Thunderball results: October 22 winning numbers revealed

The 3,161st Thunderball draw took place on Saturday. There were 175,635 winners in this draw. They shared the prize fund of £978,771.

The winning numbers were 9, 17, 20, 24, and 39. The Thunderball for this draw was 05. Excalibur 2 was the draw machine used, and the ball set was T9.

The National Lottery website provided a breakdown of all prizes and reported that no one was able to win the £500,000 jackpot but one player was able to successfully bag the runner-up prize of £5,000 for matching the 5 main numbers.

Forty-one players won £250 each for matching 4 balls plus the Thunderball and 506 players shared the £50,600 prize for matching 4 main numbers.

How is Thunderball played?

Players must pick five main numbers from 1 to 39 and one Thunderball number from 1 to 14 for an entry fee of £1 per line to qualify for the Thunderball jackpot draw. Prizes are won by matching the Thunderball number or at least three main numbers alone.

The prize increases with the more numbers matched and the fewer players you have to share the prize fund with.

While the odds of winning the £500,000 top prize are only 1 in 8,060,598, Thunderball remains one of the more popular UK lottery games as you only need a matching Thunderball to win a prize.

Thunderball drawings are played four days a week- on Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday, so the player pool is smaller, and your chances of qualifying for at least one of the smaller prizes are higher.

Thunderball tickets may be bought in person at approved UK premises or online at accredited sites. As of April 2021, only those 18 years old and above may purchase scratchcards or play Lotto, Thunderball, EuroMillions or Set For Life.

The UK National Lottery's first drawing was on November 19, 1994. Of all the money players spend, half goes to the prize fund, 28% to good causes, 12% to the UK government, 5 % to retailers and 5 % to the Camelot Group.