The Chase viewers appeared divided over a player who was suspected by some of having an interesting strategy, which saw him bank £20,000 in the head-to-head round.
An episode of the popular ITV quiz show yesterday saw four contestants take on Mark Labbett, 56 - referred to as The Beast - for the chance to win thousands of pounds.
This included contestant Simon, from Northumberland, who was the first of them to answer questions in the cash builder round, ahead of taking on Mark in a head-to-head.
Some viewers however suspected that the player had a particular strategy for the first round, with them taking to social media amid the episode to share their thoughts.
It came after Simon only managed to answer one question correctly during the cash builder, which meant that he had secured £1,000 in the prize pot at that point.
The retired yacht skipper described his performance as "terrible," though the head-to-head against Mark would provide an opportunity for him to improve on it.
He was offered £100 as his 'low offer' - to move closer to the bottom of the board - whilst the 'high offer' was the chance to move closer to the chaser for £20,000.
Simon decided to take the high offer, stating that there was "very little to lose." Mark agreed that it wasn't worth staying in the middle of the board for a £1,000 prize.
He then answered a range of questions - including on the monarchy - and beat the chaser to the bottom of the board. It meant he banked £20,000 for the team.
It left some viewers questioning whether Simon had intentionally got some answers wrong in the cash builder, in the hope of getting a higher offer in the head-to-head.
The suspicion was shared by some viewers on Twitter yesterday, with one of them speculating in a recent tweet: "He definitely played the chaser to get a higher offer."
The potential strategy was praised by others, including one who wrote: "Definitely a hustle there. Like it a lot." Another commented: "He's hustled him there. What a guy!"
Others however were instead impressed by his improved performance, with one viewer tweeting following the round: "Simon redeemed himself from a shaky start."
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A number of viewers had joked about his performance in the cash builder earlier in the episode, with one later adding after seeing his head-to-head round: "I'll get my coat."
In response to such of the comments about his cash builder round, one viewer said: "What a player. He's definitely surprised and shut up a lot of people here on Twitter. Well done."
"Considering he was so s*** in the cash builder, he's doing well," said one viewer. Another said: "I was shocked when he went big, was even more shocked when he won it."
Simon had suggested that he had guessed some of the answers - based on the multiple choice options - with him admitting on one that it was a "stab in the dark."
He was congratulated by Mark and host Bradley Walsh, who commented: "I'd say you were slightly better than your cash builder portrayed. Knew you were."
The Chase airs weekdays on ITV from 5pm. You can catch-up on previous episodes through the ITV Hub.
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