Who Wants To Be A Millionaire: Ben Affleck And Jamie Ding Win $1 Million Jackpot — Watch
During his "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire" run, Ben Affleck traded in longtime sidekick Matt Damon for "Jeopardy!" champion Jamie Ding — and it paid off.
In Wednesday's episode of the ABC game show, Affleck and Ding snagged the million-dollar prize after correctly guessing a question about a holiday ritual.
"In an annual Thanksgiving tradition, all but which of these have been pardoned by a U.S. president?" the final question read. Ding and Affleck were confronted by four choices: Peanut butter & Jelly; Tater & Tot; Mac & Cheese; and Spaghetti & Meatball.
Stumped by the final query, the pair opted to use their "Ask-the-Host" lifeline. Though Jimmy Kimmel wasn't 100% sure, he guessed "Spaghetti & Meatball." The duo went on to use their last lifeline, Phone-A-Friend. They called one of Jamie's Harvard-educated pals, but he couldn't even offer up a guess. In the end, the pair went with Kimmel's suggestion, and walked away with a $1 million donation to their selected charity, Eastern Congo Initiative. (Watch the winning moment below.)
Jamie Ding extends his winning streak
The "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire" win isn't Jamie Ding's first time mastering a game show.
Ding won 31 consecutive games on "Jeopardy!" earlier this year, delivering the fifth-longest winning streak in the show's history. In a single game, he responded to 45 clues correctly, tying a record set by host Ken Jennings during his 2004 streak. By the time he finished his run in April, Ding had earned more than $880,000 and was just one win short of tying James Holzhauer's historic 2019 run.
But he didn't just show off his trivia chops. He also quickly became a beloved TV icon, sharing charming facts about himself during breaks in the competition: His favorite color is orange, his favorite letter is "F," and his favorite number is 6, to name a few.
In the aftermath of his success, Ding has been profiled by the New York Times. The publication also deemed him a "Style Champion" thanks to his on-screen fashion and later named him one of the year's most stylish people.
Were you surprised that Ding and Ben Affleck walked away with the $1 million jackpot? Or were you expecting the "Jeopardy!" champion to pull off the feat? Sound off in the comments!