Today’s Final Jeopardy – Wednesday, August 20, 2025

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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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Here’s today’s Final Jeopardy (in the category The Ancients Speak) for Wednesday, August 20, 2025 (Season 41, Game 118):

He wrote, “I must make the founder of lovely & famous Athens the counterpart…to the father of…glorious Rome”

(correct response beneath the contestants)

Today’s Jeopardy! contestants:

Jonathan Fisher, an actor originally from Coral Gables, Florida

Rachael Schwartz, a scientist from Berkeley, California

Emily Sands, a benefits consultant from Chanhassen, Minnesota

Andy’s Pregame Thoughts:

The encore presentations of the summer of 2025 continue with this Jeopardy! Invitational Tournament quarterfinal between Emily Sands, Rachael Schwartz, and Jonathan Fisher. Here’s what I said back in February: “This is probably the singular most intriguing quarterfinal of the event, in my opinion. All three of these players are very strong statistics-wise per the Unified Prediction Model (and I should note that the Unified Prediction Model does not take attempts into account whatsoever—Emily has admitted in the past to “late attempts” at the end of one of a match whose outcome had already been determined in order to tip the statistical scales.) I would also say that Rachael–back in 1994 before any of these strategies had really been enumerated—made one of the best situational Final Jeopardy bets in the history of the show in her Tournament of Champions semifinal en route to winning that 1994 tournament.” Certainly, this was a very intriguing match that absolutely came down to wagering from the lead.

Correct response: Who is Plutarch?

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.)

In his The Parallel Lives, Plutarch wrote about 46 famous Greeks and Romans, paired in 23 groups of two. His first pairing was of the two famous founders—the Roman Romulus and the Greek Theseus “for both were of uncertain and obscure parentage, and got the reputation of descent from gods”.

You can find as complete a text as is possible to find at this point of Parallel Lives at the Loeb Classical Library.

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Game Recap & Tonight’s Game Stats:

Looking to find out who won Jeopardy! today? Here’s the Wednesday, August 20, 2025 Jeopardy! by the numbers, along with a recap:

Jeopardy! Round:

(Categories: Authors Not Authoring; Let’s Play Sports; Classical Music; Liquor Is Quicker; Lack Of Energy; I’m “Dragon” Today)

Rachael got off to an early lead by getting the Daily Double correct but Jonathan battled back to tie by the interviews; after 15 clues, the scores were Jonathan $2,400 Rachael $2,400 Emily $2,000.

Statistics at the first break (15 clues):

Jonathan 4 correct 1 incorrect
Rachael 4 correct 0 incorrect
Emily 5 correct 1 incorrect

Today’s interviews:

Jonathan had cousins that tried to edit Wikipedia during Jonathan’s run.
Rachael has been using her mom’s flashcards from the 1990s.
Emily made some friendship bracelets for the JIT field.

Jonathan’s and Emily’s incorrect responses kept their scores down while Rachael continued to lead.

Statistics after the Jeopardy round:

Rachael 6 correct 0 incorrect
Jonathan 8 correct 3 incorrect
Emily 9 correct 3 incorrect

Scores after the Jeopardy! Round:

Rachael $3,200
Jonathan $2,800
Emily $2,200

Double Jeopardy! Round:

(Categories: The ABCs Of Architecture; Broadway; Receding Heir-Lines; Tough Vocab; The Elements; Island Mountains)

Emily and Jonathan got to the two Daily Doubles; Emily went all-in, while Jonathan did not, leaving $2,000 on the table. As it was, Emily led going into Final Jeopardy by just $1,600.

Statistics after Double Jeopardy:

Emily 20 correct 4 incorrect
Jonathan 19 correct 6 incorrect
Rachael 8 correct 0 incorrect
Total number of unplayed clues this season: 26 (0 today).

Scores going into Final:

Emily $14,000
Jonathan $12,400
Rachael $6,000

This Final Jeopardy was a Triple Stumper; Emily successfully figured out that Jonathan was making a small bet, betting $0 herself—and advances to the semifinal as a result! What a finish!

Tonight’s results:

Rachael $6,000 – $5,000 = $1,000 (Who is Herodotus?)
Jonathan $12,400 – $399 = $12,001 (Who is Virgil?)
Emily $14,000 – $0 = $14,000 (Who? <3 you doug & dana!) (Semi-Finalist)

Other Miscellaneous Game Statistics:

Daily Double locations:

1) I’M “DRAGON” TODAY $600 (clue #4)
Rachael 1200 +1000 (Emily -800 Jonathan -800)
2) THE ELEMENTS $1600 (clue #2)
Emily 2200 +2200 (Rachael 3200 Jonathan 2800)
3) RECEDING HEIR-LINES $1200 (clue #11, $20400 left on board)
Jonathan 4400 +2400 (Emily 6800 Rachael 5200)
Overall Daily Double Efficiency for this game: 238

Clue Selection by Row, Before Daily Doubles Found:

J! Round:
Emily 3 4
Rachael 2 3*
Jonathan

DJ! Round:
Emily 3 4* 3 3 5 3
Rachael 2
Jonathan 4 5 4 3*

Average Row of Clue Selection, Before Daily Doubles Found:

Emily 3.50
Jonathan 4.00
Rachael 2.33

Unplayed clues:

J! Round: None!
DJ! Round: None!
Total Left On Board: $0
Number of clues left unrevealed this season: 26 (0.22 per episode average), 0 Daily Doubles

Game Stats:

Emily $13,400 Coryat, 20 correct, 4 incorrect, 35.09% in first on buzzer (20/57), 2/3 on rebound attempts (on 6 rebound opportunities)
Jonathan $11,200 Coryat, 19 correct, 6 incorrect, 42.11% in first on buzzer (24/57), 0/0 on rebound attempts (on 3 rebound opportunities)
Rachael $5,600 Coryat, 8 correct, 0 incorrect, 10.53% in first on buzzer (6/57), 1/1 on rebound attempts (on 9 rebound opportunities)
Combined Coryat Score: $30,200
Lach Trash: $14,000 (on 13 Triple Stumpers)
Coryat lost to incorrect responses (less double-correct responses): $9,800
Lead Changes: 8
Times Tied: 9

Player Statistics:

Emily Sands, career statistics:

245 correct, 43 incorrect
12/18 on rebound attempts (on 45 rebound opportunities)
38.52% in first on buzzer (240/623)
15/19 on Daily Doubles (Net Earned: $42,800)
6/11 in Final Jeopardy
Average Coryat: $14,982

Rachael Schwartz, career statistics:

262 correct, 30 incorrect
25/27 on rebound attempts (on 74 rebound opportunities)
29.47% in first on buzzer (234/794)
11/17 on Daily Doubles (Net Earned: $10,200)
8/14 in Final Jeopardy
Average Coryat: $14,714

Jonathan Fisher, career statistics:

350 correct, 48 incorrect
12/14 on rebound attempts (on 49 rebound opportunities)
44.15% in first on buzzer (351/795)
13/19 on Daily Doubles (Net Earned: $14,800)
8/14 in Final Jeopardy
Average Coryat: $19,500

Andy’s Thoughts:

• While my criticisms from back in February centered upon Rachael’s bet, with the benefit of six months, I don’t actually hate it as much as I did back in February. I still do think that “no more than $2,799” is best here, but I can see why she chose somewhere around $5,000, as had Jonathan chosen to bet $1,601, a bet of $5,000 does at least surpass Jonathan’s total if Rachael is correct and Jonathan isn’t.

Final Jeopardy! wagering suggestions:

(Scores: Emily $14,000 Jonathan $12,400 Rachael $6,000)

Emily: I’ll never fault a leader making the standard cover bet of $10,801 in this spot—you’re betting on yourself, and you’re at this level for a reason. However, if you really do think that Jonathan is going to make a bet to keep Rachael locked out, then a bet between $0 and $1,199 will stay ahead of that. (Actual bet: $0)

Rachael: I think your best chance of victory comes from a cover bet and a miss from Emily and an overbet and a miss from Jonathan. Bet no more than $2,799. (Actual bet: $5,000)

Jonathan: Bet $399 or less to keep Rachael locked out, and hope for a cover bet and a miss from Emily. (Actual bet: $399)

Updated JIT odds:

Matt +420
Jaskaran +670
Emily +1100
Raymond +4500
Troy +900
Jackie +3900
Maya +10000
Roger +1500
John +2200
Avi +10000
Amy +1300
Luigi +1900
Ray +4000
Robin +2500
Ryan +7700
Ben +1300
Claire +15000
Shane +2600
Seth +5300
Jackson +7800
Juveria +2000

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