Ben Affleck and former Jeopardy! standout Jamie Ding walked away from ABC’s revival of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire with the top prize — a cool $1,000,000 — won on behalf of the Eastern Congo Initiative, a charity Affleck co-founded. The victory came on the 29 July episode of the prime-time quiz, which airs Wednesdays at 8pm ET/PT.
Two complementary players, one big win
The pairing was notable: Affleck, the Oscar-winning actor, and Ding, who rose to prominence on Jeopardy! after a 31-game winning streak that netted him $882,605 when it aired between March and April. The two had not met before being teamed on Millionaire, and their collaboration proved successful as they answered all 15 multiple-choice questions correctly.
Ding said he felt upbeat going into the show and grateful for Affleck’s presence. Dressed, as he noted, in an orange-faced Doxa watch bought with his Jeopardy! winnings, Ding described the partnership with a touch of humour:
"We were kind of an arranged marriage," he joked.
According to Ding, the team entered the episode with only two questions separating them from the jackpot and retained all three lifelines — 50/50, phone a friend and the option to ask the host, Jimmy Kimmel. The pair’s composure under pressure mattered: Ding admitted that by the end he felt nervous because a single error would have dropped their guaranteed sum back to $32,000.
Who made the final calls?
Ding said Affleck took on a more decisive role as the stakes rose. Where Ding feared he might be “immobilised by indecision,” Affleck’s urgings pushed them forward on a number of key moments. Affleck’s instinct paid off on the $500,000 question, which asked what achievement occurred shortly after The New York Times had predicted it would not happen for “one million to ten million years.” Affleck’s hunch was that the correct answer was the first aeroplane flight, and that choice proved to be the right one.
The pairing follows a recent run of celebrity appearances on the format: last season Affleck’s close friend Matt Damon took part with Ken Jennings — the Jeopardy! legend who has since become Millionaire’s current host — and Damon and Jennings claimed the million-dollar prize. Affleck, it seems, was intent on making his own mark when the current season resumed on 22 July.
Prize, lifelines and context
The win delivers a seven-figure donation to a cause Affleck has long supported. The Eastern Congo Initiative focuses on economic development and humanitarian support in the Democratic Republic of Congo; Affleck is a co-founder. The contest itself offered the classic Millionaire safety net structure, which the duo used to navigate the later, riskier questions.
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| Prized amount | $1,000,000 (for Eastern Congo Initiative) |
| Contestants | Ben Affleck & Jamie Ding |
| Remaining lifelines at final stretch | 50/50, phone a friend, ask the host |
| Guaranteed minimum if one answer had been wrong late | $32,000 |
- Jamie Ding is a Jeopardy! Leaderboard of Legends alum with a 31-game streak worth $882,605.
- Affleck has previously appeared on the show in the same season that saw Matt Damon and Ken Jennings win $1m.
- The victory benefits the Eastern Congo Initiative, a charity Affleck co-founded.
The victory caps a high-profile, cross-pollination of American quiz culture: a Jeopardy! luminary pairing with a Hollywood star on one of television’s most familiar formats. For viewers, it offered the comforting spectacle of teamwork converting knowledge and instinct into tangible support for a philanthropic cause. For Affleck and Ding, it was a reminder that on television, as in life, the right companion at the right moment can make all the difference.
