With almost no sports left to watch on TV, “Wheel of Fortune” is starting to feel like an extreme sport.
Fans were beside themselves over one mind-bogglingly quick puzzle solve by a contestant on Thursday’s show, who guessed an entire phrase with only one letter on the board.
Contestant Mark Franco, an avid outdoorsman from Brentwood, Calif., correctly guessed the answer “I’M HAVING A BALL.”
Just a split second before, the puzzle had read “_ ‘ _ – _ _ _ _ _ G – _ – _ _ _ _”.
Fans couldn’t believe how quick he did it.
“What in the hell is this sorcery,” was one fan’s response on Twitter.
“Quarantine day… whatever… no sports, and I just got way too hyped when a dude just guessed an entire puzzle with ONE LETTER ON THE BOARD” wrote another.
Early on in the game, Franco actually apologized for solving a puzzle after a previous contestant had lost due to a technicality. Host Pat Sajak reassured him, “That’s all right, never apologize for winning.”
“Wheel of Fortune” and “Jeopardy!” stopped taping in front of a live audience on March 9 due to growing coronavirus fears.
The decision comes a week after “Jeopardy!” host Alex Trebek gave an update on his health a year out from his pancreatic cancer diagnosis. Though the host said he was doing well in the video, his age and his diagnosis would make him particularly susceptible to infection.
Watch the video and read more Twitter responses to the quick puzzle-solver below.
What in the hell is this sorcery #WheelOfFortune pic.twitter.com/eNPultxyxn
— Kyle Seeley (@theKyleSeeley) March 26, 2020
https://twitter.com/sawyerkessler/status/1243327067187445760
On #WheelOfFortune right now, Mark just went wild psychic flex. Don't test him again. @jharting27 @ThePisHere @Sawyerbies pic.twitter.com/TnhFEGCcwS
— Jonathan Petty (@TheBiesor) March 26, 2020
Quarantine day… whatever… no sports, and I just got way too hyped when a dude just guessed an entire puzzle with ONE LETTER ON THE BOARD 😲 #WheelOfFortune pic.twitter.com/q5i6y9YwT6
— K McCloud (@kmccloud628) March 26, 2020