Meet the 3 Final Players on Squid Game: The Challenge

Squid Game: The Challenge has rapidly become unmissable reality TV. Starting with a staggering cast of 456 players, we’ve watched a whole lot of contestants take big risks in a sequence of challenges inspired by the Korean drama, and either see them pay off or result in a gutpunch elimination, all in the name of winning $4.56 million.

From those 456 players, just three will remain to face off against one another in Episode 10. Get to know the three finalists of the first-ever season of Squid Game: The Challenge.

Player 016: Sam

Sam didn’t emerge as a contender right away, and his strategy involved letting some of the other bigger, bolder personalities burn bright and then fizzle out before stepping forward in the competition. “I grew up a little gay boy in a very religious family… I’m pretty confident in my ability to hold my cards close to my chest,” Sam told Tudum prior to filming.

He’s has had some pretty close calls throughout this season, most notably in the Dalgona challenge, but as he revealed to Mai in Episode 9, his priority has been to play the kind of game that he can stand by and be proud of once they’re all back in the outside world. “As long as we keep our eye on our hearts and our humanity, because we all have that good core,” he said.

Player 287: Mai

The frequently tearful Mai has slowly revealed herself to be one of the most cunning game-players of the entire show, garnering something of a reputation as a contender after shockingly choosing to eliminate her close allies. “This game is all about self-preservation,” she says in Episode 9. “I have to do what I have to do to survive.”

Player 451: Phill

The Hawaii-based scuba instructor has been pretty chill during his time on Squid Game: The Challenge, and certainly didn’t expect to get this far when he started his journey. “I basically have no strategy going into this,” he said before entering the competition. “I’m kind of going in blind. I really just have no idea how this is going to go.”

“If I suddenly become a millionaire, I wouldn’t keep most of the money,” he added. “I’ve personally been helped a lot throughout my entire life by family and friends and I’ve never really been able to reciprocate.”

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