If you want to put it that way, yes. It went a bit too far.
A possible way to take a bit of the sting out of this game is to maybe give the player a bit more of a safety zone towards the end. If the last 30 seconds are indeed protected, then you could increase it a bit. Not to a full 60 seconds (or maybe you do), but like 35 to 45 seconds depending on how benevolent you feel like being. That way he can't totally ruin the fun.