Indiana University Freshman Flubs on “Wheel of Fortune,” Loses Shot at $1 Million

The student's misguided guesses cost him on Friday's show

An Indiana University freshman appears to have found his Achilles heel when it comes to the TV game show "Wheel of Fortune" -- pronouncing the name "Achilles."

That error narrowly, plus a handful of others, cost Julian Batts his chance to win $1 million, a trip to London and a car on Friday, which capped "College Week" on the game show.

The honor student's closest miss came when he guessed all the letters in the “Character” category, to spell out “Mythological Hero Achilles.” Unfortunately for him, his pronunciation of "Achilles" was more akin to "A-chill-us," and he wasn't given credit for the answer.

The next contestant swooped in for an easy win of the puzzle.

Julian's next flub came when he had to solve a puzzle in the “Person” category; the sentence read “The World’s Fastest _a_”. Julian guessed “Car” for the incomplete word, but the answer was “The World’s Fastest Man.”

Another upsetting loss came in the last regular round. The incomplete puzzle stood at, “_n-Th_-Sp_t D_c_s__n,” and Julian guessed “On-The-Spot Dicespin.” The next contestant solved for the win with “On-The-Spot Decision.”

Despite his flubs, Batts still managed to win the game and advance to the bonus round, collecting $11,700. It's not much compared to a cool $1 million, but it's not a terrible consolation prize.

Watch the video of Julian’s blunders.
 

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