Here’s Who Won ‘Squid Game: The Challenge’ Season 1
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It's official: Squid Game isn't just a one-off drama from Netflix, but a full-blown media franchise. The original series became a massive hit for the streaming service, boosting Western audiences' interests in international shows. While Season 2 of Squid Game is still not yet released (and we don't have an exact premiere date for it yet), Netflix managed to introduce a spin-off show to hold viewers over: Squid Game: The Challenge.
A reality competition version of the original show, Squid Game: The Challenge takes the show's overall premise and creates similar stakes, but without any deadly consequences. 456 players are recruited to compete in a series of difficult games, all for the chance to win $4.56 million. It's a huge prize pot, and even without the show's complex narrative, Squid Game: The Challenge manages to deliver thrilling highs and devastating lows as viewers get to know various players and watch as they survive another game or join hundreds of losers.
Creating a spin-off reality show is a bold move for Netflix, particularly when Squid Game's second season still has yet to appear. But their choice paid off, as audiences enjoyed Squid Game: The Challenge as much as the show it's based on. Released in weekly batches starting in November, the series got the green light for Season 2 the same day the final two episodes dropped.
So now that the first season has ended, everyone wants to know: who won the first season of Squid Game: The Challenge? Here's what we know.
The winner of Squid Game: The Challenge Season 1 is Mai, Player 287.
Mai revealed herself to be the smartest of all the contestants on the show. The Vietnam-born immigration adjudicator proved she was both a strategic and trustworthy player, convincing de factor leader TJ Stukes (Player 182) to spare her from elimination, and targeting Ashley Tolbert (Player 278) who Mai believed wasn't a team player.
When Mai became one of the final three players–along with Phil (Player 451) and Sam (Player 016)– her astute observations (no doubt from her time in the navy) and smarts come in handy. The players first have to choose one of three shapes that spell their destiny. Mai drew a triangle, which deemed her safe, while Sam chose a square and was not safe. That meant Mai and Phil were the final two.
The official final challenge of the game came down to a little bit of skill and a little bit of luck. The two played a slightly more complex game of rock, paper, scissors. Whoever won each round of the game would get a key, which they'd then use to unlock a safe. If there was a credit card in the safe, they won the game. But if the safe was empty, they had to keep playing.
Mai made a major strategic move: "Playing with an adult male, they tend to draw towards rock or scissors because it symbolizes the power within them," she said.
And it paid off. After a number of rounds went by, Mai finally managed to unlock the correct safe, becoming the winner of Squid Game: The Challenge. In reflecting on her experience, Mai said it could be difficult to trust other players in the game, who were all attempting to scheme their way to the win.
“It was very hard to protect yourself and process every personality you met. Every minute of every day [was spent] just waiting to either be eliminated or advance to the next game," she told TUDUM.
Her winning words on the show, however, prove the entire experience–the stress, the scheming, and the challenging games–was all worth it. "Today just validates that everything is possible," Mai said. "Even when you feel down and afraid, you just have to pick yourself up, be a strong person, and focus. Whatever your fear is, fight it with everything you got, and you can accomplish anything. I proved it tonight."
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