The 21-year-old engineering student is a self-professed "Big Brother" junkie, who closely studied 13 past seasons in developing his strategy.
Ian Terry, a 21-year-old engineering student from PittsburghIan Terry, a self-proclaimed "Big Brother" fanatic, put years of TV watching to good use and won the $500,000 grand prize on the popular CBS reality TV series on Wednesday night.
The final three contestants in the season 14 finale were Terry, an engineering student from Pittsburgh; parochial school teacher Dan Gheesling of Dearborn, Mich.; and Danielle Murphree, a nurse from Grant, Ala.
Ian won the final head-of-household competition and chose to eliminate Danielle. A jury of seven previously evicted contestants, including Danielle, voted to give the $500,000 grand prize to Ian. Dan received the second place prize of $50,000. The jury voted 6-to-1 for Ian, with Danielle supporting Dan.
Ian told jurors he played a more honorable game than Dan, who lied and blindsided allies, as well as foes. Dan admitted he did "despicable things," but he added that he played the game hard and deserved to win.
Season 14 kicked off with 16 contestants: 12 newcomers and four past players.
Dan previously competed in season 10 of "Big Brother" and won $500,000.
CBS announced Wednesday that it has renewed the series for a 15th season.