Ex-Penn State athlete, Bellefonte grad nearing $5M prize on MrBeast reality show

It’s not every day that you get to participate in a popular reality competition show — let alone make it to the show’s finals — but one former Penn State football player and Bellefonte native is close to achieving that goal for a second time.

Tyler Lucas, a 2011 Bellefonte Area School District graduate, former Penn State wide receiver and U.S. Air Force pilot, is one episode away from reaching the finale of the second season of “Beast Games.” Popular YouTuber MrBeast (also known as James Donaldson), hosts the show on Amazon Prime Video.

Currently, Lucas — or player 167, as the competitors are identified by number — is one of 10 contestants remaining, with two episodes to go. If he ends up as one of the show’s final contestants, it will mark the second time that Lucas has made the finals of a game show. In 2019, he lost in the finals of “The Titan Games,” which was hosted by Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson.

“It’s been a surreal experience being on the ‘Beast Games’ so far, and to say that I’ve succeeded in two of these kinds of game shows is just insane,” Lucas said Thursday in a phone interview. “Honestly I think I’m blessed to just be a contestant on these shows, and here I am, performing at a high level in both. It’s unbelievable.”

In the Beast Games’ second season, 200 contestants were divided into two 100-person teams — the “smart” team, composed of scientists, company CEOs, chess masters and more, was pitted against the “strong” team, which included Olympians, professional athletes, pro wrestlers and others.

Lucas, with his past experiences as a Nittany Lion and Montana University wide receiver, De Anza Community College quarterback and Air Force pilot, is a member of the “strong” team.

The 200 contestants face a variety of challenges over the 10-episode season, such as complex puzzles, obstacle courses and situations that may lead contestants to betray one another for a prize or advantage in a future episode. Each episode sees several contestants drop out of the show until eventually only a small handful remain.

In the show’s finale, the remaining contestants will compete for a grand prize of $5 million, although that amount could double if a finalist correctly guesses the flip of a golden coin.

On Polymarket, a betting platform that allows users to bet on real-world events using cryptocurrency, Lucas is shown to have a more than 80% chance of winning. Because of that, some fans online are theorizing that he’s already got the title in the bag.

Lucas, who lives in Cupertino, California, has to stay tight-lipped due to a nondisclosure agreement. But he did say that he believes his success in the competition is no coincidence.

“Because of my background in college football and in the Air Force, I feel like I’ve been prepared really well to handle the sort of high-pressure situations and challenges that we’re being presented with each episode,” Lucas said. “I love the feeling of performing well under pressure too, so that helps.”

He said his experience on the “Titan Games,” which he participated in with his older brother, Kyle, also helped prepare him for the show.

“That experience gave me a really good feel for what being on a game show is like, what being watched by a ton of people feels like,” he said.

Lucas also attributes his success to the large amount of support he’s received since joining the show, and especially the support he’s received from his loved ones.

“I cannot thank my wife enough for how much she does,” Lucas said. “She held it down for the amount of time that I was gone, away from my family, with two young boys, so that was a lot for her as she was also working full time. Without her support, I wouldn’t have been able to pursue this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, so I’m very thankful for her and my kids.”

He is also thankful for continued support from Kyle, who he said helped instill a strong, motivating competitive spirit in him.

Back in 2019, it was Kyle who encouraged his younger brother to join the “Titan Games” with him, and cheered him on when Tyler ended up making it further in the competition.

In high school, Tyler spent years looking up to his brother, who was a three-sport athlete with the Red Raiders. He also followed in his brother’s footsteps — they both walked on to play football at Penn State and later joined the Air Force.

“[Kyle] has always been supportive of me and I’ve always been supportive of him,” Lucas said. “The competitive aspect to our relationship has always been a huge driver for me, just trying to try to outdo each other. Yeah, we’re also encouraging each other, but trying to one-up each other at the same time.”

Coincidentally, Lucas said his older brother was also selected for his second game show, and filmed it at the same time that “Beast Games” was filmed. “I can’t tell you the show, but keep an eye out for it in summertime,” he said.

For those who want to tune into the final two episodes of “Beast Games” to watch Lucas, the ninth episode of the season will be released on Amazon Prime Video at 3 a.m. on Wednesday, Feb. 18 and the finale will be released at 3 a.m. on Wednesday, Feb. 25.

Updates on Lucas’ Beast Games journey will also be shared on his Instagram page.