'played the chaser'
The Chase viewers outraged as contestant ‘hustles’ Mark Labbett out of £20k by ‘bending the rules’
THE Chase viewers were left outraged as a contestant "hustled" Mark Labbett out of £20,000 by "bending the rules" of the show.
Four new players had a cheeky win against the Chaser after one of the clever competitors went for the high offer at the table opposite Mark, 56.
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The latest instalment of the staple ITV quiz show saw Simon, Eraj, Amanda and Drina join forces and compete against the Mark.
Simon faced Mark first, but after a difficult quick-fire cash-builder round, only managed to answer one question correctly.
Stepping up to the podium with £1,000 in the kitty, Mark cheekily offered him an eye-watering £20,000 to move one step closer.
But to everyone's surprise, the offer backfired when Simon opted to give it a go - leaving Mark and host Bradley Walsh stunned.
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Bradley, 61, reassured the contestant he'd made the right choice, saying: "A grand. That's no reflection on your ability. You're better than that."
Viewers took to Twitter and couldn't believe Simon's bravery, and placing their bets on how quickly the contestant would be sent home.
"Other than the fact he's only got one grand," one wrote, as a second chimed in: "He got one. How is he a better player than that?"
"No, he's not a much better player than that he's awful," a third added.
But fans were quickly eating their words as Simon managed to pull back from his poor performance and answer all the questions correctly.
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Simon returned to his team with £20,000, leaving some viewers to speculate he may have played the game tactically.
Twitter users suggested the player had purposefully answered the questions wrong in the first round to get a higher offer.
"He definitely played the chaser to get a higher offer!" one wrote.
A second joked: "He’s hustled him there, what a guy!" as a third said: "Definitely a hustle there. Like it a lot."
"Simon bought a lottery ticket after the show and won £6 million…" a fourth viewer joked. "What a player. Well done Simon."
The team went into the Final Chase with an impressive £29,000 in the prize pot, and scored an average 16 points.
While it appeared they had not made enough correct answers to take home the prize, Mark made a few uncharacteristic errors.
Coming down to the final few seconds, the team were announced as the winners, and took home the £29k jackpot.
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After the big win, fans flooded Twitter to share their thoughts on "one of the most dramatic" finals seen ever on show.
Alongside an emoji of a grinning face, one person penned: "Wow. What an incredible final! I was literally screaming at the television."
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