Whether it be a result of miscounted seconds, a dropped ball, or an unexpected betrayal, the eliminations in Squid Game: The Challenge come fast (and at times brutally) in Season 2.
But in the end, there can only be one player who prevails and wins the whopping $4.56 million cash prize — and that means 455 others must go. The competitors who enter and exit the game are more than just players; they’re people who have goals, dreams, and loved ones they hope to return home to with life-changing money. So, what’s it like for those who are eliminated after having a real shot at millions of dollars?
It’s time to check in with some of Squid Game: The Challenge Season 2’s most memorable eliminated players to see what they learned, what they regret, and how their lives have changed since the game. And don’t forget, you have the chance to bring one Season 2 player back to the game in Season 3. Click on the banner below to make your voice heard in the Second Chance Fan Vote.
When he entered the game, Mark’s plan was very simple. “I wanted to be myself, make friends, make good allies, and not think about money until top 30.” After surviving The Count and Six-Legged Pentathlon, it was an intense game of Catch that led to Mark’s demise. It’s a heartbreaking elimination preceded by a tense pre-game, during which Mark is singled out by Ryan (Player 272).
Mark compared the uncomfortable interaction to middle school bullying. “It was really hard. I was immediately transported back to my sixth grade gym. I kind of reverted back to 12-year-old Mark, and it was hard to get my head back in the game. When it came up that the strategy was, ‘Pick on Mark, he looks weak,’ that hurt in a very sincere way.”
Still, Mark is very clear that he doesn’t believe Ryan is a bully. “I think [he] was probably acting in his best interest at that time, but it felt like extreme bullying, and it was really hard in that moment. I was not OK for a little while. I’m fine with Ryan now. We’re good. I was very thankful for how the rest of the [team] came to my side and made sure that I was OK. That’s a thing I was really thankful for.”
Despite internalized stress, Mark met the challenge head-on when Julie (Player 443) decided to throw him the ball. He recalls what was going through his mind in the gut-wrenching moment. “I remember feeling frustrated, angry, a little sad, and somehow at peace because it was lining up to be my time to go. It was all of these emotions spiraling in my head. It felt like time was moving extremely slow. I felt like everything was silent, which was really creepy in real time. It felt helpless, like I didn't really have agency over the moment.”
But Mark has persevered through and tried his best. Now, he’s carrying that momentum into life beyond the show. “I’m an actor, I’m a creator, I’m a writer. I do a lot of things. This year’s been a lot of rebuilding for me, and this was eye-opening because I think it reminded me to love and trust who I am.”
While some players come into the game hoping to fly under the radar, Viper felt that wouldn’t be an option for him. “I’m 6’4” and I’m loud. It was hard for me to hide in the shadows. I went in with the intention of having fun, playing the games, and making the most of the experience.”
Not only did Viper fully participate in the competition, he also had to pressure a fellow contestant to play a game. During Catch, Dalton (Player 390) turned his back in an effort to force Viper to throw the ball to someone else. Viper recalls the magnitude of the moment. “That was the only thing that mattered right then and there. It took a bit of time to convince him to turn around. I didn’t want to be aggressive because this is a team game. It felt like time was going forever — like you’re in a casino. I don’t know if it was 10 minutes, 50 minutes, an hour. It all bleeds together.”
Dalton eventually turns around, but he’s unable to make the catch, eliminating himself and Viper, who found value in being part of the show in forms other than $4.56 million. “I learned so much about myself from this experience and that translated throughout this entire year. I’ve grown so much as a person, as an artist, as an athlete. The second I got into the dorms with literally 456 people, I was like, wait, everyone here has their own thing going. Everyone’s a star in their own right. And for a bit, I kind of doubted myself and I got a little apprehensive, but I took a beat and I was like, ‘You’re here for a reason. Trust your instincts. Trust who you are. Trust that you got here because you are special.’”
Viper believes participating in the show allowed him to be a leader and brought a new level of humanity out in him. “This experience softened me. We had no phones, no distractions, no middleman of technology interfering. We had nothing but people in there. It felt alien because we’ve never been in this environment, but so human at the same time. I walk with my spine a little bit straighter because of it.”
“Mingle was insane to the max,” August says, reflecting on the intense competition that led to his in-game demise. He notes that despite Mingle’s chaotic and cutthroat nature, it truly made him feel like part of the Squid Game universe, which is why coming up short was such an emotional experience.
“Going into the game, my mom told me to play as true to myself as I can and to never let greed come over me. We recently lost her in May, the day before Mother’s Day. Because of her words, I know she would have been very proud of how Mingle turned out for me. Even though I was so bummed to not make it further, prioritizing my friends is something I’d never regret, even if it was a $4.56 million dollar sacrifice. I just wish she were here to see that I stayed true to my promise.”
Though August wishes he’d focused more energy on building strong alliances from the get-go, he left with valuable learnings about himself. “Being part of Squid Game: The Challenge taught me that even in intense, overwhelming and uncomfortable situations, I stay true to who I am as a person. I always wondered if I really was the man I said I was, or if it was all a facade. This game showed that yes, I will stay true to who I believe I am, and while I lead by emotions, I will never let them drive me to treat others unfairly or without compassion and empathy.”
There’s one additional thing August gets to carry into life beyond this competition. “The show taught me to never stop dreaming, because you never know when it’s your turn to open your eyes and see that your dream is now your reality!”
The season kicks off with The Count, a game that allows little room for error and leaves the fate of hundreds in the hands of two players who must press a button, stopping a clock as close to 12 minutes as possible — Raul was one of them, while his twin brother, Jacob, led the opposing team.
Raul recalls the shock of realizing his newfound responsibility. “That’s honestly one of the most intense moments of my life. I genuinely thought we were going to play Red Light, Green Light; everyone for themselves.” And while Raul’s team lost and was eliminated, he was the sole survivor — a reward for initially volunteering himself alongside Jacob.
Even in advancing, Raul remained aware he and his brother would be targets. “We’ve known each other all our lives. They’d only met five minutes into the game and decided to [form] alliances. We’ve already got an alliance. It doesn’’ have to be spoken about.”
That unbreakable bond explains why Matthew (Player 098) targets Raul when he’s forced to choose another player to go head-to-head with in an elimination vote. Raul recalls the sobering moments leading up to it. “I was going around the dorm and people were just saying [it would be] me as a joke. And then it hit me at one point. I was like, this is actually a good game plan for [Matthew] to stay in the game because one, we’re twins [and] two, people might have had some animosity from Catch. So I was just thinking, “if my name gets called out, I’m probably going to be out the game.’ ”
After an untimely exit with his brother remaining in the game, Raul explains the feelings of unfinished business he coped with after elimination. “For me, I didn’t like being outside. I liked it inside the games. It just felt like we were living that. And I didn’t want to leave. It was too early for me.”
Jacob believes stepping up to lead teams in The Count alongside Raul ultimately worked in his favor. “I felt like I had a lot of support. I think people respected us putting ourselves out there, so that gave us a bit of an advantage making friends. Others hated it, but some people respected it.”
Just as quickly as they’d made allies, Jacob believes he and Raul may have put a target on themselves during Catch, when they ensured each other’s safety early in the game and almost considered deviating from their team’s original agreed-upon strategy. “The downfall was getting too tactical in Catch. I was thinking, ‘I just want to get through this game with [Raul]. I’m going to do anything I can because at the end of the day, we’re there to win the money ourselves, we’re not there to make friends.”
After watching Raul be voted out, Jacob immediately faced additional adversity in the game by being handcuffed to Austin (Player 153). “I got called up to have a disadvantage. I thought, ‘It’s fine. I deserve it. I’ll just take it.’ Marcus [Player 21] had a note in his food saying the next game is Mingle. I thought, ‘You know what, this is smart play from Austin, because I’ve got my group, he’s got his group, we can come together. We’ve got a lot of people to disperse in different groups.”
After ultimately coming up short during the “intense” game of Mingle while being “shackled up next to someone,” Jacob processed being eliminated with a hunger for more competition. “I was quite emotional after that because being in there for that long, I was just so in the game. All of a sudden you’re out. And I was just thinking, ‘Oh, my god.’ That just happened. Everything just hit me. ”
“I went farther than I thought I would in the game, but I had so much left in the tank,” Austin tells Tudum about his elimination. Heading into Mingle, Austin’s choice to open the nesting doll earlier in the game resulted in a disadvantage: being handcuffed to Jacob (Player 432). “I 100% would have survived Mingle if I hadn't received that disadvantage. We had every combination in Mingle figured out,” he says, adding that he believes he would have “for sure beaten Jacob in Marbles as well” had they advanced in the competition.
Austin believes that the strong connections he’d made in the game so far — primarily with Marcus (Player 021) — would’ve gotten him to the final rounds. And he was looking forward to building his relationship with his rivals as well. “Our alliance was so strong, and who knows if we had been at odds with the twins’ alliance or ended up working together if we got through Mingle, but it would have been fun to see how that played out.”
While he’s not walking away with the $4.56 million, Austin is leaving the competition with something valuable: a forever bond with his fellow players. “In just a couple of weeks, I made friendships that were so real, raw, and genuine and arguably deeper than a lot of the ones I’ve had for years. The experience has shown me the importance of disconnecting and simply slowing down to have genuine conversations with people.” Austin has been trying to stay present. “Besides having FOMO about how far I could have gone if I didn’t get that disadvantage, I’ve been enjoying just hanging out with my family more,” he says. “I loved every minute and am very thankful I got to be a part of it.”
Heading into Squid Game: The Challenge, Curt thought playing alongside his daughter would present problems — and he was pleasantly surprised to learn otherwise. “I expected it to be a hindrance. [I thought] we were going to have a target on our backs. [Then I] come to find out it’s a benefit to have someone there because you eliminate homesickness, you eliminate missing your loved ones as much because you have your daughter there.”
Curt survived games like Catch and Mingle before he was pitted against his daughter, Zoe (Player 369), in a game of Marbles. Curt knows his daughter to be “such a competitor and superathletic,” but he wanted to meet her in a head-on matchup with maximum effort. “When we got the marbles, I realized one of us is going home. My first thought was, ‘I’m not going to back off on you, and you don’t back off on me. Let’s just play.’ Zoe said, ‘I don’t want to go home,’ and I’m like, ‘Well, neither do I.’ But my decision was made. I’m not going to send my daughter home.”
Not only does he think audiences would’ve disliked him for eliminating his daughter, he also believes Zoe had a better chance of winning the whole thing. “When it comes down to it, she’s my baby girl. I’m going to prop her up as much as I can. I didn’t realize how much of a protective parent I am until the game. Saying goodbye to her was hard, but it was also a very proud moment.”
Eric still believes garnering sympathy through falsehoods helped him advance in the game. “In Season 1, players often chose to eliminate someone they simply didn’t know, which terrified me. My brain is wired to find and exploit strategic advantages from a lifetime of tennis, poker, and board games. Before we filmed, I spent weeks racking my brain, trying to find a way to trick everyone in the dorm into feeling guilty about eliminating me. What trait is guaranteed to evoke empathy? Being an expecting parent.”
If you want to know to what extent Eric went to master this grand lie, he says he listened to pregnancy podcasts and read What to Expect When You’re Expecting in preparation. For the record, he doesn’t feel bad about being dishonest, citing “trailblazers in reality television trickery” like Jonny Fairplay and Matt Hoffman as inspiration. “I don’t regret my lie at all. It’s my crowning achievement. This is a game, I’m proud of my ability to think outside the box, and I don’t think that I crossed a moral line.”
While Eric describes his elimination during a simple game of Marbles against Melissa (Player 110) as “embarrassing,” he doesn’t regret it. “I wanted my and Melissa’s story to come full-circle, and it did. The competitor in me is a bit annoyed I didn’t maximize my win equity, [but] I’m at peace with how I met my comeuppance.”
Leaving the show, Eric learned some things he’ll carry moving forward. “I may have fumbled and made mistakes, but I was also able to formulate and execute a plan too absurd for 99% of people to dream up, let alone attempt. In a game in which probably 450 out of the 455 other players had far more interesting accomplishments and personalities than me, I proved to myself that I can make my mark through my two biggest strengths: creativity and audacity.”
While Matthew’s strategy in the game might have rubbed some people the wrong way, he found a lot of value in the competition, which he says taught him it’s OK to feel scared and vulnerable. “Being locked in a dorm away from family, friends, and my dog was extremely tough. Filled with so many different unknown emotions, you start to realize the strangers among you are going through the same mixed feelings. This helped me find comfort.”
The game meant a lot to Matthew, who played with intensity and integrity, and he credits his family for the experience. “My wife and children sacrificed a lot in order for me to find the time needed to be away as long as I was. They helped make it happen because they believed in me,” he says. As for being booted from the competition due to his trio being unable to choose one of themselves to be eliminated, coming up short still hurts. “I wanted so bad to be able to see them glow for me at the very end. It’s so important for me to know that my kids look up to me and are still proud of me regardless of the outcome.”
Recalling his gameplay, he has some regrets. “Part of me wishes I would have been a little more quiet and less opinionated,” he says. “I also wish I found more time to get to know players who saw me as nothing more than a target or threat. Maybe that would have helped me build more of an alliance with others to remain in the game.” Regardless, Matthew feels “blessed” and highlights the beauty of Squid Game: The Challenge, which brings together “people from all walks of life.” He exited with a valuable lesson. “I’ve learned throughout this whole experience that it’s better to open up than to just shut down. And that it’s more than OK if the person you’re opening up to is a stranger.”
“I was stabbed in the back by those I elected to trust. I don’t regret my choices,” Isaiah tells Tudum. “My sole regret is trusting Players 409, 451, and 110.” Many months later, it’s safe to say that Isaiah still hasn’t forgiven those responsible for his elimination.
When Isaiah told Clare (Player 409) and Mackenzie (Player 451) that he was only looking out for himself for the remainder of the competition, he never expected that they’d select him to boot from the game. As for why they chose him, in Isaiah’s eyes, it’s simple. “You know I’m a threat, and that’s why you eliminated me,” he says in Episode 6. With the benefit of hindsight, he maintains that his strategy was “legitimate,” adding, “I don’t believe I caused myself to be eliminated.” In fact, Isaiah says he’s happy that he was fully himself throughout the experience — no matter whether the other players liked him or not. “I learned that being kind, genuine, and unselfish is not corny,” he says.
Since leaving the dormitory, Isaiah has been laser-focused on his music career and is preparing to launch his debut album later this year. “I have spent a lot of time preparing for its release, shooting music videos, and appearing on podcasts,” he says. “A lot of beats have been made by me during this time.”
For Zoe, going against her father in an elimination game of Marbles was an emotional roller coaster. “It’s so easy to talk the talk and be like, ‘We’re going to fight to the death. We’re not going to let each other win.’ But in my heart I’m like, ‘I want to let my dad win.’ And he’s like, ‘I want to let Zoe win.’ My dad took the ultimate sacrifice in Marbles and let me win to continue on.”
While she also worried about becoming a target for having a family member in the game, Zoe believes her father’s ability to connect with people proved beneficial. “Knowing how social and outgoing my dad is, I was nervous. I felt like I was going to have to monitor that. It ended up being one of his biggest strengths in the game, because he was able to make friends so easily.”
After eliminating her father in Marbles, it was a game of Slides and Ladders that ended Zoe’s run. Paired up with Perla (Player 072), Zoe trusted her partner’s decisions. “Perla was one of my closest friends, alliances, and partners. We were pumped to be together. And Perla’s one of those people who has very good gut instincts. She was right about everything leading up [to that last game], so I trusted her a lot. Even in the game, she rolls a six [multiple] times in a row. She was locked in.”
While Zoe and Perla got off to a hot start, their gameplay quickly deteriorated, leading to the duo having to choose an unknown slide. “Perla was crashing out, and you obviously have to send someone down the slide, so I wasn’t going to force her to go down first when she’s crying, having a small panic attack. I was like, ‘Perla, I trust you.’ And she told me, ‘I feel really good about the left one. I think it’s the [slide on] the left.’ Fifty-fifty odds seem so good, so I’m like, sure, I’ll go left.” Of course, Zoe went down the wrong slide, resulting in her elimination from the competition.
With a single roll of the dice by Perla (Player 072) during Slides and Ladders, Mackenzie’s time on Squid Game: The Challenge came to an ink-stained end. But the Michigan–based real estate agent isn’t looking back with regrets, as she feels “genuinely positive” about her journey through the competition series. “I stayed true to my values and morals from start to finish,” she tells Tudum. “I could not be more proud of that. I walked into the dormitory a girl and came out a woman. I was pushed to my limits in ways I didn’t expect, but I prevailed and learned how to move through pressure with grace.”
She’s leaving the competition rich in friends (instead of prize winnings), but Mackenzie says that the game also forced her to reevaluate her life. “I don’t need to [tiptoe] around what might happen. I learned to stop bracing for impact and to trust myself more,” she says. “It also made me realize that the things I once viewed as hardships were actually the experiences that built [up] my resilience, shaped my character, and made me the woman I am today.”
She’s taking all those lessons into this new chapter, which started with becoming single. “I left the relationship that I entered the dormitory in, spent much more intentional time with my family, and have traveled solo to reconnect with myself a bit,” says Mackenzie. “It’s been a season of real growth and clarity for me.”
Melissa entered Squid Game: The Challenge planning to stir things up. “I walked in thinking I was going to be the biggest, baddest villain you ever met,” she says. But the competition and her unexpected alliance quickly tested that mindset. “I found myself surrounded by people preaching loyalty, honor, [and] integrity.”
Melissa describes an “internal tug-of-war” that came to a head when she had the opportunity to vote out an ally after the five slowest Pentathlon players were put up for elimination. “My whole alliance was going to vote to keep him. I told them I was wavering. A lot of them got really upset with me. At that moment, I had to make a decision. My gut was telling me to stick with my group. That was pivotal for me. From that moment on, I played the game honestly, and I think that’s what got me as far as I did.”
Later, during a nerve-wracking game of Circle of Trust, Melissa’s instincts were tested again. She was the first to have a gift box placed on her desk, by Kate (Player 327), meaning she would be eliminated if she couldn’t correctly guess who put it there. “I had 10 people to choose from, and my strategy was to air everyone out and get some kind of reaction out of them.” But when it came time to choose, her gut betrayed her. “The second I chose Chris [Player 318], I knew it was wrong. That’s the one thing I regret.”
Looking back, Melissa believes she could’ve correctly guessed the person who placed the gift box on her desk, though she acknowledges that “hindsight is 20/20” and exhaustion played a role in her decision. “Squid Game just makes you tired. You’re not your sharpest. I feel like I would’ve picked up on those clues. But that’s just one of those woulda, shoulda, coulda things.”
A lifelong athlete, Claire thought she knew what pressure felt like. Then she took part in Mingle. “I’ve played in championships. I’ve been in games that came down to the buzzer,” she says. “But Mingle was by far the most stressful game I have ever been in.” The elaborate, colorful set might look welcoming, but for Claire, it was all strategy and survival. “It was so [true to the scripted series]. I snapped back to reality, like, wait, this is not going to be fun. I didn’t really have the numbers, a lot of my alliance was gone, so I had to take a deep breath and stay calm.”
Isolated but determined, she decided to turn her mind into her strongest weapon. “I knew I had to make myself useful to whatever group would take me. I counted how many people were left after every round, how many people were eliminated, and kept track of that number for each round to figure out what potential numbers would be called.”
While Claire stayed calm under pressure during Mingle, she dreaded Circle of Trust. “When I saw that game, I could’ve actually cried in that moment. I didn’t have a strategy for it. I had nine people to choose from, and I tried to interrogate people, but I’m not a good interrogator. My mom’s a lawyer, and she’d probably be pretty upset. That’s one of my regrets: Why did I not come up with a strategy?”
Claire also shared one personal storyline that wasn’t shown. “Fun fact: I had a sister in the game, Claire (Player 393). At the beginning, most of my strategy was thinking about her too,” she says. “We split up in Pentathlon because we didn’t want to risk being on the same team. Waiting in the dorms for her to come back was so hard. [When] I saw [the teams] come back, and [hers] wasn’t one of them, I knew she went home.”
Despite being eliminated during Circle of Trust, having her sister eliminated was a “pivotal” moment that reshaped Claire’s mindset and allowed her to showcase her independence. “I realized I was completely alone in there,” she recalls. “There was no one I could automatically trust. I needed to lock in and remind myself that I was here for a reason, and it was time to start thinking about myself for once.”
When Faith first saw the Squid Game: The Challenge set, she was floored. “I’m not often speechless, but I was speechless,” she says about stepping into Mingle, a game she managed to survive despite being terrified. “It was the worst thing I’ve ever gone through in my entire life. I’ve never felt so scared, so panicked, so distrustful and unsure of what to do, where to go, and how to do it.”
Though Faith says Mingle was “the hardest part of this whole experience,” she met her Squid Game demise while playing Circle of Trust. “When I walked in, I was like, ‘If I’m not going to win, this will be the game that takes me.’ ” Reflecting on failing to correctly guess who placed a gift box on her table, Faith’s frustration is solely with herself. “I’m mad at myself for not keeping a more open mind. When you leave you start thinking, ‘Could’ve, would’ve,’ but I wish I could’ve kept my eyes open and been more critical and observant, because I would’ve noticed [who gave the gift box].”
Still, Faith accomplished plenty using a slow-burn strategy to succeed in the game. “I wasn’t the loudest, I wasn’t the funniest, but I wasn’t the quietest. As time [passed], people started noticing, ‘This girl might have something. She’s a real competitor.’ ” Peeling back her layers, Faith feels she showed other sides of herself. “The sleepier, sneakier version of me can go away, and I can be bolder and brighter.”
For Kate, the puck-sliding game that sealed her fate was as surreal as it was intense. “I can picture it like it was yesterday. We were all just fighting for that next round. In the back of my mind, if I’m honest, I was just so excited and grateful to be where I was and to have got as far as I’d got.”
Deep into the game, Kate found the stakes to feel double-edged. “I was close to this huge pot of money, but also close to getting home and seeing my family,” she says. “It felt like a win-win situation. I would get through to the next round and have an opportunity to go further, or I would get to see my kids and husband.”
After narrowly losing to Trinity (Player 398), Kate’s first call was to her family. “They were just so excited to hear from me and know that I was OK and that I’d had a good time. For me, none of the experience has been negative — everything I did, everything I learned — and most of the people I met will be friends for life.”
Reflecting on her time in the dorm, Kate appreciates the time she had to forge friendships and have conversations with people from all walks. “I’m an oversharer and I ask a lot of questions, so I got to the bottom of people and really enjoyed learning about different cultures and the States compared to the UK. Everybody has their own story, and I loved that.”
Since leaving the show, Kate’s been back to her busy, joyful life with a new perspective. “I’ve kept my head down, kept working hard, doing what I do,” she says. “Sometimes, when my kids and family are driving me potty, I wish I was back in Squid Games.”
Check back with Tudum for more updates on the Squid Game: The Challenge Season 2 players, and click on the link below if you think you have what it takes to compete in Season 3.
