A Wheel of Fortune contestant had the chance to etch his name in the history books on Friday (May 9) by becoming only the fifth (and first man) to win $1 million on the long-running game show.

The contestant in question was Andrew Leachko, a Cleveland Cavaliers fan and American history buff from Cleveland, Ohio. He faced off against Natalya Batenman, a stay-at-home mom from Cypress, Texas, and Audrey Cheatham, a former officer turned high school teacher from Farmer City, Illinois.

Leachko got off to a mixed start, solving the $2K Tossup puzzle but then landing on a bankrupt wedge in Round 1. However, his luck changed in the AARP Mystery Round, where he landed on the Million Dollar wedge. This suddenly put an immense amount of pressure on Leachko for the remainder of the game.

For those unfamiliar, if a contestant lands on the Million Dollar wedge, they must solve that round’s puzzle without landing on a bankrupt. If they win the game without hitting a bankrupt, then the $100,000 envelope on the Bonus Wheel is replaced by a $1 million envelope.

Leachko nailed the puzzle and continued his success in the Express Round, giving him a total of $22,228 cash, plus a train ride through the Canadian Rockies. He played it cool in the Triple Tossup, answering just one of the puzzles before finishing strong by solving the final Speed-Up puzzle for an episode-winning total of $30,228 cash.

This meant the Ohio native entered the Bonus Round with the million-dollar envelope in play. All he had to do was solve the final puzzle under the “Event” category, and he could potentially walk away as the iconic game show’s fifth million-dollar winner.

Leachko selected the additional letters “C, M, D, and A,” giving him a three-word puzzle that read, “_ _ R / _ E A R L _ / _ A S _.”

He quickly figured out the first two words as “Our Yearly,” but he struggled to work out the final word. He guessed “Fast, Past, and Case” before the ten-second timer ran out, and Vanna White revealed the correct answer as “Our Yearly Bash.”

Host Ryan Seacrest then opened the prize envelope to reveal the moment of truth. Had Leachko lost out on $1 million? Thankfully not, as it turned out, he’d picked the $40,000 (just once space next to the million). Still a massive chunk of money to miss out on, but not as devastating as losing $1 million.

Only four players have won $1 million on Wheel over the years, including Michelle Loewenstein in 2008, Autumn Erhard in 2013, Sarah Manchester in 2014, and Sabrina the Teenage Witch star Melissa Joan Hart on Celebrity Wheel of Fortune in 2021.

Fans took to social media to react to Leachko’s loss, with one YouTube commenter writing, “OMG!!! Andrew almost land on the 1 million dollars envelope on Wheel Of Fortune!!! Now that’s another 1 million dollar heartbreaker.”

“Won’t lie, since he didn’t get the puzzle, I’m happy he didn’t land on the million dollar card,” said another.

“One space away from what would have been a million-dollar heartbreaker,” another added.

“Wow that was close!” one commenter wrote.

Another added, “Darn it I thought he became the first man to win $1,000,000 on Wheel of Fortune.”

“This puzzle was of moderate difficulty believe it or not. Too bad the last word did in Andrew,” said one fan.

“We’ll get our fourth million dollar winner this year. I know it,” wrote another.

You can watch the Bonus Round above and let us know your thoughts in the comments below.