The Biggest UK EuroMillions Winners of All Time
The 10 biggest EuroMillions winners have all won prizes worth more than £100 million. Players from all nine participating countries have hit the EuroMillions jackpot since the game launched, with UK ticket holders banking many of the biggest prizes of all.
Across Europe, the biggest win of all time was worth €240 million (£206 million) and was won in Austria. Here are the top 10 prizes won in the UK.
Winners: Anonymous
In the midst of a scorching summer heatwave, both the temperature and the EuroMillions jackpot soared to previously unprecedented levels. The top prize had been at its jackpot cap (€230 million at the time) without being won for three draws when a single ticket holder finally pocketed the lot.
The ticket was sold in the UK, instantly catapulting the lucky player above the previous record holders from just two months earlier. If the jackpot had not been paid out in that draw, there would have been a Must Be Won draw next time out.
Winners: Joe and Jess Thwaite
The jackpot hit £184 million after 14 consecutive draws without a winner. One more rollover would have pushed the top prize to its €230 million limit, but a ticket bought in the UK matched all the numbers. It was the largest win ever seen in the UK at the time, and was claimed by Gloucester couple Jess and Joe Thwaite.
Joe had purchased a Lucky Dip and checked the ticket early the next morning. He let his wife sleep for another 20 minutes before telling her he ‘had a secret’. They said the win had given them ‘time to dream’ and they were looking forward to sharing lots of experiences and adventures with friends and family.
Winners: TBC
A UK player landed this gigantic jackpot two weeks after a Superdraw had pushed the jackpot up to £112 million (€130 million). The top prize was powering towards £200 million for the first time when a single ticket matched all the numbers.
The winner made contact with the National Lottery within the first couple of days, having become the third player in the space of five months to land a prize of more than £170 million.
Winners: Anonymous
This huge prize was offered in a special Must Be Won EuroMillions draw. The jackpot had rolled over an incredible 22 times in a row, including four at the previous €190 million cap, so rules dictated that it had to be won in the fifth draw at the cap, which took place on Tuesday 8th October.
Only one ticket from across Europe matched all seven winning numbers, netting the lucky player an astonishing payout worth £170.2 million - higher than previous big wins due to the exchange rate at the time. If there had not been a 'Match 5 + 2' winner, the top prize would have been split between players in the next tier down. The winner chose to remain anonymous so no details about them are known.
Winners: Colin and Chris Weir
Colin and Christine Weir of Largs, Ayrshire, won more than £161 million following a run of 14 rollovers in the summer of 2011. The Scottish couple had bought five Lucky Dips for the big draw and checked their numbers 'after a normal night in front of the TV'. They didn't have any success with their first four lines but the fifth and final set of numbers hit the biggest prize of all.
After going public with their win, the couple set up the Weir Charitable Trust with the aim of supporting Scottish communities and small charities. The couple donated more than £5 million to the Scottish National Party and the pro-independence group Yes Scotland after their win, and they bought a new luxury home, a tractor, and took the opportunity to travel the world.
Winners: Adrian and Gillian Bayford
Adrian and Gillian Bayford from Suffolk claimed this gigantic EuroMillions jackpot on 10th August 2012 after buying a Lucky Dip from a Premier convenience store in the town of Haverhill. When they realised they had won, they celebrated by taking their children out for a pizza. Adrian used part of the fortune to set up his own music business and open a shop featuring the world's largest collection of Lady Gaga memorabilia.
Although the Bayfords received €5 million more than the Weirs had the previous year, a joint EuroMillions record jackpot of €190 million, their sterling payout of £148.6 million was actually less than that of the Scottish couple due to fluctuating exchange rates.
Winners: Anonymous
This enormous prize was put up for grabs after a Superdraw came and went without a winner, bumping the jackpot up to £123 million for the following draw. A sole ticket matched the full set of numbers and the big winner came forward just over a week later. They opted to claim their prize anonymously so no more details about them were released.
Winners: Anonymous
This jackpot - fifth-biggest in the UK - was won by a single ticket holder after the prize money climbed from its starting value of £14 million to £122 million in the space of a month. It was the second EuroMillions jackpot of 2021, after a £39 million win on New Year's Day.
Winners: Anonymous
This jackpot was claimed by an anonymous ticket holder following a EuroMillions Superdraw where the £113 million prize wasn’t won. The rollover allowed the jackpot to increase by £8 million before it was won by the lucky player four days later. Superdraws increase the jackpot to a guaranteed value regardless of its size in the previous draw.
Winners: Patrick and Frances Connolly
Frances and Patrick Connolly from Moira in County Down, Northern Ireland, won £114 million on New Year’s Day after buying a Lucky Dip online. They said they ‘celebrated with a cup of tea and a hug’ after discovering they had scooped one of the biggest jackpots in UK history.
They contacted the National Lottery to claim their prize the following morning and attended a press conference a few days later at the Culloden Estate and Spa in Belfast to announce their big win. They pledged to help their nearest and dearest, stating they would share some of their winnings with around 50 of their closest family and friends. Frances, who was formerly worked for an online magazine in the voluntary sector, said she also planned to study for a PhD in clinical psychology.