Squid Game: The Challenge player reveals truth about prize fund

While Squid Game: The Challenge has reached its conclusion, new details continue to emerge off-screen – and now a fan favorite player has revealed the truth about the $4.56 million prize fund. 

Squid Game: The Challenge is Netflix’s biggest reality TV show to date – quite literally, as it started off with 456 players and offered up an eye-watering $4.56 million to one lucky winner. 

The series is such a success, Netflix is now being inundated with applications for Season 2 – if you think you could be in with a chance, you can find out how to apply here. 

One of the many stories to have emerged over the past week is that Season 1 winner Mai Whelan hasn’t “seen a cent” of the prize money – but there’s more to this story than meets the eye. 

Squid Game: The Challenge player reveals truth about prize fund

Following the nail-biting finale last Wednesday, it was revealed that Mai (Player 287) is yet to receive the cash, despite filming wrapping up in February – however, fan fave Bee (Player 018) says this statement is misleading. 

Taking to X, she wrote: “To clarify here. We all knew that the prize wouldn’t come until a certain number of days after filming. Press have twisted Mai’s honest answer into a non-story. It’s expected but lame to see these headlines.”

X/@droneebee

Mai’s comments came up in a post-win interview with The Times, which states that she “hasn’t seen a cent” of the money from Netflix. “I feel like Tom Cruise in Jerry Maguire. Show me the money!” she said. 

But as highlighted by Bee, this is pretty normal for a show of this kind. In response to her post, one X user wrote, “It also doesn’t help that most times the prizes aren’t given till after the final episode airs. So this is not a big surprise. I hope she gets it soon.”

Bee replied: “She totally will – this isn’t some weird backyard production but the media will do anything to make a negative headline about the show.”

“Wait until they find out that Americans get taxed on prize money, so around 2 million of that she will never see,” said another, to which Bee replied: “This is the true scandal.”

They’re not wrong – since Mai is a US citizen, the funds will likely be subject to a 37% tax charge, which wouldn’t have been the case if she was from the UK. You can read more about that here. 

Squid Game: The Challenge is available to stream on Netflix now. You can check out more of our coverage below:

• Who won Squid Game: The Challenge?
• Is Squid Game: The Challenge scripted?
• Squid Game fans divided by final game
• Did the Squid Game contestants get paid?
• Is the credit card in Squid Game real?
• Squid Game fans “heartbroken” over Mai’s story
• Did Mai share the money after The Challenge?
• Squid Game: The Challenge all eliminations
• Squid Game: The Challenge filming locations
• Squid Game: The Challenge soundtrack
• How are players eliminated in The Challenge?
• Why Player 299 joined the show
• Did the players actually fall in Glass Bridge?
• Squid Game fans slam “coward” Player 278
• Player 278 trolls fans amid Squid Game backlash
• “Missing” Squid Game: The Challenge player speaks out
• Players allegedly asked to “pretend” to compete
• Squid Game: The Challenge player details set conditions
• Squid Game: The Challenge producers hit back
• Squid Game: The Challenge contestants threaten lawsuit
• Squid Game: The Challenge receives audience backlash