Belgium (Brussels Morning Newspaper) – The television quiz ‘Blokken’ concluded Jan De Troij’s (26) longest appearance at episode 15. Within the final round, the Overijse contestant failed to discover the missing eight-letter word which linked the clue “road surface”. “
The historic participation of Jan De Troij in the Flemish quiz show Blokken reached its end after 15 episodes. The 26-year-old from Overijse reached the final but was eliminated after failing to guess the eight-letter word linked to the clue “road surface.”
When his show participation ended, De Troij felt content with his achievement because he had previously surpassed the longest recorded prevailing streak on the broadcast. De Troij secures €14,500 as his total winnings before departing.
In his 15th episode, Jan De Troij advanced to the final round but could not identify the correct answer—”pavement”—for the clue “road surface.” Host Ben Crabbé pointed out De Troij’s rare situation in the final round, where he gave only a few answers because this typically does not occur to him.
De Troij achieved an unprecedented record by passing the former Blokken record during his second-to-last appearance on the show. His reaction to the loss was pragmatic: “It had to end sometime, I really enjoyed it.” Crabbé praised him by declaring that his performance went beyond a flop. The performance exceeds all expectations you have accomplished.
What is the background of Jan De Troij’s record-breaking ‘Blokken’ run?
The 26-year-old Jan De Troij from Overijse, Belgium, broke the record at Blokken by appearing for 15 episodes under the host leadership of Ben Crabbé. Blokken posted 13 show appearances before De Troij extended the mark by competing in 15 different episodes.
Prize money totalling €14,500 became his biggest reward from fifteen continuous shows on the Blokken program in recent times. Blokken first began airing in 1994, and today, it challenges participants to solve word riddles under strict time limitations in its difficult game system.
De Troij’s consistent performances became a key factor in his achievements because he nodded to questions less frequently, thus correctly solving them in stressful situations. His elimination came in the final round after failing to guess “paveien” (a Dutch term for “paving”) as the eight-letter word linked to “road surface.”
On average fewer than 1% of contestants on the show survive for ten or more episodes yet De Troij managed to reach this milestone for 15 consecutive episodes. His performance has sparked discussions on strategy, with De Troij advising future contestants to “always answer, never pass.” His achievement became the new industry standard for participants of Blokken.
