Unplayed clues:
J! Round: None!
DJ! Round: None!
Total Left On Board: $0
Number of clues left unrevealed this season: 0 (0.00 per episode average), 0 Daily Doubles
Game Stats:
Paolo $25,400 Coryat, 28 correct, 0 incorrect, 43.86% in first on buzzer (25/57), 2/2 on rebound attempts (on 4 rebound opportunities)
Greg $8,200 Coryat, 13 correct, 1 incorrect, 22.81% in first on buzzer (13/57), 0/0 on rebound attempts (on 3 rebound opportunities)
Kelly $8,200 Coryat, 14 correct, 4 incorrect, 28.07% in first on buzzer (16/57), 0/1 on rebound attempts (on 1 rebound opportunity)
Combined Coryat Score: $41,800
Lach Trash: $6,200 (on 5 Triple Stumpers)
Coryat lost to incorrect responses (less double-correct responses): $6,000
Lead Changes: 8
Times Tied: 2
Player Statistics:
Paolo Pasco, career statistics:
183 correct, 10 incorrect
8/8 on rebound attempts (on 23 rebound opportunities)
41.60% in first on buzzer (166/399)
10/12 on Daily Doubles (Net Earned: $25,600)
5/7 in Final Jeopardy
Average Coryat: $21,743
Greg Shipman, career statistics:
14 correct, 1 incorrect
0/0 on rebound attempts (on 3 rebound opportunities)
22.81% in first on buzzer (13/57)
1/1 on Daily Doubles (Net Earned: $4,600)
1/1 in Final Jeopardy
Average Coryat: $8,200
Kelly Anneken, career statistics:
14 correct, 5 incorrect
0/1 on rebound attempts (on 1 rebound opportunity)
28.07% in first on buzzer (16/57)
1/1 on Daily Doubles (Net Earned: $2,000)
0/1 in Final Jeopardy
Average Coryat: $8,200
Paolo Pasco, to win:
8 games: 69.308%
9: 48.036%
10: 33.293%
11: 23.075%
12: 15.993%
Avg. streak: 9.258 games.
Andy’s Thoughts:
Final Jeopardy! wagering suggestions:
(Scores: Paolo $29,300 Greg $12,400 Kelly $8,600)
Paolo: Bet no more than $4,499. (Actual bet: $4,300)
Greg: Cover bet over Kelly in the battle for second is $4,801. (Actual bet: $4,801)
Kelly: Playing for second here, bet no more than $999 and take second if Greg is incorrect. (Actual bet: $4,801)
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