The studio had fallen into that peculiar quiet of a quiz show’s final moment, a hush broken only by a drumroll. Then the chime announced the correct answer, and Ben Affleck exploded from his chair. He threw his arms around Jamie Ding, his playing partner, as confetti showered down over the “Who Wants To Be a Millionaire” set. Host Jimmy Kimmel, who moments earlier had confessed to having a “strong stomach ache” over the million-dollar gamble, could finally exhale.

The question that nearly undid them was quintessential Americana: which pair of names had never been bestowed upon a turkey pardoned by a US president? The options: Peanut Butter & Jelly, Tater & Tot, Mac & Cheese, or Spaghetti & Meatball. Affleck and Ding, a 31-time “Jeopardy!” champion, were stumped. They chose to burn two lifelines. First they turned to Kimmel, a known food enthusiast, who imagined Donald Trump noisily slurping a bowl of spaghetti and meatballs before decreeing that Spaghetti & Meatball was probably not the answer—then, with palpable dread, suggested it was. A call to Ding’s trivia friend Stephen Morrison proved fruitless; Morrison refused to speculate. “I’m going to bet on Jimmy’s suggestion,” Affleck told Ding. They locked in their answer and waited through an agonising pause.

The chime confirmed Spaghetti & Meatball was correct, securing the full one-million-dollar prize. The money will go to the Eastern Congo Initiative, the charity Affleck co-founded in 2010 with Whitney Williams to aid Congolese communities. On the programme, he highlighted the ongoing Ebola crisis in the region, saying the funds were aimed at containing the outbreak.

Affleck and Ding become the fifth winners to reach the top prize since Kimmel took over the show in April 2020. Their success echoes that of Affleck’s close friend Matt Damon, who won exactly one million dollars in a July 2025 appearance alongside “Jeopardy!” host Ken Jennings, donating his winnings to Water.org. Ding’s trivia track record made him a formidable partner; his 31 consecutive “Jeopardy!” wins place him fifth on the all-time list, just behind Jennings himself. Kimmel later remarked that he thought Affleck, “a very smart person,” had been ready to play alone, but the duo’s complementary strengths turned out to be a winning formula.

The final image, replayed across social media, was of two men holding each other amid a blizzard of paper and relief—a million-dollar hug born of a well-placed trust in a host with a nervous stomach.