The much anticipated Squid Game: The Challenge finale has come and gone. Since the show first premiered on Netflix on November 22, 2023, it has attracted millions of viewers, with over 170 million hours watched in its first two weeks. Hate or love it, Squid Game: The Challenge has become one of the most addictive reality competition shows in the world.
At the end of the penultimate episode (“Circle of Trust”) of Squid Game: The Challenge, only three players advanced to the finale (“One Lucky Day”). Known for its twists, the finale boiled down to a game of luck. However, as much as the final two players were deserving of the win, there’s no doubt Squid Game: The Challenge season 1 winner has been the season’s most intentionally strategic player amongst all of the show’s last nine players.
The Winner of Squid Game: The Challenge Season 1
Mai Whelan, Player 287, is the winner of Squid Game: The Challenge season 1. With her win, Player 287 walked away with a whopping $4.56 million cash prize. The Vietnam-born Virginia resident beat 455 players to emerge the game-show winner. Throughout her time on the show, especially when she was put in the spotlight, Mai Whelan showed tenacity and was one of the few people who understood their purpose for playing the game.
Who Is Mai Whelan, Player 287?
Although viewers got to know several player’s backstories from brief interactions with other players, the talking head segment of the show gave more insights into their individual stories. Mai Whelan arrived in the United States as a refugee when she was 8. In an earlier talking head segment, she mentioned one of her scariest moments was as a child at a refugee camp. A curious Mai had a soldier point a gun at her for daring to raise her head after being ordered to lie on the ground, face down. Mai’s mother, who was lying next to her, had to plead with the soldier to save her life.
Before being chosen as a player on Squid Game: The Challenge, the 55-year-old Mai Whelan worked as an Immigration Adjudicator. For Mai, a normal day at work is spending hours interviewing and reading Visa applicants. What would seem like an everyday skill became one of her strengths in outplaying several other players on Squid Game: The Challenge. Like most people, Mai’s strategic approach to playing the games comes from years of resilience and determination to succeed.
During her talking head interview in the finale, Mai mentioned she joined the US Navy after graduating at 18 years old. However, she got pregnant a year later and was abandoned by her family. Alone and unsure how to raise a baby, Mai set out to figure out a whole new world for herself. The now-successful 55-year-old Mai Whelan is a mother of two daughters and two dogs, as well as a grandmother. Life’s a lot better and financially easier with the $4.56 million prize win.
How the Winner of Squid Game: The Challenge Emerged
Audiences who followed the original South Korean TV series Squid Game, created by Hwang Dong-hyuk for Netflix, know two players play the final game. Known for always offering a Trick with a Treat, at the end of the delicious dinner, the three surviving players had to play the Button test to decide the final two contestants. Provided with three shaped buttons (Circle, Triangle, and Square), two players would have to risk it all by pressing a button. If the chosen button is lit Green, it means the player has secured a place in the final and has the power to choose another player to join them. If lit Grey, the player is safe from elimination and can be chosen as a finalist. When a Red button is pressed, the player is eliminated.
Player 287 (Mai) bravely took the initiative and pressed the Triangle-shaped button. Turning Grey, although not immediately eliminated, she was in danger of elimination if the next player picked a Green button. Player 016 (Sam Lantz) chose to pick the next button against his better judgment and strategy of not taking risks. This led to his outright elimination. Player 287 (Mai) and Player 451 (Phill Cain) proceeded safely into the final game.
Squid Game: The Challenge‘s final twist was to have the finalists play a less violent kid’s game on a drawn-out Squid Game. The chosen final game was Rock, Paper, Scissors. Although Rock Paper Scissors often boils down to luck, Mai had the advantage of being strategic with her picks. Winning most of the rounds, she made more attempts at finding the perfect key for the safe box. In the end, Mai’s win didn’t entirely boil down to luck as she again proved she’s far more and smarter than she looks. As the first winner of Squid Game: The Challenge, Mai Whelan (Player 287) has set a standard for the next season’s players.
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