‘Jeopardy!’: Jamie Ding Gets Candid About Show & Being Rejected
Even the best get rejected before it’s their time to shine. Jamie Ding revealed that he was rejected from Jeopardy! in the past before becoming a 28-day (so far) champion.
Ding, from Lawrenceville, New Jersey, applied to be on the show all the way back in his senior year of high school. He tried to get a spot in the Teen Tournament after applying in person, but failed to get on the game show, according to the Philadelphia Inquirer.
Before applying to the Teen Tournament, Ding competed in the 2004 National Geographic Bee. He didn’t recognize host Alex Trebek, as he didn’t have his mustache that he sported earlier in his career (Ding only knew Trebek from video game where he had a mustache).
After that, the law student and bureaucrat took the Anytime Test every year, but without success. In October 2024, his luck changed when he was invited to take a second chance over Zoom. Two months later, Ding then landed a game-play audition. Then, one year later, he got the call to make his dream come true and be on the show.
“The luck of the timing worked out pretty well for me,” Ding told the outlet. “Twenty-three-year-old me would have done much worse.”
He filmed five episodes a day back-to-back in February at the Sony Pictures Studios in Culver City, California. Despite winning $774,601 so far, Ding shared that he has never been great at trivia. However, he was “blessed with quick recall skills.”
Ding shared that two factors help him during the game — hitting the buzzer quickly and reading the clues faster than host Ken Jennings reads them. “So by the time Ken was done reading, I usually knew where I’m going to answer, and I had enough time to prep to hit the buzzer correctly,” he shared. His intense study habits also prepared him for the clues.
Another aspect that brings him luck is consistently wearing orange. He shared early on that orange is his favorite color, and since then has worn some hue of orange on his top while playing the game. It just so happens that his alma mater, Princeton, also shares the color, so he can represent the school as well.
Ding learned quickly what wardrobe works on TV and what doesn’t. “If it’s too busy of a pattern, it won’t look good on TV. You also have to be emotionally prepared to learn about all the random stains or tiny holes in your clothing you never noticed before,” he told the publication.
As of April 21, Ding has made the top five all-time winnings in regular gameplay and eighth in all-time winnings, including tournaments. “I don’t know if it’s entirely sunk in,” Ding told The Inquirer. “I really love history, and it’s cool to be making some history myself.”
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