Thunderball: Who won the £500,000 jackpot in the December 6 draw?

The 3,186thy Thunderball draw took place on Tuesday. There were 72,121 winners in this draw. They shared the prize fund of £442,805.

The winning numbers were 5, 12, 16, 28, and 31. The Thunderball for this draw was 01. Excalibur 3 was the draw machine used, and the ball set was T10.

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

Twenty-one players won £250 each for matching 4 balls plus the Thunderball, and 353 players shared the £35,300 prize for matching 4 main numbers.

All Thunderball winners must claim their game prizes 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.