Who won ‘Squid Game: The Challenge?’

This article contains spoilers for Netflix’s Squid Game: The Challenge.

Netflix’s first stab at bringing Squid Game to life through its newest reality competition show, Squid Game: The Challenge, has come to a close, and one contestant secured the $4.56 million grand prize.

For 10 episodes, we watched 455 hopefuls’ dreams derail playing childhood games like “Red Light, Green Light” and “Battleship.” One by one, the cast whittled down to two, and the finalists squared off in “Rock, Paper, Scissors” to determine who’d walk away with the life-changing check.

No. 451 Phill and No. 287 Mai dueled until the latter successfully unlocked a safe holding a debit card.

The 55-year-old immigration adjudicator, whose full name is Mai Whelan, became the champion of Squid Game: The Challenge season 1, while Phill left with nothing but memories and new-found fame.

How did Mai win Squid Game: The Challenge?

So, how did Mai get it done?

With fan favorites like the mother-son duo, No. 301 Trey and No. 302 LeAnn, and “Gganbu Gang’s” No. 232 Rick and No. 243 Stephen dominating the screen time, we didn’t get much from Mai until the back half of the episodes when most of them had been eliminated.

There were snippets of Mai, of course, like when we watched her forge an alliance with No. 286 Chad, but she didn’t really hit fans’ radars until No. 182 T.J. professed his loyalty and admiration for her. When he was chosen as the dormitory’s leader in episode 6, he saved Mai from an early exit. Then, we got a taste of her gamer mentality — the sort of me-above-anyone-else mantra she adhered to that propelled her to the seven-figure payday. Instead of following the plan of maintaining an all-female alliance, she chose to save Chad — her closest ally — instead of picking another woman.

Mai’s social game paid dividends again when T.J. randomly selected No. 20, the last number having to traverse “Glass Bridge,” and gave it to her. Although the former basketball player “fell” to his demise, Mai passed the game without putting herself in danger.

T.J.’s inclusion of Mai was a storyline that elevated her edit. And then she became a focal point for the rest of the season. Clocking how No. 278 Ashley didn’t jump when she was supposed to — according to the cast’s agreed upon plan — Mai targeted her during the next dormitory elimination. But, the game of dice didn’t lead to Ashley’s’ exit, and the remaining players became leery of Mai’s instinct. She became a villain among the contestants. But, that didn’t slow Mai’s momentum.

Heading into the “Circle of Truth” competition, virtually all of Mai’s key allies were gone. Chad was taken out during the dice game. Speaking with Screen Rant ahead of the finale airing, the Vietnamese-born contender said that although a few players were somewhat in her corner, she was on an island alone.

“I think the support had diminished when I selected Ashley, but, at the same time, there was still a little hope from [No. 418] Roland, [No. 016] Sam, and Phil. [They’d] give me that little support but yet stand back because they [didn’t] trust me; I just wanted to take out their friend. It was hard because you have to put on your game face and show that you’re not vulnerable because your friend has been taken out, or something like that. You have to stay strong.”

According to the edit, Mai was closest to Roland. Even so, Mai pulled a cutthroat and genius move during the game at the expense of the 23-year-old.

Circle of Truth, a game that didn’t appear in Squid Game, had players sitting in a circle blindfolded. During every round of play, a guard chose one of them to put another contestant on death row by placing a gift box on their desk. The person who received the box then had to determine who gave it to them. If they were right, the gifter was eliminated. But, if they were incorrect, they’d be escorted out of the game hall for good.

Mai was the first player chosen. And knowing no one would expect it, she placed the box on Roland’s desk. Convinced it wasn’t Mai, Roland determined it was No. 051 Rose and was eliminated. Mai faced instant elimination a few rounds later when No. 429 Elliot placed the gift in front of her. But, Mai used the experience she garnered in her adjudication career and ousted Elliot.

“Circle of Truth” ended with three players left standing — Mai, Phill, and Sam. Phill and Sam were ride-or-die allies, and Mai knew she was outnumbered. With the odds against her, she made it through the last dormitory elimination when they had to push a button to illuminate a light. Mai went first, and her button shined grey, meaning she was neither safe nor eliminated.

Sam went next, and he had a 50-50 chance of going home or taking Phill to the final. But, the square symbol he picked went red and his campaign came to an abrupt halt. With Mai and Phill remaining out of the field of 456 contestants, they faced off in the aforementioned game of Rock, Paper, Scissors.

Mai said in a confessional at the beginning of the game that she played Rock, Paper, Scissors a lot as a child, and by constantly reading Phill, she dominated it. Whenever someone won a round, they selected a key from a container and attempted to unlock a safe. After several rounds, Mai chose the correct key and unlocked it, signaling her triumph.

Mai spoke with Men’s Health ahead of the finale, and she revealed that when she entered Squid Game: The Challenge, she brought with her a competitive spirit that was willing to drive her toward the $4.56 million. “When I walked into the dormitory for the first time, I thought the character I have as a person is outside the dormitory, and my new persona in the dormitory is that of a competitive person,” she said. “It was like Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.”

Well, her attitude of doing whatever she needed to was the right call.

Mai is Squid Game: The Challenge’s sole champion. But, with Netflix already casting for season 2, she’ll have company in the winner’s circle at some point down the line.