‘Squid Game: The Challenge’ finale recap: Did Phill, Mai or Sam win the $4.56 million prize? [LIVE BLOG]
Here. We. Go! After 10 episodes, multiple games and a whopping 456 contestants, the winner of “Squid Game: The Challenge” was finally named on December 6, 2023. Heading into the last hour, only three finalists remained in the running to win the $4.56 million cash prize: Player 016 (Sam), Player 287 (Mai) and Player 451 (Phill). So which one of these contestants took home the biggest check in reality TV history?
Before we get into our “Squid Game: The Challenge” finale recap, which aired Wednesday night at 6:00 p.m. PT / 9:00 p.m. ET, let’s refresh everyone’s memories of the Final 3 contestants. The three potential winners were:
Player 016 (Sam)
Age 37, artist, from Florida
Sam was the tallest person in his town growing up, but he was never asked to play basketball. He loves to paint, read, and play video games and he wants to form an alliance of people with various abilities in order to win.
Player 287 (Mai)
Age 55, immigration adjudicator, from Virginia
Mai loves to garden and travel, and she plans on choosing alliances that’ll work to her advantage. If she wins, she plans on looking for a home to spend her retirement in.
Player 451 (Phill)
Age 27, scuba instructor, from Hawaii
Phill can play four instruments. As a quadball gold medalist, he likes any game involving speed and reflexes and plans on befriending as many people as possible. If Phill wins, he wants to donate a chunk to ocean conservation.
SEE ‘Squid Game: The Challenge’ spoilers: Winners, losers and fan-favorites
“Squid Game: The Challenge” finale recap: Keep refreshing/reloading this page for the most recent updates
00: The Final 3 are reacting to their positions as … The Final 3. Sam calls Phill his “best friend left in the game.” However, he says he has no idea “what to expect” from Mai, which leaves him “uneasy.” In the bathroom, the two guys solidify their Final 2 status, and both agree they never thought they’d be here. “Mine was survival, day by day,” declares Sam.
01: Mai declares she’s “just out there vulnerable right now.” She recognizes the two guys are “friends,” and then admits Phill could “try to fool” her, and that she can’t “trust” Sam. Ouch. She has to be “on guard” because “it’s a pack of wolves trying to get a piece of meat.” And with that, the main credits roll.
02: “Episode Ten: One Lucky Day” officially begins. From 456 players we are down to just three — that’s incredible! A voice-over tells us that Sam, Mai and Phill are the finalists, and then Powers-At-Be show us various scenes from the first nine episodes where viewers may not have noticed this trio. Well, yeah, because the editing was so focused on other participants that Sam, Mai and Phill were rarely shown! But I digress.
04: The Final 3 look up at the board where the grand total prize money is now at $4.53 million. Obviously, they all know it’ll go up to $4.56 million by the end of the competition, so I’m not sure why this is a continuing feature of the show. *shrugged shoulders emoji*
05: There’s a loud buzzer, which the players say they “hate,” and then several red-clad staff members come out. Mai’s heart is beating “so fast” as the three staffers bring them each black boxes. They are instructed to change into their new “outfits” before “dinner” … interesting.
06: Now dressed in black jackets, black pants and white shirts, the Final 3 arrive at a “beautiful” fancy dinner. Sam calls it a “shared experience of camaraderie,” but is aware he’ll have to let both Mai and Phill go in order to win.
07: The staffers have “prepared this feast as a token of gratitude for the sacrifice and effort” that the players have made. The various plates (steaks, scallops, etc.) are placed in front of each of the Final 3, and they joke uncomfortably with each other. Sam, Mai and Phill then tell each other their lives “in a nutshell” as they enjoy their meals.
13: The participants are told that only two of them will return to the bunker from the feast. In front of them are three buttons — circle, triangle and square. They have to collectively decide who pushes a button. If a green button is pushed, that player goes into the next round, and they get to choose someone to join then. If a gray button is pushed, nothing happens. If a red button is pushed, that person is eliminated (duh). “This sucks!” shouts Phill.
15: Mai volunteers to step up to push a button, and the background music turns absolutely haunting. Phill asks if she’s sure, and she confirms she wants to be “in control” of her own destiny. Mai’s button is the middle-triangle and it’s … gray! Nothing happens. Now Phill and Sam debate who should push next. Stay tuned.
19: Sam agrees to go next, but he’s “not sure” about his decision, he laughs. Phill wishes him luck as Sam pushes the right-square button and it’s … red! Player 016 is eliminated, declares the female voice-over. The other two people genuinely seemed upset as Sam walks out of the dining room. They hug and weep openly — but is that more about making it to the Final 2 than saying goodbye to the person they just met a week ago?
23: The staffers congratulate Player 287 and Player 451 for making it to the final game. The duo tries to force each other to “be happy,” as the prize fund goes up to $4.54 million. But again, there’s no suspense, as we all know where this total is ultimately going, right? (Hint: it’s $4.56 million.)
24: Phill reveals his “fly was down the entire night” — oops! And then the producers decide to permanently bring down the cash orb from the ceiling to the floor. Mai and Phill both decide to go examine it up close for the first time. “That’s a lot of money,” the contestants agree. Are each of them ready to become a multi-millionaire?
27: Phill and Mai proceed to the game hall, through the wild-colored corridors and staircases, as “The Blue Danube Waltz” plays for the last time on “Squid Game: The Challenge.” It’s official: the final game is “Rock, Paper, Scissors.” In case you don’t know the rules, rock beats scissors, scissors beats paper, and paper beats rock. The winner of each round will select one key and attempt to open the safe. If the key does not open the safe, they will play another round, and so on, until the safe opens and the person wins “Squid Game.”
30: Mai surmises that adult males “tend to draw towards rock and scissors” because it symbolizes the “power within them.” They both have to shake their hands three times behind their backs and then reveal their choices in front. Mai wins Round 1 — paper over rock. She has to select a key from the aquarium … and there are a lot of keys! Her hand shakes as she puts the key in the lock, but it’s not a match.
32: Phill wins Round 2, with rock over scissors. The key doesn’t work.
33: Round 3 is a tie with scissors vs. scissors. Mai then wins Round 4 with paper over rock. No luck with the key.
34: It’s unclear how many rounds pass by as we see a montage of Mai vs. Phill playing “Rock, Paper, Scissors.” Mai wins most of the matches, and she tells us it’s “all about strategizing.” But then Phill claims a match and we follow him as he goes up to the safe, thinking this could finally be it … nope!
36: Mai plays a winning scissors to Phill’s paper, and she has to choose between what looks like less than 10 keys. And she opens the safe! Her face turns red as a United Card shines brightly from within. The voice-over instructs her that she has won $4.56 million. Phill congratulates Mai, and he seems to genuinely mean it as they hug.
38: Mai’s final congratulatory words: “Today just validates that anything is possible. Even when you feel down and afraid, you have to pick yourself up, be a strong person, and focus. Whatever your fear is, fight it with everything that you’ve got, and you can accomplish anything. And it’s proven tonight. I am the winner.”
38: We then cut to real life, where the following fan-fave players are highlighted: 432 Bryton, 301 Trey, 302 LeAnn, 016 Sam, 182 TJ, 286 Chad, 278 Ashley, 232 Rick, 243 Stephen, 451 Phill, 299 Spencer, 018 Bee and 287 Mai. In a funny gag, Mai goes to deposit some cash and she has an account balance of $4.56 million.
40: In the future, a random person is given a business card that reads, “CALL THIS NUMBER: 010-034.” We then see an on-screen instruction to contact squidgamecasting.com in order to participate in Season 2 of the biggest reality TV show on television. See you next year, fellow Squiders!
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