The Block fans shocked as underdogs take home record-breaking prize

The Block fans have been left surprised after underdogs Tess and Luke took out the show’s crown in Sunday night’s finale.

Beating out a stream of hot contenders, the newlyweds’ win was twice as sweet after their Melbourne renovation sold for $630,000 above its reserve.

In addition the $100,000 prize money, this meant the pair took home a tidy—and record-breaking—$730,000 following the auction.

Winners’ back flip

But despite the triumph, many fans were left shocked the pair had beaten their competitors, especially after their harsh jabs at the show’s producers just three weeks ago.

Viewers took this sentiment out online, with many revealing they simply ‘didn’t see [their win] coming’.

“What a bizarre result,” wrote one person, asking how they felt “houses 1, 3, 4 and 5 were all in the same-ish ballpark, but 2 sells for $200,000 more?!”

“Well done to the judges who, once again, got it totally wrong. Well done Tess and Luke!” wrote another.

Following up the pair’s first-place finish were El’ise and Matt, who pocketed $460,000, as runners up, Andy and Deb in third with $430,000, Jesse and Mel, followed this with $388,000.

Perhaps most surprising was front-runners Mitch and Mark’s humble fifth-place finish, which saw their house sell for $384,000 above the reserve.

Behind the scenes behaviour

But while surprise at Tess and Luke’s win was almost universal, some fans blamed the couple’s narrative while on the show, one which largely centred on their apparent lack of manual labour compared to their competitors.

“Tess and Luke made a profit of 630k. That’s about $210k per actual hours worked,” joked one viewer.

“I wanted them to get something for sure,” wrote another. “But I'm a bit disappointed they got so much for so little effort and such a rotten attitude.”

However, others were far more forgiving and said their stunning result could only have been achieved through as much work as is required.

“Why are so many people sh**ting on Tess and Luke?” asked one viewer. “They worked incredibly hard (like everyone else), especially with a small budget and never gave up.”

“Life changing for Tess and Luke that would be incredible,” wrote another. “Such an amazing effort. I've loved watching Tess this season. I was crying along as their auction was on!!”

Comeback kids

Just weeks before their win, the pair were in a very different position towards the show that made them famous—claiming to news.com.au they were bullied by producers throughout filming.

Luke went on to label the series’ structure ‘full of sh*t’ and alleged that he and Tess were ‘bloody sick of it’.

“We’re getting sick of how they’re editing us as being these big lazy pricks who don’t get off their a**e and do a single thing,” he said at the time.

But now, the lucrative win seems to have softened the Cairns couple’s views, with Tess saying she has “no regrets now” following the record-breaking auction.

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