Jamie Ding might have won the hearts of Jeopardy! fans, but what is he really like? His family opened up about the super champion after he won 25 games, and cemented himself as one of the greats.
As of April 17, Jamie has won 25 games, racked up over $700,000, broken records, and found his place on the Leaderboard of Legends. His younger sister, Jessie, told The Detroit News that she thought he would “crash and burn” after one game. “I didn’t want him to go on national TV and embarrass himself,” she said. “But, he didn’t!”
However, when the law student got a question about Detroit right, both Jessie and Jamie knew he was going to be fine. Although Ding lives in Lawrenceville, New Jersey now, he grew up in Michigan, where the rest of his family still lives. Ding cherishes the time he spent in the state and still has a Michigan area code for his phone number.
“Michigan was and is a wonderful place to be,” he said. “The emotional turning point of my first game was getting the clue about Belle Isle. After that, I felt like I was in the swing of things.”
His parents were surprised at how much he knows, even though they raised him and knew how he was growing up. “We know he knows a lot, but not this much,” his dad, Dr. Yuchuan Ding, told the outlet.
Before becoming one of Jeopardy!‘s greatest players ever, Ding was a bright child from the Detroit area who started reading at the age of three. “We provided him with all the possible materials we could. He’s always been very curious about everything,” Yuchaun said.
His dad shared that Jamie used to read every informational sign when they went to the zoo. Jamie also saved his family some money at the age of four when he told his parents that they were parked at a “No Parking” sign and told them to move their car.
“When he’s with us, we can’t do anything wrong. He’s our guide,” Jamie’s dad told The Detroit News.
Jamie competed in the Scripps National Spelling Bee, the National Geographic Bee, and the National Academic Quiz Tournaments’ high school championship. He also graduated from high school one year early.
Yuchaun and his mom, Ning, grew up in Beijing, so they didn’t watch Jeopardy! a lot, but now that their son is on a winning streak, they don’t miss an episode of the game show. His family said that even though they know the results, since they were in the audience for every taping, they still get nervous.
“My family is absolute heroes,” Jamie told the publication. “I would not be where I am today without their unconditional love and support. I’m very glad that I got to do something grand to make them proud.”
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