😮 A The Chase contestant left the entire studio stunned after making a decision that slashed 20% off the team’s prize fund—even though he was widely seen as strong enough to play for a much bigger amount.

THE Chase viewers were left open-mouthed as Paul Sinha took a swipe at a contestant after they slashed 20 per cent of the prize pot.

Thursday evening’s episode of ITV’s flagship quiz show saw Patrick, Linda, Afreena and Brian all have a stab at winning thousands of pounds.

Up first was Patrick, who impressed everyone with his £8,000 cash builder, before sailing through past The Sinnerman.

Quickly following the same suit, Linda managed to bring back £7,000 to the table, taking the prize pot up to a healthy £15,000.

Afreena wasn’t able to beat Paul, leaving the team’s last hopes with Brian – and that’s when things took a turn for the worse.

Brian scored a sizeable £6,000 in his cash builder and was offered £60,000 in a bid to tempt him to take the larger sum.

However, he soon shocked everyone when he cowardly opted for the minus £3,000 offer, taking the team’s total down to £12,000.

It soon became evident that Brian had the knowledge to sail through, too, as host Bradley Walsh, affirmed: “You’re a better player than -£3,000.

“I think you’ve played far too cautious here Brian.”

And Bradley was right as Brian sailed through to the final with ease.

The Sinnerman quickly interrupted: “It wasn’t so much that you were a good player, but you’ve taken 20 per cent of the fund away which a player of your quality shouldn’t be doing.”

Viewers were quick to air their thoughts on Twitter, too, with many labelling Brian as a “coward”.

One user remarked: “There aren’t enough poo emojis to describe Brian taking the lower offer.”

Someone else ranted: “Always the same boring, safe contestant. Can’t see the point of all the effort for a few grand each. Go high or go home.”

For Brian, though, he did go home – and with the prize money that his teammates so selflessly worked hard for.

After the team correctly answered 21 questions and executed a number of push-backs, The Sinnerman was unable to catch them, with each contestant sharing the £12,000 winnings.