Netflix just released the final episode of Squid Game: the Challenge season 2 on Tuesday, Nov. 18, declaring just one winner out of 456 players.
Fans connected with favorites like British twins, Raul and Jacob, for their cunning game play and sibling bond; father and daughter duo, Curt and Zoe, whose final game together ended with an emotional dual against elimination, and dozens of other players with deserving stories of perseverance.
Players made alliances, tested friendships, and faced imminent betrayals in a series of games that largely relied on luck and team collaboration. The team aspect of the games made it that much harder for the final five contestants to part ways when it became every player for themselves.
Let’s take a look at the players who made it to the final games and how their luck fared when they needed it most. We shared the top five finishers in Squid Game: The Challenge season 2.
5th place: Trinity (Player 398)
Trinity played a strategic game to the very (almost) end. He had a few alliances in the game, but overall, he was not too outspoken or concerned with expanding his circle. This strategy worked out for him because he didn’t make it on anyone’s bad side and bonded with a few of the top players when the moment was right.
Trinity’s role in the finale episode shocked us all. In the second to last game, players had to pick up a gold and black coin, conceal them in each of their hands, and have the next player in line guess which hand held the gold coin. The player with the black coin at the end of the game would be eliminated.
After only one round of this game, Trinity sacrificed his position in the game to save the rest of the group. He willingly took the black coin because he was ‘tired of eliminating people’ that he considered friends. He also felt they deserved the prize more than him. This was an insane move since there are plenty of players who would have loved to have Trinity’s spot in the finale, but the other players certainly weren’t mad at his astounding act of kindness and selflessness.
4th Place: Vanessa (Player 017)
Vanessa’s strategy was very similar to Trinity in the games. She made a few connections that helped her make it through the team challenges, but she didn’t particularly have a circle of close allies as some of the other players. Still, Vanessa endured all the way to the final game, which was a game of red light, green light.
She clearly has a lot of talent, grit, and a competitive nature, which served her well for the majority of the game. Unfortunately, Vanessa’s chances at becoming a millionaire ended when she was caught moving during the last game and thus eliminated.
3rd Place: Steven (Player 183)
Steven finished so close to first, but his time on the show also ended abruptly during the red light, green light game. For most of the players in the game, the prize pot would be a life-changing amount of money, but for Steven, it’s actually less than the six million dollars he already won at a Poker tournament before coming on the show.
No shade to Steven, but I wasn’t too disappointed when he fell during the Red-light Green-light game, because I was rooting for the top two players to have a shot at money that would significantly impact their standard of living.
2nd Place: Dajah (Player 302)
Dajah, a law enforcement officer, cleverly chose not to reveal her career to other players in the game, so as not to become an unnecessary target for other players. To her benefit, she made some tight connections, including Perla, another finalist in the games. Dajah had a knack for snuffing out lies and developing strategy for survival.
Her ability to detect possible outcomes helped to minimize mistakes and narrow her circle of trust. In the final game of red light, green light, Dajah came inches from competitor, Perla, before an injury literally stopped her in her tracks. Dajah fell to the ground in her final moments, mentioning to viewers that she knew she’d regret that moment for a long time.
1st Place: Perla (Player 072)
Perla was one of my favorite players from early in the season, because she exuded so much heart and personality, and she truly cared about all her opponents, even if she wasn’t in alliance with them. Shortly after 'beating' her own brother in a game, Perla came so close to elimination. In episode 8, a game of slides and ladders, Perla was in last place! By chance, other players in the game met an unfortunate end, causing Perla to be the last person to survive that game.
Perla’s swift encounter with elimination pushed her to become even more strategic in the final three games. She was lucky enough to avoid elimination in the Circle of Truth game, which was third to last for the season. In this game, selected players had to choose a player to eliminate, and if that player could guess who picked them, they’d be eliminated. Perla was never selected, so she dodged a bullet in that game!
Perla won $4.56 million in prize money!
Thanks to Trinity, Perla breezed past the gold and black coin challenge and then ended victorious in Red-light Green light due to a few falls and unlucky moments from other players. Perla wasn’t quite the fastest in this round, but the prize fund was clearly meant for her—she defied all odds and is now a millionaire from the 'boogie-down Bronx' and Dominican Republic. She fought through the games with her faith, saying “God’s got me” on multiple occasions, and expresses the power and responsibility she feels being the “freest woman in [her] lineage”.
Plans for Squid Game: The Challenge season 3 are already underway
Squid Game: The Challenge is currently casting for a third season, squashing any doubt of the show’s return. Additionally, the show has opened a voting link for fans to select their favorite player to return in season 3. While this could put a huge target on that person’s back, it’s also reminiscent of how the main character in the fictional series returned to play the games a second time (and won via player 223’s baby). There is no release date, but Squid Game traditionally releases new seasons right around the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays—so potentially this time 2026!
Watch Squid Game: The Challenge season 2 on Netflix.