Thunderball: Who won the £500,000 jackpot in the December 27 draw?

The 3,198th Thunderball draw took place on Tuesday. There were 87,666 winners in this draw. They shared the prize fund of £502,165.

The winning numbers were 5, 7, 14, 16, and 35. The Thunderball for this draw was 03. Excalibur 6 was the draw machine used, and the ball set was T2.

The National Lottery website provided a breakdown of all prizes and reported that no one won the £500,000 jackpot. However, two lucky winners bagged the £5,000 runner-up jackpot each for matching the 5 main numbers.

Twenty players won £250 each for matching 4 balls plus the Thunderball and 261 players shared the £26,100 prize for matching 4 main numbers.

All Thunderball winners must claim their game prizes within 180 days after the draw. Unclaimed prizes will be donated to various lottery charities around the U.K.

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.