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The Chase viewers rushed to social media to share their thoughts after they saw the latest batch of contestants on the ITV show

The Chase enthusiasts didn’t miss a beat when they noticed an amusing connection between the contestants’ names on the show.

The latest episode featured four fresh contenders, Alvin, Simone, Theo, and Dave, ready to face off against one of Britain’s top quiz maestros for a sizeable cash prize.

Bradley Walsh welcomed them onto the ITV programme. The foursome, strangers until the show, hoped to outwit the Chaser—Shaun Wallace, aka ‘The Dark Destroyer’.

However, eagle-eyed viewers were quick to take to social media to highlight the humorous coincidence among the player’s names. A viewer was amused by the “Chipmunks reference”, while another chortled: “Are they all Chipmunks?”

A third added: “It’s the Chipmunks. Dave, and then Alvin, Simon, Theodore!” And yet another remarked: “Alvin, Simone and Theo on The Chase. They knew what they were doing there right? Please tell me they did.”

The Chaser Shaun also caught onto the reference commenting: “It’s the cast of Alvin and the Chipmunks.” Host Bradley responded: “I’m sorry I’ve never seen that, that was completely lost on me,” reports the Liverpool Echo.

In the beloved 2007 family flick, three chipmunks with a knack for singing—Alvin, Simon, and Theodore—set their sights on stardom in the music world, under the care of Dave Seville until discovered by a music producer.

Viewers couldn’t help but chuckle at the coincidence of Alvin, Simone, Theo, and Dave appearing together on ‘The Chase’.

However, this isn’t the first occasion the series has seen a group of contestants with intriguingly interconnected names.

An episode recently had viewers chuckling with an Avengers twist, featuring players named Tony, Steve, Thor, and Natasha, a fact that didn’t go unnoticed by fans or The Menace who made a quip on the matter. Earlier in the year, a “cheesy” event occurred when eagle-eyed viewers spotted names resembling cheeses – think Gordon Ola as Gorgonzola and Leslie Dale for Wensleydale on the popular ITV quiz programme.

On his regular quest for knowledge, Shaun faced off against Dave from Northumberland, who notched up £7,000 in the Cash Builder and nabbed a spot in the finale following an impressive round.

Theo was eager to match Dave’s success; however, after a nail-biting quick-fire session, Theo was eliminated by The Dark Destroyer’s swift takedowns. Simone crossed the pond from the USA for her chance at quiz glory. She chose caution over risk and brought back a modest £1,000 to the pot.

With high hopes, Alvin stepped up as the last contestant aiming to reach the final but found his efforts thwarted by The Chaser’s relentless pursuit.

In a tense final chase, Simone and Dave could only muster an 11-point lead, insufficient to best The Dark Destroyer who sent them home with over half a minute spare, ensuring they left with nothing but the experience.

Epic Games on Friday said that its popular game “Fortnite” will be offline on Apple devices because the iPhone maker blocked its recent app update.

The dispute comes just weeks after Epic Games and other app developers cheered a judge’s ruling that limited the commissions that Apple makes through third party apps distributed through its app store.

Apple received a scathing rebuke from U.S. District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers, who sided with Epic Games, which alleged that the Cupertino, Calif., tech giant ran afoul of an order she issued in 2021 after finding the company engaged in anticompetitive behavior.

Under the ruling, Apple can’t collect commissions on purchases U.S. customers make through links inside iPhone apps that direct them to outside websites. Developers, which make money by selling digital goods and services via their apps and games, want to avoid giving Apple a cut of their revenue by sending customers to other websites.

“That [Apple] thought this court would tolerate such insubordination was a gross miscalculation,” the judge wrote in her ruling.

Many developers applauded the court’s ruling, which limits what they call the Apple tax, and said they would pass on the savings to customers.

Epic Games’ Chief Executive Tim Sweeney earlier this month said “Fornite” would return to the App Store in the U.S. and possibly worldwide if Apple extends “the court’s friction free, Apple tax-free framework” globally. But on Friday, the “Fortnite” X account said that Apple blocked its submission.

“Now, sadly, Fortnite on iOS will be offline worldwide until Apple unblocks it,” the account posted. Epic Games did not return requests for further comment.

Apple said on Friday that it asked that “Epic Sweden resubmit the app update without including the U.S. storefront of the App Store so as not to impact Fortnite in other geographies.”

“We did not take any action to remove the live version of Fortnite from alternative distribution marketplaces,” Apple said in a statement.

Rob Enderle, principal analyst with advisory services firm Enderle Group, said the recent ruling applies to the U.S. and Apple wants to retain the rest of its control worldwide. Apple makes significant money through apps.

“Apple is using their monopoly strength to prevent ‘Fortnite’ from benefiting globally from their core win,” Enderle said.

Epic Games filed its lawsuit against Apple in 2020. “Fornite” generates revenue by letting people buy digital goods, such as “skins,” in the game, and Epic wanted to let users buy items outside the Apple system to avoid the company’s commission.

The court ordered Apple to let app developers put links in its apps so customers could make outside purchases and bypass the company’s commission fee. Apple, however, defied the order, the court said.

Apple limited the ways that developers could communicate with its customers about out-of-app purchases and used wording that discouraged users from clicking on those links, the judge wrote. Apple would charge a commission fee for any goods or services purchased within seven days of a consumer clicking on a link that took them out of the app, the ruling said.

Apple is appealing the ruling and has said it strongly disagreed with the judge’s decision.