Ben Affleck and Jamie Ding win $1 million for Eastern Congo Initiative

Jamie Ding has answered thousands of trivia questions throughout his career, including a streak of 31 consecutive Jeopardy! wins earlier this year that earned him $882,605. Yet, when $1 million was on the line during a Wednesday, July 29 appearance on Celebrity Who Wants to Be a Millionaire, the champion admitted he nearly froze.

The victory, which secured $1 million for the Eastern Congo Initiative, was less a triumph of academic recall and more a result of Ben Affleck's decisive composure. While Ding provided the knowledge, the 53-year-old Oscar winner provided the momentum necessary to prevent the team from being immobilised by indecision, according to Ding via Ibtimes.

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The stakes for the pair — who described their partnership as kind of an arranged marriage since they had never met before the show — were severe. With two questions remaining, a single incorrect answer would have slashed their winnings from $500,000 to $32,000.

The first critical hurdle arrived at the $500,000 mark. The question asked which achievement occurred just two months after The New York Times claimed it would not happen for 1 million to 10 million years. Affleck immediately pushed for the first airplane flight. He explained to the team that he remembered this specific fact because he had previously spent time researching examples of the press getting things wrong. His specific memory cleared the way for the final question.

The jackpot question focused on the annual White House turkey pardon, asking which of four options, Peanut Butter and Jelly, Tater and Tot, Mac and Cheese, or Spaghetti and Meatball, had not been the name of a pardoned turkey.

The team's path to the answer was erratic:

• Host Jimmy Kimmel suggested Spaghetti and Meatball, reasoning that it did not sound familiar and joking that he could visualize Donald Trump slurping up the spaghetti and meatballs.
• Despite Kimmel's lead, the team used a Phone-A-Friend lifeline to contact Stephen Morrison, a long-time trivia teammate of Ding.
• The call ended when time expired, with Morrison offering only that any answer would be a wild guess.

Faced with a useless expert call and a comedian's hunch, the pair chose to trust Kimmel's logic. Ding noted that Kimmel's answer made sense and did not feel like a guess. They risked another $468,000 by locking in Spaghetti and Meatball, which was confirmed as correct.

The win allows Affleck to match the achievement of his long-time collaborator Matt Damon, who won the top prize last year alongside Ken Jennings for Water.org. Affleck's winnings go to the Eastern Congo Initiative, a non-profit he co-founded with Whitney Williams in 2010. The organization focuses on funding community-based organizations to expand essential services and economic opportunities in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Affleck stated the funds are currently designed in large part to help contain the spread of Ebola in the region.

While Affleck playfully claimed it was an honor to ride Jamie's coattails all the way, Ding maintains that Affleck's ability to stay calm and drive the decision-making process was the catalyst for the win. The victory concludes a high-pressure outing for Ding, who is now transitioning back to his handwritten study routine as he prepares for the Jeopardy! Tournament of Champions, specifically focusing on strengthening his geography knowledge.

Strategic Decisions and Charity Impact

The path to the jackpot was not linear. According to Asiaone, Affleck initially suggested using the Ask-The-Host lifeline before the pair contacted Stephen Morrison. Affleck encouraged Jimmy Kimmel to weigh in, stating that Kimmel was very good with cooking and food, current events, too. While Kimmel’s recommendation of Spaghetti and Meatball provided the eventual solution, the team still proceeded with the Phone-A-Friend call to Morrison. During the introduction, Ding noted that he and Morrison were only two years apart and had faced trials and tribulations together, jokingly comparing their bond to that of Affleck and Matt Damon.

Despite the risks, the pair refused to walk away. Ding later told Ibtimes that they never seriously considered taking the guaranteed $500,000 because they both wanted to go for glory.

The financial windfall is intended to create scalable, sustainable impact across eastern Congo, as stated on the organization's website. Affleck, who has worked with the non-profit for approximately 15 years, noted that the funds are specifically designed to help relieve the current Ebola crisis in the region.

For Ding, the high-pressure environment of the ABC studio is a temporary detour. Having already earned $882,605 from his 31-game winning streak on Jeopardy!, his focus now returns to his academic preparations. The next step for the champion is the Jeopardy! Tournament of Champions, where he intends to employ his handwritten study routine with a specific emphasis on improving his geography knowledge.