Who won ‘Jeopardy!’ tonight? Latest champion and Final Jeopardy answer revealed
Kate Brody returned on 'Jeopardy!' on May 1 to defend her hard-earned title. Her competitors were Harsha Hebbale, a crash safety engineer from Michigan, and Stephanie Perkins, a Math teacher from Missouri. The three women gave their all throughout the game, and after several clues, one emerged as the victor. Perkins was dominant from first to last. However, there was one Daily Double where tables could have turned in Brody's favor. Unfortunately, Brody failed to extract victory in the round, and the trio entered the Final Jeopardy round with things pretty much set in stone. This time, the Final Jeopardy clue was from the category, 'PRODUCE,' and only one contestant could answer that.
Perkins sailed through the game with 22 correct responses, and the best first buzzer response amongst the three. The math teacher faltered only at one spot when she lost $4,000 on a Daily Double. Brody had the opportunity to get close to Perkins with the last Daily Double. The clue read, "Originally a grain futures exchange, the Chicago Board of Trade building is topped by a statue of this goddess." The answer was "Who is Ceres?" Brody, instead of giving the Roman name of the goddess, gave the Greek name and lost any hope of emerging as the winner.
Kate Brody’s time as a J! Champ was cut short by Stephanie Perkins who defeated her in a runaway game to become a @Jeopardy! champion with a 1 DAY cash winnings total of $16,600 and she gets to enjoy the weekend, relax and come back and play on Monday. #Jeopardy! 📺🟦💰 pic.twitter.com/FqKnGQtecE
— Jay (@Jay_3085) May 2, 2026
Perkins entered the Final Jeopardy round with $18,800, while Hebbale followed behind with $6,000 in her kitty, and Brody had just $2,800. These winnings implied that there was almost no way anyone would be able to topple Perkins, and she would indeed walk away as the winner. The Final Jeopardy clue read, "The name of this fruit commemorates an Australian gardener who died in her 70s in the 19th century." Only Hebbale provided the correct answer with "What is a Granny Smith apple?" The crash safety engineer had wagered $381 and hence walked away with $6,381. Perkins went in with a conservative wager of $2,200 and hence came out with $16,600. Brody bet it all, and the wrong answer plummeted her winnings to $0.
Just like that, 'Jeopardy!' now has a new champion. Perkins broke Brody's one-game streak as the champion to achieve this feat. Brody had previously dethroned Greg Shahade, who was on a two-game streak. Perkins will return to the show to defend her title on May 05. 'Jeopardy!' is a syndicated show that streams on both Hulu and Peacock.
