WHEEL of Fortune contestant Jill Prince has spun into tears as she was crowned champion of the game show’s NFL Superfan Tournament on Friday.
The Buffalo Bills fan and third-grade teacher won a total of $136,368 and two near-impossible-to-get tickets to Sunday’s Super Bowl.
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The NFL Superfan Tournament saw this week’s top three scoring contestants return for one final faceoff.
Jill (who won $65,698 on Tuesday) faced Vikings fan Kiera (who won $46250 on Thursday) and Chiefs fan Deanna (who won $32,000 on Wednesday.)
The high-stakes game got off to a slow start as Bankrupts and a miss from Deanna on an Express puzzle abounded.
However, the determined teacher had the highest score by the end of $19,000.
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Pat Sajak, 77, escorted her to the bonus round, where she chose an “HCFO” to help her with the five-word puzzle.
The “O” particularly helped her as she aced it as “This Is Far From Over.”
EMOTIONAL WIN
Jill looked over the moon, jumping up and down in excitement as she won an extra $40,000 – and Superbowl VIII tickets.
She’ll sit VIP at the matchup between the Kansas City Chiefs and San Francisco 49ers at Las Vegas’ Allegiant Stadium.
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Jill embraced her husband, and tears flooded her face as she was speechless.
LOVE TO SEE IT!
Fans celebrated the big win on social media as one X user wrote: “Since Jill is a teacher I’m glad she won…”
Others wrote: “If the Bills can’t win the Super Bowl, at least they won @WheelofFortune !! #BillsMafia.”
And: “I love Jill the Bills Fan on WheelofFortune and she’s the Super Bowl Champion of my heart.”
Wheel of Fortune changed up its format ahead of Super Bowl Sunday by opting for a tournament – and fans were into it!
The intro for the weeklong special included a contestant bracket, announcer Jim Thorton got an ESPN-style booth on stage, and the puzzles were NFL-themed.
Not only did the change heighten the stakes, but it’s also a major shakeup for the game show, which usually does not have returning champions.
“The NFL edition of Wheel of Fortune is not bad at all,” an additional social media user posted.
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