How much money would it take for you to stab your best friend in the back? Try $4.56 million. Squid Game: The Challenge adapts Netflix’s record-shattering Squid Game into a real-life competition just as terrifying and heartbreaking as the dystopian one, despite the deaths faked by ink packs and stunt doubles falling into the abyss. Yet even with the grim source material and the penniless fate of most of the contestants, the VIP opening of the Squid Game: The Trials experience in Los Angeles felt like a high school graduation on Thursday night. Players with tough reputations, like Spencer Hawkins (299) and Bryton Constantin (432), embraced like brothers and celebrated the success of the show — and possibly their newfound social-media careers. Since the show was basically a traumatizing summer camp, we asked the Squid Game: The Challenge contestants to vote on superlatives for their fellow players. After all, the onscreen villain may not be the same as the one behind the scenes.
Who was most fun in the dorms?
Winner: Roland Hannigan (418)
“Roland taught me how to do a handstand. That’s a big feat at my six feet, seven inches.” —Sam Lantz (016)
“Roland would come out with the most ridiculous one liners I’ve ever heard in my life.” —Bee Sarafian (018)
“He was always a light. We partner juggled in the bathroom to practice for the talent show and he taught me how to do a handstand.” —Trey Plutnicki (301)
“The man be smiling, he be wilding, and he be cracking jokes. As soon as we came into the game, he was showing off his parkour skills. It wasn’t flexing on anyone; he was trying to build community.” —Spencer Hawkins (299)
Who was the fakest?
Winner: Husnain Asif (198)
“The people who called other people out on being fake were the most fake. I would say 198.” —Trey Plutnicki (301)
“Player 198 was definitely the fakest. He got a really good edit. He looks like an angel. No disrespect to him but he acts that way for a living. That’s kind of who he is.” —Bryton Constantin (432)
Runner-up: Mai Whelan (287)
“She was an awesome person but when you get to that point in the game, you need to double cross and be a little fake to make it to the end. I wouldn’t say she’s overall fake — our connection was very real. She was just willing to backstab me.” —Roland Hannigan (418)
Who was the biggest prankster?
It’s a tie: Roland Hannigan (418) and Hallie Parrott (355)
“One day, Mikie woke up and he saw a ghostly, illuminated figure that looked like a priest at the foot of his bed in the middle of the dorm. Four other people confirmed that story. What Roland did was wrap himself up in some spare toilet paper and Halle screamed bloody murder from the bathroom to the dorm, ‘Guys, the ghost priest is here!’ Then Roland came out dressed like a ‘ghost priest.’” —Trey Plutnicki (301)
Who was the most gullible?
Winner: Spencer Hawkins (299)
“Spencer, he caved almost instantly in Dalgona.” —Trey Plutnicki (301)
“432 manipulated him so bad. He was such a good soul and I hated that for him, genuinely.” —TJ Stukes (182)
“Spencer, for believing Bryton that he would help him with Dalgona.” —Mai Whelan (287)
Runner-up: Mikie Bowe (254)
“I’m so sorry, there was no ghost priest at any point, Mikie. No ghosts were moving your stuff.” —Bee Sarafian (018)
Who was the biggest flirt?
Winner: Alex Al-Ameen (417)
“He had a girl in his bed multiple days. At one point, me and my friend Nick were messing with him; we brought condoms to him one night, saying ‘You’re gonna need this later.’ He was like, ‘No bruv, get out of here,’ laughing about it. Then Nick opened up the little pouches on the side of his bed and he already had a condom in there!” —Roland Hannigan (418)
Runner-up: Body odor
“I don’t think anyone flirted because we were looking horrible, all of us. We smelled like hate, raw emotion. We stank!” —TJ Stukes (182)
Who didn’t deserve their villain edit?
Winner: Bryton Constantin (432)
“I feel like Bryton has gotten a lot of hate, and I definitely disagreed with the man on a lot of things he’s said — like, empathy is weakness? No, sir. But I have a lot of respect for the way he presents himself.” —Spencer Hawkins (299)
“What he did to be a villain wasn’t that bad, but it brought up a lot of interesting debates about the way people talked to each other and what is or isn’t acceptable.” —Bee Sarafian (018)
“Player 432.” —Bryton Constantin (432)
Who was actually the biggest villain?
Winner: Husnain Asif (198)
“He was pouring water on people in their sleep. Disrespecting people’s country, sports, all that. Even if it might be a joke in some people’s eyes, it’s not a joke where I come from.” —Bryton Constantin (432)
“He was seen as a villain in the dorms and it’s hilarious because he’s out there trying desperately to tell people that on TikTok and no one’s believing him.” —Phill Cain (451)
Who’s most likely to compete in Squid Game again?
Winner: TJ Stukes (182)
“He’d be quite hungry to do it and I think he misses it.” —Bee Sarafian (018)
“No question. As long as I get a steak. I need a rib eye.” —TJ Stukes (182)
This article has been updated with an additional category.
