For all but one player, everyone who enters Squid Game: The Challenge shares the same fate: elimination.
Over the course of 10 episodes, the 456 players vying to win a life-changing cash prize of $4.56 million will be whittled down to a single winner. But whether they get caught in the crosshairs of Young-hee the doll in Red Light, Green Light, see their honeycomb candy crack suddenly during the Dalgona challenge, or even make it all the way to the finale, every person who passes through the dormitory has a story of their own.
And while they might not have outlasted their competitors, the journey for many of the players has only just begun. Below, check back in with your favorite players months after filming to find out how they look back on their strategy for Squid Game: The Challenge, if they regret anything about the competition, and what they’re up to now.
To get the comprehensive list of all the people eliminated by episode so far and to learn more about each competitor, check out the Official Player Guide.
Mothi came into Squid Game: The Challenge staying true to himself, and he’s leaving the same way. “I never had the intention of going in there as someone I’m not,” he tells Tudum. “I felt I showed everyone my personality, and I have no regrets in taking part. It was an interesting experience.” Since his elimination, Mothi has been keeping his head down and focusing on work and family life in the UK, where he works as a residential field technician. “My routine is still the same,” he says, adding that he’s currently focused on fitness and staying active. “I haven’t let being on the show affect me in my real life. Not yet, anyway.” While the game is meant to push players to their limits, Mothi is proud of how he handled the ups and downs of the competition, sharing that he only wants to put “peace, love, and respect” out into the world.
Dani came into the show seeking a “a crazy life experience,” and she got what she was asking for tenfold. “I felt real human emotion and real guilt, and that is exactly what I needed,” she tells Tudum. Competing in the series pushed Dani to be “more emotionally vulnerable and honest with [herself],” leading to some major real-life breakthroughs. “I needed to stop feeling sorry for myself and just do things. I wasn’t happy with my social life that I had [before the competition], so I threw myself into some new friendships. I even enrolled in therapy, which has been a really great thing for me,” she says. “This experience was really hard on me, but now I’m happier than I’ve ever been before in my life.”
Once she got eliminated, Dani’s No. 1 priority was contacting Mothi (Player 200), who she anonymously selected to boot from the competition. “I was at the airport, going home, and sent him a voice note. I was like, ‘Hey, if you get a chance, I would love to get to know you and talk about my experience.’ When he responded, Dani revealed that she was the one responsible for sending him home. “I told him, ‘I was one of the people that eliminated you,’ and explained why I did it. I wanted to just apologize and say, ‘We don’t need to have a relationship, but if you want one, I would love one.’ According to Dani, Mothi was more than happy to hear from her. “He was amazing,” she recalls. “He was like, ‘I forgive you. It’s just a game.’ Then he sent me the song ‘Don’t Worry Be Happy.’ ”
Squid Game: The Challenge didn’t turn out the way Spencer expected — but that’s just the way the cookie (or the dalgona, rather) crumbles. Looking back on the experience, Spencer stands by his choices, but knows he could’ve expressed himself more clearly in his final moments. “I might’ve been a little emotional, so I would’ve communicated differently,” he tells Tudum. “I was just so frustrated and I didn’t know what to say.” With the stakes so high, Spencer was overwhelmed by holding other people’s fates in his hands, as he was forced to choose the difficult umbrella shape during the Dalgona game. “I felt guilty for everyone behind me. I guess there was a sliver of hope, but also sadness because it felt like a death sentence.” Once the challenge was underway, the emotions of his fellow players became almost too much to bear. “Everyone else [was] watching me and most of them hated me,” he recalls. “I held up my umbrella to check how close I [was], and a few people started cussing me out. I started shaking a little bit and when I put it back down on the tray, it broke.”
Since his elimination, Spencer has made peace with his experience, saying, “I can live with it, but in the moment, I was not calm enough to not let that affect me.” Now he’s looking toward the future and making major moves and personally and professionally. After filming, with the help of some of his fellow competitors, Spencer closed the book on a long-term relationship. “I would tell them about her [in the dormitory], about how she treated me,” he recalls. “That was when I began to realize that the relationship I was in was toxic.” And after graduating from school, he’s now working as a software engineer, while also pursuing his passion for theater — he’s producing and starring in a one-man show that’s set to debut in April next year.
Husnain may have left the competition early on, but he still believes he made an impact. “I don’t feel like I ever really left. I stayed in people’s heads rent-free, even after the show,” he tells Tudum. Once he returned to regular life, however, the British accountancy graduate and TikToker went back to his regular routine.
When it comes to his elimination by the phone in the Dorm Test, Husnain would like to clear some things up. “I picked the phone up twice because I genuinely thought it was going be the chance to eliminate someone, and I didn’t want it to be me, so I tried to get ahead of it,” he says. Once he realized that he needed to convince someone else to take the call, Husnain says he really only had one option to stay in the game. “The only way I could have got someone to pick up the phone is if I snaked my friends in there, and I wouldn’t have done that.” And since he alone was responsible for his elimination, Husnain says he isn’t living with any regrets about his experience. “I know if anyone had the chance to eliminate someone, I’d be [the] No. 1 target, and that would have pissed me off more if someone else got me out.”
Despite what some may say, Bryton wants you to know that he’s “much nicer than people think.” While he doesn’t necessarily expect viewers to be rooting for him, Bryton sees himself somewhere on the “fine line between villain and hero.” (Think the Joker, he says.) “Nobody else played like I did,” he tells Tudum. “Everybody was so worried about making friends and alliances. I didn’t have many [of either], but it didn’t come back to bite me in my ass. I enjoyed my time because I didn’t listen to anyone else, and I did exactly what I wanted to do 24/7.”
As fate would have it, the former college football player’s one regret is about not following his instincts during Warships, which led to his elimination. “The only regret I have is not putting my foot down more on who should be captain,” he says. “They moved our boat to the front, and I argued for like 10 seconds. I would’ve been safe and moved on to the next round if I hadn’t listened to them.” Still, Bryton readily accepted the disappointing outcome, as he’s “the type of person who doesn’t stress about things I can’t control.” And if his self-confidence rubs you the wrong way, Bryton would like to clarify that it doesn’t stem from having this “crazy-high ego,” adding that he “killed [his] pride three years ago.” Instead, Bryton’s motivations are rooted in helping other people, especially his family back home. That’s why he’s focused on embarking on a new chapter in front of the camera, including building a following on YouTube, where he’s making travel and fitness videos with friends.
Lorenzo continues to follow the “divine energy” that guides him through life’s ups and downs. Lately it’s taken him out of the corporate world after five years working in private equity. Now he’s pursuing various side hustles, including dabbling in fashion. “My sister does crochet, so she can make everything that comes to my mind, and I have a lot of designs that I’m working on with her,” he tells Tudum, adding that he hopes to launch his own collection one day.
As for how Lorenzo reflects on the competition, he’s not living with any regrets. From his POV, to succeed in Squid Game you must “create opportunities and advantages for yourself that you don’t naturally have,” including extra helpings of food. “To change the odds, you have to use your intellect, so I used that to my advantage to eat more. I’m a very hungry boy. Is it unfair? Potentially, but there’s no such thing as unfair. It is a subjective feeling.” While there are moments that “keep [him] up at night,” Lorenzo is all about what’s next. “I’m more future-oriented. I cannot think about mistakes in the past. I wouldn’t do anything different,” he says, before adding, “Maybe I would’ve eaten the bloody apple.” For the record, he holds no hard feelings toward LeAnn (Player 302), who nominated him for elimination because she felt he was rude, especially when he refused her offer of the aforementioned cut apples. “I respect LeAnn for eliminating me because deep down she wanted to eliminate the strongest player,” he says. “No one would’ve voted for me if it wasn’t for her, because they were scared.”
Relinquishing control in Squid Game: The Challenge helped Stephen “change [his] mindset about living in the moment.” Now he feels more present in all facets of his life, especially at home, as the father of two young children. “I was finally able to form a really close bond with my youngest daughter, who was just attached to [her] mom at the hip,” he tells Tudum. “Just strengthening that bond and watching them develop is definitely what I feel like what I’m meant to do in life.”
But that doesn’t mean Stephen hasn’t spent plenty of time analyzing his gameplay. “As much as it sucked to be eliminated because of politics or whatever, I’m just happy it wasn’t of my own doing, but that’s just my competitive nature,” he says. “I played conservatively and I regret it.” Regardless of the outcome, Stephen is walking away with lifelong friends in the Gganbu Gang, including Rick, who he’s planning to visit sometime soon. “What really attracted me to him was just how he was with his family. It made me feel like, ‘Holy crap, I see how a dad is supposed to be.’ He was, in a way, filling that void I have with my dad, who I haven’t had a relationship with in two decades, so I really leaned towards him in that regard.” For now, Stephen plans on prioritizing family time, playing rugby, and continuing to grow his social media business. And as for what’s next, he says, “Hopefully I can do some dang underwear modeling. That’s pretty cool.”
As a grandparent to 18 grandchildren and counting (not to mention his many hobbies including beekeeping and gardening), Rick’s life prior to the competition was packed full of excitement. But as a die-hard fan of the original series, the Pennsylvania-based physician couldn’t resist the opportunity to step into the action of the new iteration of his favorite TV show. “I watched Squid Game so many times. I just loved it and wanted to experience the world,” he tells Tudum. “It still amazes me that I was chosen amongst so many, because the other players were all outstanding. I just don’t see myself like that.” And yet Rick immediately formed strong bonds with a group of players that came to be known as the Gganbu Gang. “I don’t say very much. I’m very quiet just because who wants my opinion about things? But I felt really comfortable with the Gganbu Gang. They wanted to hear my stories and, well, I have a lot of good stories.”
While he says he didn’t go into the competition for the money, as he developed connections with other players, Rick’s mindset began to shift. “I thought somebody much younger, bigger, and stronger would be the one who would win this. Not this little old guy. But as more players were leaving, I realized it’s not youth, and it’s not strength, and it’s not size that’s going to win this. At a certain point, I thought I could win this by being in the strongest alliance.” Ultimately, however, the Gganbu gang alliance is what drew the wrong kind of attention from the other players, leading to his elimination. “Being 69, my size, and kind of a quiet guy, I thought I wouldn’t [be] a target no matter what I was in.” His elimination has been “hard to shake,” given that his fate was sealed by someone else. But he’s leaving the competition with a new group of close friends. And when the time is right, Rick fully intends on adding a new slew of tattoos to his collection to commemorate the experience. “I will get that,” he says. “There’s no way I’m going to my grave without Squid Game with me.”
Joining Squid Game: The Challenge tested Dash “physically, mentally, spiritually, and emotionally all at the same time” — and they couldn’t be prouder of how they played. “I slayed,” they tell Tudum. “My strategy was to play a social game and give everyone a chance. I have been discarded and underestimated a lot in my life, so I wanted to make sure to feel out every player I possibly could and try and connect with them.” As a lifelong fan of competition shows, it was an absolute dream of Dash’s to step into this one, despite the highs and lows of their experience.
Dash’s strategy was to “be loyal to you until you aren’t loyal to me,” they say, adding that they chose to target only players who “came for me or betrayed me first.” But Dash’s social game ended up getting the best of them after trusting someone they thought was a close friend. “The only person that I told who I actually voted for was Lucia [Player 054], who was my original No.1 ally. She had been doubting my trust and suspected that I had been in on the elimination of her newer bestie, Lorenzo. In order to prove to Lucia that she could trust me, I confided in her as to who I had actually voted for, hoping to prove my loyalty. Unfortunately, I believe other players got in Lucia’s head, and then she leaked this information.” Despite her betrayal, Dash and Lucia have since moved past the misunderstanding and remain friends. Today life has never been better for Dash, who recently became an uncle again and walked the runway during New York Fashion Week. “I realized how strong I really am, and I now know I can do anything I set my heart and mind to,” they say. “My confidence and sense of self has definitely skyrocketed since my time on the show.”
As a former journalist, LeAnn knows how to craft a compelling story, but in Squid Game: The Challenge, she became the main character of her own. “This was just a gift to find the fire again and know that all the determination and fierceness you have as a younger person doesn’t go away,” she tells Tudum. Now LeAnn feels like she can do anything she sets her mind to… well, almost anything. “I’m like, “Oh, Amazing Race, let’s go. I even gave half a thought to jumping out of a plane, but I will not go to Alaska and be naked.” Since the competition, LeAnn has been spending her time coaching a fifth grade girls basketball team — she was the first woman to receive a full-ride basketball scholarship at Kansas State University after all — taking painting lessons, and visiting her children, including, of course, her son Trey (Player 301). “We aren’t joined at the hip because I let the kids go and be themselves, but [this experience] is an amazing bond we both have now, and that’s never going to die,” she says. “I’m so proud about how I played and even prouder how Trey played. It was fun to watch him across the room being his authentic self because I knew he was just being who he was.”
Trey might’ve been her only family member in the competition, but LeAnn says other players immediately gravitated toward her maternal energy. “A couple people were missing their parents, and I told them, ‘I’ll be your squid mom.’ As for her unexpected connection with Bryton (Player 432) in the dorms, LeAnn shares that the two haven’t spoken since the experience despite her best efforts. “I’ve reached out to him a couple of times to say, ‘I hope you’re doing well,’ but I think his DMs are filled with people… not like me,” she says. The retired New York Times editor, however, isn’t expecting to hear from Lorenzo anytime soon, whom she nominated to be eliminated. “He was rude with the apple, and he was rude when we were trying to do Warships… so I put his number up.”
As for her own elimination during the Marbles challenge, LeAnn has one regret. “I never would’ve gone on that picnic with Trey, because I knew immediately that we needed to find different partners,” she says. Trey, however, insisted and so the two faced off in the game. “This game is so important to him, and I wouldn’t have been in it without him. I didn’t let him win, and I will continue to say that,” she says. And while she didn’t make it past the picnic, LeAnn hopes that her time on the show will encourage others to take risks. “I just want to tell people my age and older, ‘You might look like you’re 65 or 70, but that’s not what’s on the inside,” she says. “That fire’s still there. You still have it. Don’t let it die.’”
In Squid Game: The Challenge, you quickly learn that you can be tested at any time — that was especially true for Phalisia during her pivotal decisions in Jack in the Box. And while her cutthroat strategy may have drawn more attention to her than she’d likely planned, she maintains that it was the smart thing to do. “I’m so happy about my gameplay,” she tells Tudum. “I think I honestly made the best move in the show, strategy-wise. I did what needed to be done at the end of the day. I think people were so fearful of what they would look like [to others watching] in the end and not really playing the game to play, and that’s what I did. I think if I didn’t do that, I think that move was honestly for everybody in that dorm room, not just myself.”
And even though it seems like a tough call, she says there’s no ill will between the players. “Just so everyone knows, I talk to Stephen (Player 243) and Rick (Player 232), and they’re so adorable, and we love each other, and we just know it’s a game.” There’s one regret though: sitting next to her dorm bestie Ashley at the picnic, which unbeknownst to them would lead to her difficult, tear-soaked elimination. “It was tough to know that one of us would go home, but I’d rather it be one of us and know that one of us is going to make it far and succeed,” she says of Marbles. But thankfully, the bond the two mothers forged during the competition has continued to grow stronger even after the last marble was thrown. “I am obsessed with Ashley. She’s my bestie. We talk on the phone all the time — our kids say hello to each other on the phone.”
These days, Phalisia has been using the support of her loving family and her enriched sense of self as fuel for the next potential opportunity. “My daughter is 2 now, and my wife is just so supportive and amazing, and I’m her rock star, apparently,” she says. “I don’t know what other opportunities this could bring. If it’s a competition show, you might see me there… Definitely not in the cooking realm… maybe The Mole.
While some players are probably happy that the stress of the competition is behind them, Jada actually feels nostalgic, saying she’s been missing the competition and dorms every single day. [“I wasn’t able to showcase my (eye for fashion) in the games… but I actually LOVED the green tracksuit… it ate,” she tells Tudum.] But she says she was happy to get back to her work in social media and as a fashion, beauty, and lifestyle creator. But not all was left behind: “I’ve also been meeting up with some of my castmates. It’s so crazy that I met forever friends in such a short amount of time,” she says. In fact, she says the competition changed how she communicates with new people. “I used to be super shy to spark a conversation with someone I didn’t know or wasn’t familiar with. But, after the games — if I find you interesting, want to learn from you, or even want to get to know you, I have no issues now!”
Even though she’s thankful that the game allowed her to share her kidney donation story and be more social, Jada feels like she maybe was a bit too friendly. “With playing a game for that amount of money, I was way too nice,” she says. “My strategy was to make genuine connections with as many people as possible so no one would want to eliminate me. Looking back, I’m so happy I made those connections, but I should have been more outspoken and aware of how other people were playing the game. The claws were out!” But she did make one bold move early on, which is maybe tinged with a bit of regret. “I actually stole a burger and no, I wasn’t proud of it... at all. Desperate times calls for desperate measures in a game of survival, and I even shocked myself with that. But I can’t lie... it was the best thing I’ve ever tasted in such a long time!”
Though Chaney suffered a tearful goodbye after she lost to her friend Charles (Player 221) in Marbles, things have only improved since then. “I have been absolutely amazing,” she tells Tudum. “I have been promoted at work since we filmed the show, which is going awesome. I’ve been spending more time with family and just enjoying life.” She’s “extremely proud” of how she played the game. “I was focused, strategic, and out for the victory,” she says. “I have no regrets because I stayed true to who I am as a person, and I can’t wait for the world to meet Player 179.”
And while she didn’t leave anything on the table during the competition, Chaney says she did take something invaluable with her. “Being on the show has definitely opened my eyes to the LGBTQ community. Before the show, I had no idea what pronouns were and how to ask someone In a respectful manner how they identify. I feel extremely blessed to have my perspective shifted in such a positive way, and I am grateful for those connections that I made with the LGBTQ community. They my people now.”
Aurora was eliminated from Squid Game: The Challenge during the game of Marbles, but she says she’s satisfied with way she played — and has zero regrets with the way she handled the situation with Dylan.
“I am so incredibly proud of myself for not only standing my ground but also showing women that we do not have to be manipulated into doing what a man wants,” she says. “This world is made for men to succeed, and even though I [was eliminated] in the end, I am so happy that I stood up for myself in a space when so much was on the line.”
Today Aurora is working as a management consultant in London, and has also started leaning into her creative side on TikTok. She says that her experience in the game has pushed her to reflect on how she operates in day to day life.
“After leaving the competition, I find myself seeing so many parallels to my personal life: I find myself feeling a bit competitive at work and sometimes in spaces that I usually would not. I wouldn’t say that I feel that way all the time, but I do sometimes feel like I never left the game. But when I think about it, that makes sense. The game is a metaphor for real life, so of course I would have lasting parallels. Otherwise, I wasn’t really playing, was I?”
Dylan had a lot on the line when he decided to take a chance on his future. “I left for the show with $3.91 in my bank account (I have a screenshot) and rent due right when filming ended, with no job at the time lined up,” he says. But since his elimination, he’s been busy working on his personal growth. “I have been at my acting studio taking classes nonstop,” he says. “I have also been focusing on my personal fitness and working out with my Great Dane Yung Duggy.” But participating in Squid Game: The Challenge has made Dylan realize that these goals aren’t ultimately for his own enrichment: “I realized that everything I do in life is not for me, but for my family. Every dream and goal I have I can push further when I have younger siblings watching me and parents supporting me — so I cannot let them down.”
That drive to stick to his convictions ultimately cost him the prize, however, when he and Marbles partner, Aurora (399), couldn’t agree on a game to play, and then, at the last second, a winner. But Dylan doesn’t have any regrets about his gameplay. “Besides the winner, I genuinely feel I am the only person who did not lose Squid Game: The Challenge,” he says. I won the physical games, I won the social games, and I won the mental battles. There is not much one can do when someone refuses to compete with you on a competition show.”
If leaders aren’t born, but made, then Squid Game: The Challenge did a number on TJ. Since the competition, the retired professional basketball player has embraced the role and become assistant basketball coach for Northern New Mexico College, alongside his wife Samantha who is also a coach. “I’m still learning because being a player for so long, I didn’t have to teach the game, so it’s definitely been a process,” he tells Tudum, crediting the series for inspiring his new career direction. “The experience has been simply life-changing. [It’s changed] the way I analyze and approach everything.”
But as the competition made clear, there’s a fine line between being a leader and being cocky. And for TJ, that’s a lesson he learned early on in the game. “There’s so many people that came into this competition with so much confidence, including me, and this game humbled them. This humbled the hell out of me,” he says. And while his approach might’ve rubbed some people the wrong way, TJ is well aware that being a leader comes with burdens of its own. “When you’re real with yourself, you’re a threat. I don’t have any regrets with [my strategy],” he says. “I have a big back, and I don’t care how many targets are on it.” Thankfully, his prior experience on the court only helped TJ navigate the intensity of the experience. “I’ve played at a very high level. In these high pressure situations, you have to assess a situation with poise and react in literally less than a second.”
And that’s exactly how TJ approached the Glass Bridge challenge, in which he was chosen to be the first player to step out onto a panel. He was eliminated immediately. “Some nights I wake up [thinking] I should have gone right. But it wasn’t in the cards for me,” he says. Ultimately, TJ has made peace with his elimination with the benefit of some distance from the competition. “I was the last 20 out of 456 people. That’s really, really, really far,” he remarks. “I’ve been beating the odds my entire life. Where I’m from, people don’t make it out from 25. I’m 39. I beat the odds right there. I have a house. I have a job I actually want. I beat the odds there, and I beat the odds [in Squid Game: The Challenge].”
Since Squid Game: The Challenge, Trey has traded in one life-changing competition for another. The 25-year-old Chicagoan has been preparing to run a marathon — and he won’t be alone, as Roland (Player 418) will also be running alongside him. Games aside, Trey has money on his mind as a new homeowner who’s holding down multiple jobs, including DoorDash delivery driver and restaurant host, in addition to pursuing his passion for acting. As for his relationship with his mother LeAnn (Player 302), Trey shares that the two have never been closer. “Some people go to the Grand Canyon with their mom and I did Squid Game,” he tells Tudum. “We talk a ton more now than we used to. It’s just really nice to hear that in her ripe old age — quote me on that — she has had such a profoundly life-changing experience. That gives me hope for my future.”
While Trey is certainly taking steps forward in his life with his girlfriend, he’s not done looking back on his final few in Glass Bridge. “At that moment, I genuinely believed I was going to make it to the end of that bridge. I was like, ‘Yeah, I’m going to be the person to do this and get 18 in a row,’ ” he explains. “I have never had that type of confidence in my life, and I don’t quite know how to process that feeling just yet.” But he’s made peace with how Ashley (Player 278) impacted the outcome in the challenge by initially not stepping forward. “In terms of not having that support from behind, it’s just how the game goes and it’s hard because of that. You have to be generous in spirit. But I got two [steps] and I felt like a superhero. I was smiling during my final moment on the bridge. I was so happy with how I did and that I was done.”
Walking away from the experience, Trey says he’s incredibly proud of how he played, especially with his mom by his side. Some of her best qualities he now even counts as his own. “A lot of the anxiety I had was about making relationships in the dorms. I broke down that mental block, and I love chatting with strangers now, which my mom does constantly. It’s so annoying,” he says jokingly. “But I’m more like her now, unfortunately — for better or for worse.”
For father of five Mikie, taking part in the games opened his eyes to the preciousness of life. “I no longer take time for granted,” he tells Tudum. “The games were such an eye-opener for me: That the time we have together with our loved ones is to be cherished. I couldn’t speak to my wife and kids, and that ate me up. But I was doing this for a real reason — not just for the money, but the security that came with it for my children. I know that people will do whatever they have to do to [ensure the] security of their family.” And now that he’s back home, he says he’s been making sure to spend quality time with them — as well as with the Twitch horror game streamer and Tiktoker’s online community. But there’s one thing that keeps Mikie up at night: “I should have stepped on the other glass plate,” he says. Other than that, the self-described feminist and ally has few regrets. “I was true to myself in the dorms, and I would not tolerate bullies,” he says. “I treat people with respect right away, and it’s up to them if they lose it. I’m happy with how I played.”
Texan artist Jackie says she’s proud of the game she played and “how far I got while staying true to myself.” In fact, she made it all the way to the Top 20 before choosing the wrong panel to step on in Glass Bridge. “But if I could do it all again, I would definitely do a few things differently,” she adds. Despite making a number of alliances and friends in the game, including Phill (Player 451), she encounters a particularly memorable moment of disappointment when her Marbles partner, Tim (Player 382), accuses her of “playing the sympathy card” when she explains her delight in being to represent the Deaf community in the competition. “In terms of how I see people, I’m more skeptical now than ever before,” she says. “I often think, ‘Who would you become if you were in the games?’ ” The experiences she had also taught her the value of trusting herself. “Practice listening to your gut,” she says. “I thought I was good at this but when faced with so much pressure, it’s easy to confuse your head or your heart with your gut.” Since her elimination, she’s continued to design art for her business @jackandbec, as well as “writing absolutely everything and anything.”
While Gganbu Gang member Purna certainly relished the chance to compete on the world’s stage, since filming he’s been more focused on spending time at home with his family and on his next ambitions. “I am working on creating some content,” he tells Tudum, “particularly a book that I aim to publish to share hope with the world.” The “humbling” experience he had on the show, he feels, led him to embark on a “journey of self-discovery” — very fitting for a competition where how you play reveals who you are. “It helped me recognize that I am capable of achieving great things, and I believe God has amazing plans in store for me,” he says. His only real foe was chance — he was eliminated by a roll of a six during the Episode 8 Dorm Test. But more than honing the perfect strategy or making the right decisions, Purna is most satisfied with the way he played, because he felt he was able to make a bigger impact. “I was able to share my stories with people, and hopefully, that will inspire audiences who are watching the show,” he says. “Born in a refugee camp, now competing on Netflix for the world's biggest reality show. If I can, so can you. Please keep your hope alive!”
While many players had devised their own strategies for games they guessed would be in Squid Game: The Challenge, when it came to the new games, many just relied on improvisation or luck. Games industry professional Bee, however, proved that order — and a little game theory — could be applied in even the most surprising situations. The Mensa member’s first moment in the spotlight was leading her Warships team to victory as captain — a moment that wasn’t just thrilling in the eyes of audiences, but in her own as well. “I really am so happy that after that I became someone to people,” she says. But she doesn’t want anyone to feel like you need a high IQ to succeed. “Everyone’s smart,” she says. Everyone has something they’re incredibly talented at and are intelligent at in their own way, and don’t ever think that you’re not IQ smart so you’re not intelligent. That’s a lie. Everyone is so capable, and if you ever want to do something, do it.”
Then, of course, came the other big turning point — the creation of a post-Marbles alliance of women, in part spearheaded by Bee’s close friend in dorms and Warships lieutenant, Amanda (Player 019). “The one thing that really Amanda made me realize is that the men didn’t mind if they’d cut the women out,” she says. “They wouldn’t make eye contact with us in that big group. Since then, it’s really made me look a bit closer at social economics in the workplace and gender representation for women and nonbinary people. It’s a really tough thing to navigate, but I’m glad that we were able to do something.”
These moments of self-assuredness and solidarity have contributed to Bee’s bolstered self-confidence now that the competition is over. “I think it’s really affirmed to me that in any situation, the absolute best answer is to be yourself. Now I’m so much more confident in just being who I am and talking to people. I’m kind of reclusive usually, but now I’m really not and I really love that.” Now Bee’s still working in video games for an indie publisher. She’s been living with her fiancé and is looking after a snake named Fluffy.
And as she reflects on her eliminating dice roll (which she called), she has no regrets. “That was how I wanted to go out,” she says. “I never wanted it to be someone else’s hand. I wanted it either on my own or through merit, and it was my time to go. And I left with a smile on my face for a reason. It was great. I had the best time.”
Chad played Squid Game: The Challenge without compromising his own ethical code — and that’s something he’s extremely proud of. “I didn’t lie. I didn’t cheat. I didn’t deceive anybody. I was who I was,” he tells Tudum. A strong moral compass also guides Chad’s life outside the competition — he’s an attorney at a bankruptcy law firm. In fact, helping people with their finances is what inspired Chad to join the competition in the first place. “So many of the people who went onto the game [in the scripted series] were in financial straits, and I see the dark side of debt all the time,” he says. “It really hit home with me and a lot of my clients, so I was like, ‘Oh, let’s see if I can get on this show,’ and here we are.”
The 38 year-old Floridian was, however, initially hesitant to disclose his profession in the dormitory (“I guess people gun for, or are intimidated by, lawyers”), but he quickly discovered that leading with honesty helped him build trust with his fellow players. “I had real relationships there with people that I still care about to this day. Without those relationships, I definitely wouldn’t have made it as far as I did,” he says. “I think I had a fantastic chance at winning because I had really close friends still left in the game.” But with one roll of the dice in Episode 8, Chad was eliminated from the competition, bringing an abrupt end to what he calls a life-changing experience. “It was just an anti-climatic way of going out,” he says. “Let me fight somebody, let me fight all the guards in the building. Let me do something where, if I lose, it’s on me. It would have been cooler to go down in flames.”
Given the strength of his bonds in the competition, though, Chad was never going to burn it all down to get his hands on the cash prize. “I wasn’t going behind anybody’s back or planning on eliminating players. I just wanted to compete hard,” he says. “It was a group of genuinely nice people, and if we [betrayed each other], that was going to come back to bite us at another point down the road.” Apart from his friendships, there’s one other element Chad misses from the experience: sleep. “Obviously it wasn’t the most comfortable sleeping arrangement, but I had some of the best sleep of my life there, without having a TV, phone, or any outside distractions,” he says. “I was able to just block everything out and focus.”
While other players were scheming and socializing, Ashley had only one thing in mind: being herself. “I didn’t have a strategy. I was dead-ass just in here chilling,” she tells Tudum. “Everybody wanted to pretend to be friends and [be] cliquey, but I didn’t see the point in any of that. Be cool with everybody, but at the end of the day, we were there for ourselves.” And yet the Georgia-based legal investigator still managed to leave the game with a forever friend in Phalisia (Player 229). “She’s like a big sister to me — [she] was looking out for me and my mouth in the game,” Ashley says. “I’m grateful as hell to have met her in the show. I probably would’ve gone even more crazy here had I not met her.”
After Glass Bridge, let’s just say there’s one person Ashley isn’t exactly vibing with. “I don’t want people feeling sorry for Trey (Player 301),” she says. “He’s a grown-ass man.” So what went down between the two on the bridge? From Ashley’s POV, she and the rest of the players were in complete agreement about their plan until Trey broke from the pack. “We’d already decided everybody was going to take one jump, and then the person behind them was going to jump over them. Trey got his ass up there and took about three or four jumps,” Ashley recalls. “At that point, the ball game is off. You do what the hell you’re going to do, and thank you for clearing the path. He wanted to go rogue, and he took one jump, and then immediately took another. I was like, ‘What is this man doing?’ He didn’t finish. He didn’t stop.”
When it comes to her own elimination during the Circle of Trust challenge, Ashley wishes she’d been able to stay “cool, calm, and collected” in her final moments. “People were expecting me to give Mai (Player 287) the gift, but to me, Phill (Player 451) was the best choice,” she explains. “He had just received the gift, and I thought it would confuse his mind. Where I fucked up was that I forgot to put my poker face back on, and that’s how he caught me.” Regardless of how it went down, Ashley felt like she was living on borrowed time at that point in the game. “I did not see myself making it past that round with the hand that I was playing,” she says. “It just was not possible. I needed way more people in the game.”
Since the competition, Ashley is taking life one day at a time and spending as much time as she can with her young son. As for how others will react to her on the show, she’s not paying too much mind. “Everybody will have their opinion, but if I go into this without any concrete expectations, I should be pretty cool,” she says. “I do want people to know that I’m not an asshole. I am a just straight shooter. It’s a waste of time to sugarcoat, or to not say what you mean. Everybody should be themselves — their whole selves — and take up space.”
Since her difficult elimination in Circle of Trust, twentysomething medical laboratory scientist Rose has been getting back to all the things she loves: her job, traveling with friends, and catching up with family. She looks back on Squid Game: The Challenge as a place of real personal growth. “The competition helped me believe in myself more,” she says. “The games made me realize I can do anything by just trusting myself and going for it — and not forgetting money can bring out the worst in people too.”
And as for anything she’d do differently? “I killed it, by just keeping a low profile and avoiding drama as much as I [could]. Absolutely no regrets. I was genuine to myself, and I believe what’s meant for me will be for me.”
Elliott went into the game with rather easygoing vibes. “I really want to win, and I’m very, very competitive, but if I just come out of the experience with some good stories, then that will be cool too,” he says. Hallie (Player 355) picked Elliott to continue on to Glass Bridge, and with the end in sight, he hoped he would win in order to support his family and travel (he’d probably still watch Brooklyn Nine-Nine on repeat, too). “I would go to places and experience things I never dreamed of doing before,” he says.
He was the one to suggest in the Dorm Test involving dice that everyone nominate themselves. However, during Circle of Trust, Mai (Player 287) correctly guessed that Elliott put the gift box on her desk, and he was eliminated.
Amanda’s elimination in Episode 9 may have been heartbreaking, but looking back, she feels positive about how she played the game. Even though she didn’t win, she took plenty away from the experience.
“I am honestly so proud of how I played,” Amanda says. “I stayed true to myself, and for me, that was the best way to play. I was actually really surprised at how the competition changed my outlook on friendships. I’ve always been content on my own, happy to be independent. But ever since the show, I’m much more open to people and letting them in.”
Today, Amanda is enjoying spending time with her family, and she’s also continuing to push herself to try new things.
“I’ve managed to tick off some [of my] bucket list by taking my kids to Disney World in Florida,” she says. “And we also recently climbed the Eiffel Tower, so the challenges haven’t stopped.”
Roland’s lifelong dream was to run away and join the circus, so it’s only natural that he found himself on Squid Game: The Challenge. The 23-year-old South Carolinian was particularly drawn to the physical aspect of the competition as a full-time parkour coach. “That’s been my love and my passion for the last 10 years now,” he tells Tudum. “I love working with all the kids that I coach and dabble in every action sport, like scootering, Rollerblading, skateboarding, and a little bit of BMX. I learned how to backflip a bike this summer.” But Roland never expected to forge such strong connections with other players in the game. “I don’t go to bars or anything or clubs, but I made friends with people that I would never normally be friends with because I’d never meet them in that setting,” he explains. “The experience just reinforced that you can be friends with anyone. You can agree with people from different backgrounds, ethnicities, parts of the world, and political beliefs. All these people came together and we were friends at the end of the day and it was sick.”
However, when it comes to one particular friend’s difficult decision to eliminate him, things are a bit more complicated. Roland admits that he was “salty for a good hour or two” after recently learning that Mai (Player 287) was the one to put the gift on his desk during Circle of Trust, but now forgives her. “She played that game so well, so you can’t be mad at her… because you have to start stabbing people in the back at that point.” Until watching the series, however, Roland was convinced that Sam (Player 016) was the culprit — he’s since apologized for suspecting it was him over the past 10 months. As for his decision in the game, Roland says he chose Rose (Player 051) because she was the “only one I didn’t really know.”
Apart from his gameplay, Roland, of course, drew attention for his distinctive hairstyles throughout the competition. “I wasn’t confident enough to grow my hair out in high school, but I always wanted to because having long hair is a big cultural thing in parkour and action sports,” he says, adding that it’s taken nearly six years to achieve his current length. “I made doing cool hairstyles that most guys wouldn’t typically do a big part of my identity. Now, I have mastered the space buns.” And while Roland still can’t braid his own hair, luckily his girlfriend and friends at the gymnastics gym give him a helping hand — especially now that a certain other player isn’t around.
Hallie was truly a dark horse in the competition, keeping a low profile and then getting so far that only one choice stood between her and making to the final three. Unfortunately, during Circle of Trust, she guessed that Mai (Player 287) put the gift box on her desk instead of her friend Phill (Player 451) — and her chance at winning the grand prize was gone in an instant. “The Circle of Trust has definitely kept me up at night since we filmed the show. I was so in my head at that point that I’m not sure I ever could have guessed who put the damn box on my desk,” she tells Tudum. “It’s hard to regret it too much now, because I was shocked I even made it past Red Light, Green Light. I think the two main things that got me far in the game were trusting my gut and being nice to people, and I can’t feel too bad about that.”
And while she didn’t walk away with the money, she did walk away with invaluable friendships — getting closer with fellow Chicagoans Emma, Mark, Trey (Player 301), and Kevin, though she misses her UK and Canadian pals from the show — and since has had a great year. “I started a new job, celebrated my four-year anniversary with my boyfriend, saw Taylor Swift in concert,” she says. Plus, one of her closest friends, who was diagnosed with leukemia the day Hallie left the games, is now in remission.
Hallie’s also gained some perspective thanks to her time in the competition. “I’ve always been assumed to be a high-maintenance drama queen — and that’s not untrue. But I think I’ve proven that I’m also multi-faceted: I like what I like and am proud to be a girly-girl, but can totally be a badass when I put my mind to it,” she says. “Now, when I’m faced with something nerve-wracking, like a root canal at the dentist, I just tell myself, ‘You survived Squid Game: The Challenge — this is nothing compared to that!’”
What people once said was Sam’s greatest weakness became his biggest strength in Squid Game: The Challenge. “I was just this little gay boy from backwater Idaho growing up in a super religious Mormon family. There was a lot of pain trying to bury myself and make deals with God to be who everyone wanted me to be,” he tells Tudum. “But, I beat all of those people my family told me I should be like in the challenges. [This experience] really proved to myself how strong I am.” Choosing not to hide any part of his identity from the onset allowed the 37-year-old Florida-based artist to show up authentically as himself — and play an even better game. “The men didn’t think I was a threat, and the women knew I wasn’t a threat to them,” he explains. “It kind of put me in a space where I didn’t care what anybody thought about me.”
And while a strong social game was at the forefront of his strategy, Sam was clear with even his strongest allies that he was ultimately playing to win. “If it’s at the point where it’s me versus you, I’m going to choose me,” he recalls telling others in the game. But still, Sam managed to form deep friendships with many players, especially amongst his fellow queer contestants, including finalist Phill (Player 451). “It felt nice to be able to relay some of my own experiences,” Sam says of their friendship. “I went through so much pain, so to be able to give someone a detour around that pain just feels really good.” Looking back, Sam says his paranoia got the best of him in the game’s penultimate challenge against Phill and Mai (Player 287). After Mai’s first choice of button had no repercussions, Sam volunteered to press a button next, eventually resulting in his elimination. “I was afraid that I was not being an active enough player,” he recalls. “So getting up and pressing the button was against everything I really played the whole game doing, but I don’t regret it.” However, coming in third does have a silver lining, as any fan of the original scripted series is well aware. “Sae-byeok is everyone’s favorite, and now I’m the bizarro world version of her.”
Regardless of his ultimate fate in the competition, participating in Squid Game: The Challenge gave Sam “a lot of faith in humanity” given how many of the players led with kindness. “Everybody came together and chose paths that were fair and equal, even with the largest prize in [Netflix] history,” he says. “It was really a beautiful thing to see and be a part of.” That’s why Sam is intent on using his newfound platform to spread a message of inclusivity and representation for marginalized communities, starting with the launch of his new beard care line, Beard Giant. “Other beard brands are very hyper-masculine,” he explains. “I have a lot of trans male friends who have to buy all of these really toxic masculine beard care products, so I’ve focused on making it a friendly and happy place and a safe space because beards are for everyone.”
Cutthroat gameplay might’ve worked for other players, but Phill went the opposite route through the competition. “I never really went in with a strategy,” he admits. “I was just hoping to make some friends, and have some fun.” So how then does the Hawaii-based scuba instructor explain beating out 455 other players? “The power of good vibes is not to be underestimated,” Phill says. “The whole time, I wasn’t out to get anybody and nobody was out to get me. I was staying vigilant obviously, but mostly going along for the ride.” Phill also says he had an “immense amount of luck” on his side, especially when it came to Circle of Trust, where he dodges elimination not once, but twice. In the challenge, he suspects Rose (Player 051) put the gift on his desk in his first round because she was “the person that I just simply knew the least.” For the second round, however, selecting Ashley (Player 278) was a “shot in the dark” that just so happened to go his way. “I knew that she was obviously the smartest person in the room, so I thought this would be a really strategic decision for her [to choose me to eliminate].”
While the final decision in the game still hangs over his head (“My only regret is obviously not picking the right key at the end”), there’s another moment that Phill wishes he could change. Letting his fellow finalist Sam (Player 016) volunteer to press the button in the penultimate challenge made Phill feel like a “coward,” but he says he was just “too scared to make a move.” To this day, Phill gives major props to Sam for stepping up to the plate. “He was really brave to go up and see what happens,” says Phill. “When he got eliminated, I was like, ‘Damn, he didn’t really deserve that.’ Sam stuck his neck out for both of us, and the way that it went was not ideal [for him].” As for participating in the final challenge against Mai (Player 287), Phill says he still can’t believe they outlasted everybody else. “I do feel very fortunate that I was even able to make it that far because in my wildest dreams, I had never thought that I would even make it past Red Light, Green Light.” Admittedly, he says losing a life-changing amount of money “didn’t feel super awesome,” but Phill is focusing on the positive. “I know that at least [the cash prize] is going to somebody who — from what I’ve seen — is decent and good, and wants to do good by it. That’s all you can really ask for. I don’t feel like I would deserve it any more than she does, so that’s what I tell myself.”
These days, Phill is tapping into his inner artist by getting his pop punk and alternative rock band from college back together to write and release new music. “With this opportunity, I discovered that I really do have a passion for performing,” he says. “I’ve just never really had much of a chance to explore it, but I like being in the spotlight.” That’s why he’s also begun taking acting classes, in addition to singing and playing guitar. Apart from his professional pursuits, Phill is intent on spreading a message of love and connectivity. “I want people to know that you don’t have to scheme or throw anybody under the bus in order to achieve things that you want,” he says. “[The experience] really is a testament to humanity. We grow and learn together because as individuals we’re nothing.”
There was only player out of the 456 who wasn’t eliminated; learn more about what the winner of Squid Game: The Challenge has been up to since the competition ended and how they plan to spend the winnings.
