Inside the iconic lives of the final three players on Squid Game: The Challenge

When Squid Game: The Challenge first started there were a massive 456 players, but now we’ve made it down to the final three players. All three of them showed wit, cunning and sometimes treachery to make it to the final and be in with a chance of winning the massive $4.56 million prize.

But who exactly are the final three players who have managed to make it this far into the game, and what are their lives like outside of the show? From adorable pets, elopements and punk bands, let’s look into their lives!

Player 016 – Sam

37-year-old Sam is one of the final three players to make it to the finale of Squid Game: The Challenge. Sam is an artist from Florida who had a difficult upbringing due to his family being very religious.

Sam explained in the show how he “grew up a little gay boy in a very religious family. It felt like I couldn’t be myself because if I was myself, I was at risk because the talk was constantly about how people like me were going to hell or they were to die because of their decisions.

“I tried everything as a kid to not be gay. I made, you know, I tried making deals with God. I tried.”

Throughout the competition, Sam’s strategy has been to play the kind of fame that he can stand by and be proud of once they’re all back in the outside world. “As long as we keep our eye on our hearts and our humanity because we all have that good core,” he said.

Outside of the show, Sam is a businessman and artist who founded Beard Giant and Uncle Studio. Beard Giant is his own beard care company, that sells products like butter and oils to keep beards in their best shape. It’s an inclusive company that aims to “enable you to express yourself to the fullest.”

Such good vibes.

Uncle Studio is Sam’s art business where he paints figurines and glazes them in resin. His products range from $300 all the way up to a whopping $5,000! He also sells his own-designed merch on his online store.

His art website describes how Sam had “no formal art training” and that with the support of his grandmother, he began “drawing and painting whenever he could.”

Sam’s husband is a morning TV producer, and the two got married in Vegas. They were supposed to elope in secret, but their family surprised them and crashed the wedding.

Sam has described that if he was to win the prize money he would aim to get a large art studio for his work, help his husband with his film projects, and help rescue and protect animals. Sam also owns two adorable dogs, Moo and Duke.

Player 277 – Mai

55-year-old Mai is one of the oldest players in Squid Game: The Challenge and is the only woman who has made it into the final three players of the competition. Whilst Mai doesn’t have social media she’s still told us a lot about her life.

Mai left Vietnam when she was eight years old and says that she almost died when a soldier saw her move in a killing field. She later joined the Navy and became a single mom, and she now has a granddaughter she’s very close to.

Mai has said in the competition that the game is “all about self-preservation. I have to do what I have to do to survive.”

She now works as an immigration officer and if she won the prize money would purchase a home to spend her retirement in and would also donate to causes she cares about.

Player 451 – Phill

27-year-old Phill is a scuba instructor based in Hawaii, and he looks like he has a very chill life. Going into Squid Game: The Challenge he didn’t expect to get very far into the competition, let alone into the final three. He said: “I basically have no strategy going into this. I’m kind of going in blind. I really just have no idea how this is going to go.”

Phill is an international quadball athlete and has won numerous gold medals for the sport. He grew up in Brazil and then moved to America but was “bullied pretty viciously in high school.” Phill explains that the bullying “put me into a small shell.” At college, Phill studied psychology, which explains a lot about how he won the Circle of Trust.

Phill is part of a pop-punk rock band called Six Ways to Saturday. They are releasing their first-ever single very soon, so stay tuned.

Phill has been in a relationship with his girlfriend Mac for just over one year, and the two share an adorable bunny called Pinto Bean together.

As for what Phill would do if he won the prize money, he explained: “If I suddenly become a millionaire, I wouldn’t keep most of the money. I’ve personally been helped a lot throughout my entire life by family and friends and I’ve never really been able to reciprocate.” That’s genuinely so wholesome.

I want them all to win!

Squid Game: The Challenge is available on Netflix now. For all the latest Netflix news, drops, quizzes and memes like The Holy Church of Netflix on Facebook. 

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Featured image via Netflix