'I was in disbelief': Kiwi contestants beat the Chaser and win $43,000
The episode, which aired on TVNZ1 and TVNZ+ last night, pitted contestants Kahu, Ash, Andy and Wendy against The Supernerd in a nail-biting round of the New Zealand spinoff of the hit quiz show, hosted by Paul Henry.
After all four successfully made it through their individual chases, the team banked a four-step headstart in the final chase. They then rattled off 16 correct answers to set a formidable target of 18 – a score that meant every pushback against The Supernerd would matter.
During the Chaser’s turn, the team nailed four perfectly timed pushbacks, each one widening the gap at the exact moment they needed the breathing room.
With nine seconds left on the clock, The Supernerd was handed one final pushback and still needed five more correct answers. At this point, the team knew they’d done enough to secure the win.
The Supernerd didn’t even attempt to answer his final question – which luxury British car marker produced the Vanquish models – and instead congratulated the contestants on becoming the inaugural winners of The Chase New Zealand.
“You guys have not won enough money for an Aston Martin, which was the correct answer,” host Paul Henry joked. “But congratulations – you have not been caught.”
The team celebrated as they brought home a combined $43,000 – $10,750 each.
“I really am happy for all four of you,” The Supernerd said to the team. “I may not look it, but I am.”
The four winners came from across the country – Kahu, a 29-year-old policy analyst from Whanganui, Ash, a 35-year-old doctor from Whangārei, Andy, a 39-year-old video producer from Auckland, and Wendy, a 55-year-old company director from Christchurch.
‘I was in disbelief’
Speaking after the episode aired, the team described the experience as fun, surreal and unexpectedly emotional.
“It was a fun and novel experience – surreal being on the other side of such a familiar set,” Ash said.
Andy called the win “very exciting and satisfying”, saying the best part of the experience was “meeting, then competing with such a great team”.
“They made the experience so much better than I dreamed it would be,” he said
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Wendy admitted she never expected to take down a Chaser when she was selected to appear on the show.
“It was a little nerve-wracking to actually face The Supernerd, but it was great to make it back to the desk. When we won, I was in disbelief.”
She added that the four have kept in touch since the episode was filmed.
