France's top game show champion bows out after 21-month winning streak
Emilien, 22, walked away with 2.5 million euros (US$2.9 million) in cash and prizes after nearly three years on the popular French question-and-answer game show, The 12 Strokes of Noon (Les 12 coups de midi).
Every day, four contestants go head-to-head in multiple rounds of general knowledge questions, with one eliminated each round until the final player, the "Midday Master", remains.
The "Midday Master" then answers five questions to determine their prize – up to 30,000 euros – and returns the next day to continue their run against new contestants.
Emilien's streak spanned nearly three years, beginning in September 2023.
"It's been an amazing experience over the last 21 months. I have no regrets. I never expected to stay on the show for so long," said Emilien while on set. His last name is withheld for privacy reasons.
The 22-year-old, originally from western France, was studying history and geography but put his education on hold because it was too much to juggle with his record-breaking run.
He said he plans to resume his studies, but will first take a year off to enjoy himself after spending up to 17 hours a day between tapings, catching up on topics he knew less about, such as celebrity culture.
A longtime fan of the game show from broadcaster TF1, Emilien first auditioned at the age of 18 without success, but gave it another shot after encouragement from his grandmother.
He is by far the biggest winner in French TV game show history, surpassing Bruno Lafourcade – who also competed on the same show and took home more than one million euros in cash and prizes.
Emilien's prize haul included 23 cars, some of which he says he will share with loved ones while he will sell the rest.
He ran out of time to answer one last question: the sum of the two-digit code of a southwestern region of France.
"When you win, you know you're going to lose eventually. I expected it from the start," he said.
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