“Who wants to be a millionaire?”: Jauch makes influencers 15,000 euros poorer

Jauch feels a bit guilty. Because the student on the hunt for records smears mercilessly. The young urologist gets her well-deserved revenge in the “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?” finale. After all, Brits can’t be that smart or lucky.

The record hunt for “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?” Günther Jauch immediately felt guilty. “Then the evening actually starts with a little disaster. I feel a little guilty now,” said the moderator on Friday. The reason: Student and food influencer Julius Croonen left the final of the “3 million euro week” 15,000 euros poorer than when he arrived. He bet on the wrong Teutonic when it came to Hollywood’s disaster maestro.

Croonen qualified for the final on Thursday and already made it clear: he no longer wants to part with his 16,000 euros. Jauch immediately sensed an easy victim – and was right. In fact, the 21-year-old student was seduced into risking his winnings for the prospect of three million euros without anything in return. “I knew it,” Jauch cheered. The bad premonition was already written on his candidate’s face.

Student fails at Jauch

“And we’re already in the black,” Jauch expressed optimism when Croonen had survived the round for 20,000 euros. But then disaster struck in the form of the “Master of Disaster”. Jauch wanted to know who in Hollywood has this nickname. The choices were Daniel Brühl, Hans Zimmer, Roland Emmerich and Til Schweiger.

Only Zimmer and Schweiger said anything about crooners and he gravitated towards the film composer early on. In view of the 50 percent unreported figure, Jauch recommended using the joker, but then left his fate to the students: “Do what you can’t help doing.” The extra-casual Berliner logged in a room perfectly (“I’ll just take B, yeah”) and thus sealed the drop to the security level of 1000 euros. “Independence Day” director Emmerich was wanted.

“Grandma is comforting you,” Jauch said goodbye to the candidate, looking at Croonen’s grandmother in the audience. The fact that the Berliner lands lucrative advertising deals on Instagram was a reason for the host to get over the loss of 15,000 euros: “Just make another sauce and then get it back.”

“I had the impression that you were hot,” Jauch then fished out the next willing record hunter from the crowd. A proud 18 candidates qualified for the final in this “3 million euro week”. Christoph Teickner from Kiel was the sole top favorite with a profit of 125,000 euros. But he rejected Jauch three times in the extra-long broadcast on Friday evening. Urologist Paula Menold, on the other hand, had something to prove.

She bit immediately when Jauch gave her the chance of a comeback – and without any guaranteed winnings. Menold had dropped to 16,000 euros on the 125,000 euro question in Wednesday’s edition and didn’t want to let that slide. Your financial situation also played a role. “In front of you is a woman who is heavily in debt,” revealed the clinic doctor.

Jauch, a urologist, helps

The reason, as Jauch learned, was not because of tuition fees. Menold bought an apartment in Munich in the summer. “At best, the storage room and the guest toilet are paid for,” the moderator stated soberly after the 50,000 euro round. Menold needed two jokers to realize that the Paris visitor magnet Père Lachaise is not a nightclub or monastery, but a cemetery.

Jauch quickly got over the hint of a guilty conscience about Croonen’s crash (after all, he had warned the student). But Menold may have motivated him a little to help the candidate achieve well-deserved happiness. “The courage is not enough,” she had already given up on the 100,000 euro question. Jauch’s question as to whether she could rule out something suddenly provided clarity.

“Great Britain took second place 16 times – most recently in 2022?” the “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?” moderator wanted to know. The choices were: Eurovision Song Contest (ESC), Olympic medal table, World Happiness Report or PISA study. Menold was spontaneously certain that the British were neither smart nor lucky enough for this result. Second place 16 times at the Olympic Games also seemed unlikely because of the four-year cycle.

So all that remained was the music competition. “But of course the pants are full,” complained the urologist. “You have to treat your incontinence yourself,” Jauch refused any further assistance. “I’ll take A, oh God,” Menold made a mental effort – only to suddenly despair of her decision. Jauch then tortured her a bit by pointing out the fact that there are, after all, the Winter Olympics. Nevertheless, Menold’s answer ESC was correct.

“If I were your father, I would say: Never do that again. Crazy,” said Jauch happily with the candidate. She held on with both hands to the generously poured glass of red wine that she had ordered right at the beginning. “Don’t drink so much!” the moderator warned the urologist before moving on to the question for 250,000 euros.

Not Bullerbü, but Lönneberga

Menold could even have answered that correctly. “Which place really exists and has almost 130 inhabitants?” asked Jauch about a setting from books by Astrid Lindgren. The doctor correctly guessed “Lönneberga”, but would never have logged it (“My blood pressure doesn’t do that”) and was therefore overjoyed with her 100,000 euros.

Menold was the winner of this “3 million euro week” final. Luise Thomas then managed to jump from 16,000 to 30,000 euros. Dorothea Gharibian, on the other hand, only went home with 6,000 euros instead of 32,000 euros – and only because Jauch had lured her with a guaranteed win of 5,000 euros. Because the candidate from Hahnheim was simply too willing to take risks in the 50,000 euro round.

“Whose direct descendants ended in 1885 with the death of his last, childless grandson Walther?” Jauch wanted to know. Thomas chose Ludwig van Beethoven mainly based on gut feeling. What was wanted, however, was Johann Wolfgang von Goethe. “Oh, shit,” the candidate made no secret of her disappointment. It was also her downfall that there was no security option in the grand finale of the “3 million euro week”.

Jauch saved the biggest incentive for the last candidate of the evening. A guaranteed 20,000 euros were needed for Dominik Wenz to risk his 64,000 euros from Monday again. The Karlsruher won 50,000 euros, increasing his score by 6,000 euros. However, both he and his partner in the studio seemed to be hoping for something more.

Jauch and “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?” After the campaign week at the beginning of the year, we will continue seamlessly on Mondays. At the end of January the new season of “I’m a Star – Get Me Out of Here!”