Netflix’s Squid Game: The Challenge winner gets $4.56m

Netflix’s controversial new hit reality show just gave one person $4.56m in cash – and it all came down to a game of chance. WARNING: Spoilers.

Squid Game's final three (L-R): Mai, Phil and Sam.

WARNING: Spoilers below.

The season one finale of Squid Game: The Challenge is now streaming on Netflix – and after 10 nailbiting episodes that saw 456 contestants whittled down to just three, one player walked away with the jaw-dropping $4.56m in prize money.

Squid Game’s final three players – Hawaii scuba instructor Phill, artist Sam and immigration adjudicator Mai – traded in their tracksuits for tuxes for the final episode, with the final two tests of the season being games of chance.

Squid Game's final three (L-R): Mai, Phill and Sam.

Sam was the first to be eliminated, the bearded player making the wrong choice in a simple button-pressing game that saw him immediately eliminated from the competition.

And then there were two – and it all came down to rock, paper, scissors. Phill and Mai faced off to play round after round of the simple childhood game, with the winner of each round getting to choose a key out of a box to try and unlock the giant piggy bank filled with prize money.

While Rock Paper Scissors is technically a game of chance, it was also yet another time this season where Mai appeared to use strategy to her advantage: She explained that she was taking a private tally of Phill’s choice each round, and using it to make an educated guess about what he’d do next. Phill admitted his strategy against her was far more haphazard.

Out of their trackies: Sam, Mai and Phill attend the finale watch party. Picture: Getty

Whatever her method, it worked – Mai trounced Phill, winning round after round and eventually picking the winning key to unlock the piggy bank. This grandmother who had fled to America from Vietnam as a refugee was suddenly $4.56 million richer.

Fans of the series applauded Mai, who’d undoubtedly been one of the show’s smartest and most strategic players, for her huge win:

Mai deserved that win. She played the game very well. #SquidGameTheChallengepic.twitter.com/9SdXPue4qS

— (๑˃̵ᴗ˂̵)ÙˆLapryx(๑˃̵ᴗ˂̵)Ùˆ (@Apryl_B) December 7, 2023

Mai deserved that. she played the game DOWN. #SquidGameTheChallenge#SquidGamesTheChallengepic.twitter.com/FHpxPBC0u3

— luca (@LucaGuadagnegro) December 7, 2023

Mai did THAT. Well deserved. Went along when she needed to, was selfish when she needed to be. Very methodical player. #SquidGameTheChallengepic.twitter.com/Y1NbQcZpKW

— Mel ✨ (@melbrown00) December 7, 2023

mai leaving the game arena as a millionaire after being smart from the beggining, playing the game as it needs to be played and predicting everyone's next move #SquidGameTheChallengepic.twitter.com/bnW7G5Uxpn

— ricardo (@ricardoshor99) December 7, 2023

The show, based on the 2021 South Korean drama of the same name has not been without controversy.

Some contestants on the show have threatened to sue since filming wrapped, claiming they suffered health issues such as hypothermia and nerve damage during filming.

And it’s been divisive among viewers too, with some accusing the show of being exploitative and missing the point of Hwang Dong-hyuk’s original series, a dark satire about class disparity and capitalism.

The show assembled the largest cast of contestants in reality TV history, along with the second-largest cash prize – only The X Factor US, which has in the past awarded its winner a contract worth $5 million, is larger.