Former Penn State athlete Tyler Lucas wins $5M grand prize on MrBeast reality show

In his second time on a reality television competition, former Penn State football player and Bellefonte graduate Tyler Lucas walked away the winner — and with $5 million.

Lucas, a 2011 Bellefonte Area School District graduate, former Penn State wide receiver and U.S. Air Force pilot, won the $5 million grand prize on the second season of “Beast Games.” Popular YouTuber MrBeast (also known as James Donaldson), hosts the show on Amazon Prime Video, and Lucas was revealed as the winner when the season finale was released Wednesday morning.

In the final round of the last episode, Lucas — who was player 167 out of 200 total contestants — faced off against player 191 Cory Sims, a Riverine veteran, in a simple game of chance: Each player took turns hiding a $5 million check in one of 10 suitcases while the other player was blindfolded.

Lucas selected the correct suitcase with just three remaining, earning himself the title of the season two “Beast Games” champion and a total of $5.1 million in prizes.

The win comes seven years after he lost in the finale of the “Titan Games” in 2019. He appeared on that show with his brother, Kyle Lucas, who also played football for Penn State.

In the “Beast Games” finale, a teary-eyed and choked up Tyler Lucas called his wife and shared the news.

“What if I told you I made it to the end, and I’m the ‘Beast Games’ season two champion, and I won $5.1 million,” Lucas said on the show. “I’m serious, I won — we can retire and spend more time with the boys.”

In an interview with the CDT earlier this month, Lucas spoke about his appreciation for how his wife “held it down” while he was filming, saying he’s “very thankful for her” and his children.

Lucas, who lives in California and has two young sons, shared further details about what he would do with the prize money in an interview with Gold Derby. He told the entertainment news outlet that while he’d like to retire, there are still “conversations that need to be had” with the military, and that he’s the type of person who always “needs to be doing something” to keep himself busy.

In the second season of “Beast Games,” 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 experience as a Nittany Lion and Montana University wide receiver, De Anza Community College quarterback and Air Force pilot, was a member of the “strong” team.

The contestants faced a variety of challenges over the 10-episode season, such as complex puzzles, obstacle courses and situations that were meant to lead contestants to betray one another for a prize or advantage in a future episode. Each episode saw several contestants drop out of the show until the finale, where only six final contestants remained.

Lucas told the CDT earlier this month that he felt like his success on the show was no coincidence, and that his experiences in football and the military had left him “prepared really well” to handle the show’s high-pressure situations and challenges.

For more updates on what Lucas is up to following his win, visit his Instagram, Twitter, YouTube or TikTok pages.