Who won the first Hunger Games?

The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes is a prequel to the Katniss Everdeen franchise, delving into the 10th Hunger Games. According to Suzanne Collins’s series, who was the first Hunger Games victor?

In 2012, fans were introduced to the live-action adaptation of Collins’s famed young adult book series. In Panem, each of the 12 separate districts are forced to give up a tribute between the ages of 12 and 18. They must partake in ruthless Hunger Games and try to survive as the only winner while being broadcast on TV.

The books and movie franchise kicked off with Katniss Everdeen being the 74th annual Hunger Games winner. But in 2020, Collins published The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes – a prequel to the overall story.

The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes only goes as far back as the 10th annual Hunger Games. It leads to the question of if the books reveals who the first-ever winner of the Hunger Games was.

The first winner of the Hunger Games can be tricky

According to fan fiction, 16-year-old Esme Yule was the first winner of the Hunger Games. But Collins’s book only goes as far as the 10th annual Hunger Games.

A Google search will lead to the 34th Hunger Games FANON Wiki. At first, fans might be led to believe that Esme was the first-ever winner. But a deeper dive reveals the idea was created by fans and doesn’t actually occur in the original books. Esme Yule is a lumberjack from District 7 and became the victor.

According to the story being told by Magnus, the games took place in a vast field. It describes Esme choking another competitor and using her axe to slaughter a boy possibly from District 9. The fanfiction then details that she returned as a mentor for the 5th and 12th annual Hunger Games.

Based on Collins’s books and the Hunger Games Victor Wiki, the earliest winner of the Hunger Games is Lucy Gray Baird. She was only 16 and from District 12 when she was chosen for the 10th annual Hunger Games. Mayor Lipp specifically chose her because of his daughter who learned her lover had also dated Lucy. She ended up winning the games through meticulous planning and knowledge of poison.

A majority of the following victors after Lucy are deceased except for Beetee Latier, Haymitch Abernathy, Enobaria, Annie Cresta, Katniss Everdeen, and Peeta Mellark.

 Check out Dexerto’s other Hunger Games coverage below:

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• Why was The Hunger Games banned?