'Wheel of Fortune' player upsets fans after losing a car over redundant choice of letters

"Contestants need to stop choosing CDM as their consonants. Think outside the box," a fan reacted.

PUBLISHED DEC 31, 2025

Vanna White and contestant Cal on 'Wheel of Fortune' (Cover Image Source: YouTube | Wheel of Fortune)

"Wheel of Fortune" contestant named Cal had everything going for him right from the start. He aced the early rounds and entered the Bonus Round with $25,750. He then let in on a secret that his mother had been a player on the game show 30 years ago, and that he had learnt all the tricks from her. "My amazing mom, who actually was on the show 30 years ago and taught me everything about Wheel," he gushed before aiming for the grand prize - a brand new Hyundai Genesis car. But was Cal able to keep up to his mother's expectations?

During the first toss-up, "Rhyme Time," Cal successfully solved "Dress for Success". His winning streak continued in the Mystery Round, "The Next 50 Years." Cal went on to rightly guess "Winning a Trip to Mars" and took the lead with $6,850. The Prize Puzzle, "Events," was also won by Cal, who solved "A One-of-a-Kind Adventure". This win included a trip to TRS Coral in Mexico, valued at $11,500, bringing his total to $19,250. During the Triple Toss-Up, Cal correctly guessed the final one: "Seven Layer Dip". In the final puzzle round, "Fun and Games," he guessed "Playing Ice Hockey" rightly, accumulating a total of $25,750. This marked his entry into the Bonus Round.

Cal then introduced his mother and his girlfriend, Lauren, to the host Ryan Seacrest. Lauren mentioned that Cal "is quite competitive" and yet a "bad loser". Cal then goes on to choose the "Phrase" category for the grand prize. He receives the letters R, S, T, L, E, and then chooses C, D, M, and A. He looked visibly confused since the puzzle board revealed a tough puzzle. It looked: _, E, _, _, L, L, _, A, C, _, _, _, _, _, _ .

"Be full...Be full...Be...Be full...," Cal fumbled while trying to guess the right answer. Despite his best efforts and 10 seconds to solve, he was unable to figure out the phrase. The phrase was revealed to be "We Will Back You Up. It was a big blow for the night since he lost out on a brand new ride - a Hyundai Genesis. Ultimately, Cal left the game show with his initial winnings of $25,750.

Fans blamed the crushing defeat on Cal's choice of wrong letters. "Contestants need to stop choosing CDM as their consonants. Think outside the box," @i.am.king89 advised. "Same thing as yesterday. When will these people learn? CDMA DOESN'T WORK!!" @matthewgumball4568 raged. "CDMA didn't support it. Cal lost his Hyundai Genesis because of the W, Y, and vowels. Tragic," @sy-kd6km chimed in. "Perhaps if he thought the first word was "we," he might have figured it out," @johnwiesner9590 lamented.

You can watch the disappointing moment here.