‘Wheel of Fortune’ Fans Praise ‘Best Contestant of Season’ After $85,000 Win

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Season 44 of Wheel of Fortune might have just started, but one contestant might be in the running for best of the season, taking home over $85,000. Even host Ryan Seacrest was amazed.

Nneka Walker, who lives in Evans, Georgia, but was born in Nigeria, solved both toss-ups on October 9. She played against Natasha Ford, from Cary, North Carolina, and Scott Svendsen, from Eureka, South Dakota.

Walker, who coaches her daughter, Maya, in recreational soccer, put even more money in her bank when she solved the “Famous Duo” puzzle — “Fred Astaire & Ginger Rogers.” She had $21,400.

Ford, the owner and creative director of a luxury event venue, solved the “Before & After” puzzle — “Movie Star Wars.” She obtained the Wild Card and put $3,900 in her bank.

During the Mystery Round, Svendsen, who won a Mr. Northern bathing suit contest in college, rode the Express Train. He solved about half of the puzzle, racking up $4,600 before calling an “N,” which wasn’t in the puzzle, and went Bankrupt.

Walker then solved “Beautiful Bamboo Forest” for a trip to Tokyo, Japan. This gave her a total of $33,900. She added $10,000 to her incredible total when she solved all three Triple Toss-ups, putting her bank at $43,900.

“You really know how to play this game!” Seacrest said.

Svendsen finally got on the board when he solved the final puzzle — “Beach Volleyball.” He took home a total of $9,900.

Ford won $3,900. Walker was the night’s big winner with $43,900. She chose “What Are You Doing?” for her Bonus Round category.

Wheel of Fortune gave her “R,S,T,L,N, and E.” Walker rounded out her puzzle with “C,M,P, and O.” The puzzle then looked like “PO_N_ _N_  T_E  P_ _EMENT.”

After a few seconds, the game show contestant solved “Pounding the Pavement.” There was the Mazda in her envelope, which was worth $41,805. This gave Walker a total of $85,705.

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Fans reacted to Walker’s incredible win on Reddit. “Nneka did amazing tonight,” one said.

“Best contestant of the season so far,” another replied.

“Nneka just steamrolled everybody,” a third added.

“She’s a fantastic player,” one fan said.

What did you think of Walker’s game? Could you solve the final puzzle? Let us know in the comments.

Wheel of Fortune, weekdays, check local listings, stream next day on Hulu and Peacock