'Wheel of Fortune' contestant loses out on car in bonus round puzzle, fans admit 'this was tough'
The player, Clint Ingalls' disastrous choice of letters gave him no chance in the end.
Sept. 2 2025, Published 12:45 p.m. ET
"Wheel of Fortune" bonus round puzzles have gained notoriety after leaving fans disappointed and depriving contestants of massive prizes, even after they perform well in previous rounds. One such difficult puzzle cost a player a chance to drive home in a brand new car, and left fans confused. The player, Clint Ingalls, made it to the finale after a controversial Triple Toss Up round, but he was stumped by a short puzzle with the answer, "Think Big," in the end, as his choice of letters turned out to be disastrous. While the fans thought that it was a tough puzzle, what upset them more was that Ingalls lost out on taking home a 2025 Ford Explorer.
Ingalls started the game with a flyer as he solved the first two puzzles to quickly rack up $16,650 in cash and a trip to Chicago. However, his rival Walker clawed back and came close to taking the lead after winning over $18,000 in cash and a tour of Northern Spain and Portugal.
It was eventually down to the Triple Toss Up round, where the puzzle, "Well Balanced Meal," stumped Ingalls. While Walker got the correct answer, she forgot to buzz in first, and the host, Ryan Seacrest, had to confer with the judges before handing out the win. In a controversial ruling, the judges ruled that Walker didn't win the round as she didn't buzz. “No, sorry, you gotta buzz in. 'Well-Balanced Meal’ was the correct answer, but you gotta use the little device," Seacrest said.
In the end, Ingalls emerged as the big winner of the night with $26,150 in cash and the trip to Chicago. Meanwhile, Walker finished in second place with $20,480 in cash and her exotic European trip.
Advancing to the Bonus Round, Ingalls chose the category "Phrase" for his final puzzle. After spinning the wheel, he picked out the prize envelope and faced a two-word puzzle. With the show's standard letters "R, S, T, L, N, E," filled in, Ingalls went on to choose the letters "G, A, M, and Y" as his additional letters. With this, the puzzle read, "T _ _ N _ _ _ G".
"Gonna be tough to get there with only three letters," Seacrest said before starting the ten-second timer. However, Ingalls was stumped, and the only guess he could make was "Thank You," which wasn't correct. After co-host Vanna White uncovered the answer, "Think Big," all Ingalls could say was "That's what I didn't do." To add to the heartbreak, Seacrest revealed that the player lost out on the 2025 Ford Explorer.
While the loss was upsetting, fans took to the comments to dissect the player's performance. "Definitely not enough letters to get it," wrote one fan, @zaidarodriguez8455, in the comments on YouTube. "This was tough. I couldn't get this one," @richardhernandez4490 added.
However, there were some who thought the puzzle was still solvable. "I knew it said Think big once the G popped up," wrote @Jason11653.
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