A longtime escape-room enthusiast came heartbreakingly close to driving off with a brand-new Toyota on Wheel of Fortune, only to be taken down by a Bonus Round puzzle that left both the contestant and viewers scratching their heads.

Thursday’s episode, part of the show’s DraftKings Bonus Puzzle Week, featured Chorsie Calbert IV of Whitehall, Ohio — a man who’s completed more than 170 escape rooms and grew up playing the Wheel of Fortune board game while pretending to host for his parents. He faced competitors Lenora Hebert of Middleborough, Massachusetts, and Mike Dean from Evansville, Indiana.

Calbert came out swinging, snagging the first two Toss-Ups for an early $3,000 lead. In the opening round, even though Dean — a poker-chip collector — uncovered most of the letters, it was Calbert who swooped in to solve “Take a Chance on Me,” adding another $4,200 to his total.

Things got more chaotic in the Mystery Round. Calbert attempted to solve with “Pretending to Be Someone Else,” but the guess didn’t match the board. Despite missing the solve, he hit a lucrative 3x multiplier, earning $3,000 from a single letter. Hebert ultimately solved the corrected puzzle, “Pretended to Be Someone Else,” for $2,000 — keeping her in the game.

The momentum shifted in the Prize Puzzle round when Dean nailed the “Landmark” clue — “Leaning Tower of Pisa.” That solve delivered him a hefty $14,448 and a dream trip to Italy, putting him firmly in first place.

But Calbert wasn’t done. In the “Fun & Games” Triple Toss-Up, he nailed all three puzzles, adding $10,000 to his score and boosting his total to $14,200 — leaving him just $248 behind Dean.

Then came a moment that had the studio audience buzzing. Facing the next puzzle, Calbert hesitantly guessed “Rock Star Parking,” looking uncertain — but the answer was right. The solve added $6,600, boosted his final score to $20,800, and locked in his place in Friday’s high-stakes finals.

Hebert left the game with $2,000, while Dean ended with $14,448 and his Italian vacation.

With his parents cheering from the sidelines, Calbert selected “Food & Drink” as his Bonus Round category. After being given the standard letters — R, S, T, L, N, and E — he chose C, H, M, and A. The board displayed:

_ _ _ _ LL _ N C _ _ E

From there, the struggle began.

As the countdown ticked away, Calbert cycled through guesses: “Million Coke,” “Trillion Coke,” “Something Cope.” But none of them got him closer to the correct answer.

When the buzzer sounded, Ryan Seacrest shook his head sympathetically.

“I don’t know how you would’ve gotten this. That was a rough one,” the host told him.

The solution finally lit up on the board: “Bouillon Cube.”

Inside Calbert’s prize envelope? The car he was so close to winning.

Despite missing the Bonus Round, he’ll return in Friday’s DraftKings finals for another shot at big money — and maybe redemption after one of the season’s most brutal puzzles.

Sources: TV Insider