How much did Jamie Ding win on 'Who Wants to Be a Millionaire'? 'Jeopardy!' star teams up with Ben Affleck
'Who Wants to Be a Millionaire' returned for its fifth season last week and has been making dreams come true ever since. One of the most charming celebrity duos to take over the hot seat was 'Jeopardy!' superchampion Jamie Ding and Hollywood superstar Ben Affleck. The pair was playing to earn money for the actor's Eastern Congo Initiative. For those unaware, this is the first U.S.-based advocacy and grantmaking organization whose primary focus is helping the people of eastern Congo. The pair appeared during Wednesday's episode and put on an impressive show.
The episode was both an intriguing and funny state of affairs, as Jimmy Kimmel continued his Matt Damon jabs against his friend, Affleck. The duo used their first lifeline on the $32,000 question, which read, “Unless you specifically ask for more, which McDonald’s sandwich is served with half a slice of cheese?” More than half of the audience picked 'Filet-O-Fish,' and the duo chose that option. They and the audience were correct, which meant that their pursuit of a million dollars was still on.
Along with Kimmel's insults for Damon, Jamie Ding's recent 'Jeopardy!' heroics also took the spotlight in the episode. On being asked whether he got nervous during the high-pressure moments in such games, Ding had a simple answer. “On ‘Jeopardy!’ you can always say, ‘Oh, I was about to buzz in and say that.’ But on ‘Millionaire,’ if you don’t know it, then your ignorance is laid bare for the world to see,” Ding said. “That’s a nice way to think about it,” Affleck added. The pair had a smooth journey until they reached the $250,000 question, which read, "During the annual Spanish festival El Colacho, men dressed in devil costumes run and jump over what?”
Throughout the pair's run, Ding was the one taking the lead. However, for the $250,000 question, Affleck took the lead. He also rubbed salt in Kimmel's wound by saying he knew the answer to this question because of Damon's run on the show. He recalled that while watching Damon's episode, he was disappointed not to know the answer to a question about a New Year’s Eve tradition in Spain. This encouraged him to look into other Spanish customs, such as El Colacho. Hence, he overruled Ding's answer 'hot coals' and went with 'babies,' which proved to be correct. The premiere ended after the question, and fans had to wait a week to find out if the pair took home a million dollars.
The pair started the following episode with only two questions remaining in their quest for a million dollars and three lifelines intact: 50/50, phone a friend, and asking host Jimmy Kimmel. They reached the million-dollar question after Affleck was spot on with his answer to the 500k question, which read, “What achievement occurred just two months after a New York Times article said it wouldn’t happen for ‘one million to ten million years’?" Affleck again took the lead and chose 'the first airplane flight' from the options. “I only remember this because there was a time in my life where I spent time looking up examples that the press got things wrong,” the actor said. “Yeah, just randomly.” However, in the process, the duo used up their 50/50 lifeline.
The million-dollar question proved a difficult challenge for both Affleck and Ding. The question read, "In an annual Thanksgiving tradition, all but which of these have been the names of turkeys pardoned by a U.S. president?" The pair used up both of their remaining lifelines, taking help from Kimmel as well as longtime trivia teammate Stephen Morrison. “I do a bit about this every single year on the show,” Kimmel stated. “I feel like 'Spaghetti & Meatball' would’ve been something that I made jokes about. I could see, like, me adding a big bowl in Donald Trump’s hands and him slurping up the spaghetti and meatballs, you know? That one sounds like it wasn’t the one, to me.” The host added he wasn't completely confident. Morrison could not provide a solid answer.
Ultimately, the pair went with Kimmel's answer of 'Spaghetti & Meatball,' which proved correct. Both Affleck and Ding were overjoyed to win a million for the charity, and hugged each other as confetti fell on them. Ding later talked about the win to US Today. “I feel like I was quite nervous towards the end because it's a lot of money,” he shared about the pair's run. “I think that Ben was maybe a little more decisive towards the end. He was talking and getting us to move, where perhaps I would've just sat there for a while and been immobilized by indecision.” On being asked about his experience on both quiz shows, Ding shared that he found them both enjoyable. “The nice thing about ‘Millionaire’ is that it's over,” Ding shared. “With ‘Jeopardy!’ I guess everybody eventually loses. So there is that sting of defeat in every ‘Jeopardy!’ champion's memory, and there's none of that with ‘Millionaire.’ They're both wonderful feelings. I'm happy that I can have both of them.” 'Who Wants to Be a Millionaire Season 5' continues to air every Wednesday night on ABC.
