Meet the US quiz master sending shockwaves through The Chase Australia

Meet Brandon Blackwell, aka The Lightning Bolt, who aims to strike not twice but four times in a bid to eliminate his contestants on The Chase Australia from Monday, February 26, he joins the team on the popular television program.

Brandon, 42, a familiar face on The Chase America, joins a formidable line-up of Chasers: Goliath, The Beast, The Governess, The Smiling Assassin, The Shark, The Supernerd and Tiger Mum.

"I'll beat you before you even turn up," he warned contestants.

"But seriously, I'm very excited to be on The Chase Australia.

"I've known Mara Lejins (The Smiling Assassin) for a long time. Her family showed me around."

It's taken a while to get Brandon to Australia.

"I was approached about it when I was living in London five years ago," he said. "Then I moved back to New York and it was still being talked about but then the pandemic hit and we all know what happened then.

"I am very grateful to The Chase Australia as it was worth the long wait to get here."

A regular in high-level quiz competitions worldwide, Brandon is a World Speed Quizzing Champion and is one of the highest-scoring players of all time on the prestigious British quiz show University Challenge.

Having secured second place in the under-30 World Quizzing Championship in 2020, he is known for his lightning-fast intellect.

He started his career as a professional quizzer in 2008 when he appeared on Jeopardy. However, he didn't make headlines until he appeared on Who Wants to Be a Millionaire in 2012.

In 2016, Brandon rose to prominence at Quiz Olympiad in Athens, Greece, where he won two medals.

Hailing from Queens in New York, he said he goofed off in school for most of his childhood and early teen years yet spent all his spare time reading and learning anyway.

He also grew up watching game shows, so it wasn't long before he decided to have a crack at it himself.

Brandon had never left his home country when he decided he wanted to win a British quiz show.

"London was the quiz capital and I wanted to be there," he said.

He knew Britain had "the greatest quiz infrastructure in the world" but had only heard of one program: Mastermind.

On trying to apply, however, he realised that he would need to be a UK resident.

"I was trying to work out how to do it," he said. "At one stage, I wondered if I should do a Sandra Bullock and propose to an English lady to get residency but I did a student visa instead."

Since he was planning to study for a master's anyway, he decided to look for courses to study in Britain.

"It was a real baptism of fire at first," he said. "I'd never left America, I'd never lived alone and all of a sudden I was doing it all at once.

"Fortunately, it all worked out for me."

In 2020, Brandon appeared in the UK quiz show University Challenge, representing Imperial College London.

The team won.

Brandon is excited about the format of The Chase Australia.

"The American format is different from The Chase anywhere else in the world," he said.

"In America, the Chaser comes out before the contestants so there is no element of surprise.

"I particularly love the way Aussie host Larry (Emdur) builds the suspense to the Chaser appearing."

Can Australia weather the storm of The Lightning Bolt's unmatched speed?

"Having been a contestant myself, I know how nervous you can be," he said.

"It's very easy when you're sitting on the couch playing at home. But when you get to TV, it makes you nervous because you are aware that you are playing for money.

"Forget the money. I'm going to take it from you anyway.

"Try to tell yourself you're playing for points instead and just relax. It's easier said than done but I know where you're coming from.

"Take care to read the questions. Most times, the questions contain a hint to the answer but contestants can be so nervous that they don't see it and pick a wrong answer.

"Even if the Chaser hits the buzzer first, you still have five seconds to choose.

"As I said before, in America the contestants know who the Chaser is from the start. In Australia, you don't.

"The first contestant is always at the disadvantage because they don't know who the Chaser is until after their cash building questions. The other three have the advantage of knowing who the Chaser is after that.

"This means that as a Chaser, I sit back in the wings watching the contestants as they introduce themselves and I can size them up before I walk in.

"Look, as a former contestant I've been nervous too but it's real, real fun - trust me. It's a great show and a fun format, particularly in Australia."

So, get ready for an electrifying challenge as The Lightning Bolt strikes from 5pm on Monday, February 26, on Channel 7 and 7plus.