With a total of $240,500 in winnings thus far, law and policy student Caleb Groen has broken a record previously held by 31-game winner Jamie Ding.

9-day Jeopardy champ narrowly avoids defeat after flubbing ‘Final Jeopardy’

With a total of $240,500 in winnings thus far, law and policy student Caleb Groen has broken a record previously held by 31-game winner Jamie Ding.

By Ryan Coleman

Ryan Coleman

Ryan Coleman is a news writer for with previous work in MUBI Notebook, Slant, and the LA Review of Books.

EW's editorial guidelines

July 15, 2026 12:36 a.m. ET

Leave a Comment

9-day ‘Jeopardy’ champ Caleb Groen on the July 14 episode. Credit:

Jeopardy!/Instagram

- Reigning *Jeopardy *champion Caleb Groen nearly ended his streak after winning on eight episodes.

- Groen advanced to “Final Jeopardy” in the lead, but submitted an incorrect guess to a “Historic Books” clue.

- The law and policy student will compete for the 10th time on Wednesday, with $240,500 in total winnings.

*Jeopardy* has a new super-champ in the making, but a clue about a controversial religious leader nearly took him out of the running.

Caleb Groen, a 27-year-old law and policy student from Thousand Oaks, Calif., advanced to his ninth game on Tuesday with $220,500 in total winnings. This time around, he was up against real estate title examiner Patience Bruce and green tech company founder Khalid Kurji.

Groen maintained his lead to the end, acing clues about Russian imperialism, the geography of the Pacific Northwest, and the music of Frank Ocean. He entered the “Final Jeopardy” round with a whopping $23,000, while Bruce boasted $9,400 and Kurji tailed with $8,400. Groen has so far sailed through categories featuring clues about the arts, so the “Final Jeopardy” category of “Historic Books” should have been a slam dunk.

‘Jeopardy’ wishes happy 98th birthday to announcer of 42 years Johnny Gilbert

9 ‘Jeopardy’ mistakes that ignited fan outrage

After a final commercial break, host Ken Jennings read out Tuesday’s “Final Jeopardy” clue: “Ann Eliza Webb, an ex-spouse of this man, penned an expose about the experience titled *Wife Number 19*.”

Born Ann Eliza Young, the woman who eventually came to be known as Ann Eliza Webb Dee Young Denning was one of dozens of the wives Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints founder Joseph Smith’s had over his lifetime. Bruce was the only one who guessed correctly, doubling her total to $18,800.

“Caleb Groen, with that $23,000, hard to catch today,” Jennings said before getting to the climactic reveal. “Will he add to it? Was he thinking of Brigham Young?”

He was not. Groen wrote “Nabokov,” referring to the acclaimed Russian author Vladimir Nabokov, who was notably married to only one woman in his lifetime, Véra Evseyevna Slonim.

It didn’t matter; Groen wisely only wagered $3,000, bringing his total down to $20,000 — a mere $1,200 more than Bruce.

Groen walked away from the episode with $240,000 in winnings, making him one of the highest earning winners of *Jeopardy*’s ongoing 42nd season.

***Get your daily dose of entertainment news, celebrity updates, and what to watch with our ******EW Dispatch newsletter******.***

Caleb Groen, Patience Bruce, and Khalid Kurji on ‘Jeopardy’.

Though he has a long way to go in beating the season’s current champ, Jamie Ding, who won a total of $882,605 during his 31-game winning streak earlier this year, Groen has already broken a couple of records.

As of July 10’s episode, Groen had answered all 13 “Daily Doubles” he encountered correctly, though that streak was broken on Tuesday after an incorrect guess on a clue about peat moss. Beyond that, Groen has already beaten Ding’s record for the highest final score. Ding previously held the top spot with $56,400, until July 9’s episode, when Groen walked away with $60,000.

- Reality Action Shows

Original Article on Source

Source: “EW Game”