Latest news with #Émilien


New York Times
11-07-2025
- Entertainment
- New York Times
Meet the French Game Show Contestant Who Won 646 Times in a Row (and 23 Cars)
Much feels in flux in France these days. Will yo-yoing tariffs hit businesses? Is Perrier really that natural? And don't even get started on the volatile summer heat. But for the past 21 months, fans of a popular French game show have lived by a simple, ironclad certainty. Tune in at noon on any given day, and without fail, there he was: a soft-spoken young man named Émilien, with wiry round glasses and an astonishing depth of trivia knowledge. Just as reliably, Émilien beat the other contestants. Again, and again, and again. Although he has declined to reveal his last name for privacy reasons, Émilien is now a celebrity of sorts in France for his record-breaking winning streak on a show called 'Les Douze Coups de Midi," or 'The Twelve Strokes of Noon.' Starting on Sept. 25, 2023, he competed 647 times and netted 2.56 million euros, about $3 million, in cash and prizes. But it came to an end on Sunday, when a single defeat ended his reign. Émilien, now 22, is as incredulous as the rest of us that he got that far. 'It's a crazy story,' he said by phone this week. 'I never expected it to last that long.' Broadcast on the TF1 television network, each day's show has four contestants compete in a series of trivia quizzes. The winner — le Maître de Midi, or Master of Noon — defends that title the next day. 'My goal was always the same,' Émilien said. 'Every day, from the first to the 647th, to still be there at the end of the show, to do my best and come back the next day.' Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
Yahoo
07-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
French gameshow contestant's epic 21-month winning streak finally ends
A French gameshow contestant has been dethroned after a record-breaking run of 646 wins that lasted 21 months. Émilien, 22, made his first appearance on the '12 Coups de midi' daily game show on September 25, 2023, according to a statement from French TV network TF1, which announced the end of his run on Sunday. The network has not revealed his surname. In the show, four contestants compete in a general knowledge quiz. The winner then answers a series of questions to determine their prize pot for that day, before returning to take on a new slate of opponents the day after. Émilien won more than 2.5 million euros ($2.93 million) in cash and other prizes, as well as 23 cars, making him the biggest winner in French game show history, said TF1. His haul more than doubled the previous record of one million euros ($1.17 million), held by Bruno Lafourcade. 'I never expected to have the chance to stay for such a long time,' said Émilien, who comes from southwest France. 'It's amazing everything that has happened. It's hard to understand.' Prior to appearing on the show, Émilien studied history at university and was aiming to become a teacher. He then paused his studies to concentrate on his record-breaking run, which came to an end when he ran out of time to answer a question during Sunday's show. Despite his loss to Romain, an architect, Émilien has become the world record holder for the most solo game show appearances, and the European record holder for prizes won, according to TF1. His run became something of a sensation in France, with his defeat drawing an average of 5 million spectators on Sunday. TF1's '12 Coups de midi' has some similarities with popular US quiz show 'Jeopardy,' which airs every weekday for 30 minutes. The record for the highest number of consecutive wins on 'Jeopardy' is held by Ken Jennings, who won 74 games in a row in 2004, followed by Amy Schneider, who won 40 consecutive games in 2022. Jennings also holds the record for the highest amount of prize money won on 'Jeopardy,' at $2,520,700, followed by James Holzhauer on $2,462,216.


CNN
07-07-2025
- Entertainment
- CNN
French gameshow contestant's epic 21-month winning streak finally ends
A French gameshow contestant has been dethroned after a record-breaking run of 646 wins that lasted 21 months. Émilien, 22, made his first appearance on the '12 Coups de midi' daily game show on September 25, 2023, according to a statement from French TV network TF1, which announced the end of his run on Sunday. The network has not revealed his surname. In the show, four contestants compete in a general knowledge quiz. The winner then answers a series of questions to determine their prize pot for that day, before returning to take on a new slate of opponents the day after. Émilien won more than 2.5 million euros ($2.93 million) in cash and other prizes, as well as 23 cars, making him the biggest winner in French game show history, said TF1. His haul more than doubled the previous record of one million euros ($1.17 million), held by Bruno Lafourcade. 'I never expected to have the chance to stay for such a long time,' said Émilien, who comes from southwest France. 'It's amazing everything that has happened. It's hard to understand.' Prior to appearing on the show, Émilien studied history at university and was aiming to become a teacher. He then paused his studies to concentrate on his record-breaking run, which came to an end when he ran out of time to answer a question during Sunday's show. Despite his loss to Romain, an architect, Émilien has become the world record holder for the most solo game show appearances, and the European record holder for prizes won, according to TF1. His run became something of a sensation in France, with his defeat drawing an average of 5 million spectators on Sunday. TF1's '12 Coups de midi' has some similarities with popular US quiz show 'Jeopardy,' which airs every weekday for 30 minutes. The record for the highest number of consecutive wins on 'Jeopardy' is held by Ken Jennings, who won 74 games in a row in 2004, followed by Amy Schneider, who won 40 consecutive games in 2022. Jennings also holds the record for the highest amount of prize money won on 'Jeopardy,' at $2,520,700, followed by James Holzhauer on $2,462,216.


CNN
07-07-2025
- Entertainment
- CNN
French gameshow contestant's epic 21-month winning streak finally ends
A French gameshow contestant has been dethroned after a record-breaking run of 646 wins that lasted 21 months. Émilien, 22, made his first appearance on the '12 Coups de midi' daily game show on September 25, 2023, according to a statement from French TV network TF1, which announced the end of his run on Sunday. The network has not revealed his surname. In the show, four contestants compete in a general knowledge quiz. The winner then answers a series of questions to determine their prize pot for that day, before returning to take on a new slate of opponents the day after. Émilien won more than 2.5 million euros ($2.93 million) in cash and other prizes, as well as 23 cars, making him the biggest winner in French game show history, said TF1. His haul more than doubled the previous record of one million euros ($1.17 million), held by Bruno Lafourcade. 'I never expected to have the chance to stay for such a long time,' said Émilien, who comes from southwest France. 'It's amazing everything that has happened. It's hard to understand.' Prior to appearing on the show, Émilien studied history at university and was aiming to become a teacher. He then paused his studies to concentrate on his record-breaking run, which came to an end when he ran out of time to answer a question during Sunday's show. Despite his loss to Romain, an architect, Émilien has become the world record holder for the most solo game show appearances, and the European record holder for prizes won, according to TF1. His run became something of a sensation in France, with his defeat drawing an average of 5 million spectators on Sunday. TF1's '12 Coups de midi' has some similarities with popular US quiz show 'Jeopardy,' which airs every weekday for 30 minutes. The record for the highest number of consecutive wins on 'Jeopardy' is held by Ken Jennings, who won 74 games in a row in 2004, followed by Amy Schneider, who won 40 consecutive games in 2022. Jennings also holds the record for the highest amount of prize money won on 'Jeopardy,' at $2,520,700, followed by James Holzhauer on $2,462,216.


CNN
07-07-2025
- Entertainment
- CNN
French gameshow contestant's epic 21-month winning streak finally ends
A French gameshow contestant has been dethroned after a record-breaking run of 646 wins that lasted 21 months. Émilien, 22, made his first appearance on the '12 Coups de midi' daily game show on September 25, 2023, according to a statement from French TV network TF1, which announced the end of his run on Sunday. The network has not revealed his surname. In the show, four contestants compete in a general knowledge quiz. The winner then answers a series of questions to determine their prize pot for that day, before returning to take on a new slate of opponents the day after. Émilien won more than 2.5 million euros ($2.93 million) in cash and other prizes, as well as 23 cars, making him the biggest winner in French game show history, said TF1. His haul more than doubled the previous record of one million euros ($1.17 million), held by Bruno Lafourcade. 'I never expected to have the chance to stay for such a long time,' said Émilien, who comes from southwest France. 'It's amazing everything that has happened. It's hard to understand.' Prior to appearing on the show, Émilien studied history at university and was aiming to become a teacher. He then paused his studies to concentrate on his record-breaking run, which came to an end when he ran out of time to answer a question during Sunday's show. Despite his loss to Romain, an architect, Émilien has become the world record holder for the most solo game show appearances, and the European record holder for prizes won, according to TF1. His run became something of a sensation in France, with his defeat drawing an average of 5 million spectators on Sunday. TF1's '12 Coups de midi' has some similarities with popular US quiz show 'Jeopardy,' which airs every weekday for 30 minutes. The record for the highest number of consecutive wins on 'Jeopardy' is held by Ken Jennings, who won 74 games in a row in 2004, followed by Amy Schneider, who won 40 consecutive games in 2022. Jennings also holds the record for the highest amount of prize money won on 'Jeopardy,' at $2,520,700, followed by James Holzhauer on $2,462,216.