Who is player 229 in Squid Game: The Challenge? Netflix star's personal handle, explored

Squid Game: The Challenge mimicks the set, tasks, and energy of the original, unfathomably popular show, Squid Game. Here, 456 players play childhood games for a chance to win $4.56 million. While these games are otherwise easy, the added aspects of manipulation, alliances, betrayal, and more, add to their complexity.

The series has released only 5 episodes, and the competition is now gearing up to become more cut-throat. With the last 5 episodes scheduled to release on November 29, there have been some players who've caught the attention of audiences, who are also rooting for them.

One such player is #229, aka Phalisia, whose strategic gameplay sent home a tight-knit duo, along with a player who held an advantage, thereby shocking other players and fans alike. Phalisia is married to Valerie, and since 2022, they've been raising their daughter, Zayn. The contestant owns a cleaning company and also hosts a true crime podcast.

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Squid Game: The Challenge, #229 Phalisia flipped the game

Squid Game: The Challenge released episodes 1 to 5, and some contestants made an impression right off the bat, while others took time to impress the audience. One of them was Phalisia, or #229, who brought herself into the spotlight fairly late, but with a power move that left the group stunned.

Phalisia's tactics made her stand out, and fans grew increasingly curious to learn about her. The contestant had completed her graduation from Kaplan Business School and went on to pursue a career as a Leasing Agent Supervisor. Following that, as per her LinkedIn profile, she founded Key Sweepz, a cleaning business.

She is also a self-proclaimed true-crime fanatic and even hosts a podcast about the same, titled Paranoid Sisters. She posts about this and her other exciting life escapades on Instagram, @phalisia.

The Squid Game: The Challenge contestant has been very open about her personal life in her confessional. She shared that she is a lesbian and has been married to a strong woman, Valerie, with whom she shares a daughter, Zayn.

However, trying to conceive and get pregnant apparently posed a big hurdle for the couple, which almost led to their divorce. Yet, they brought their daughter Zayn into their family in 2022, and they have since been living as a happy family.

Player #229 has had an impressive run thus far in Squid Game: The Challenge. Initially, Phalisia and Tolbert, #278, formed an alliance but stayed under the radar for the first few episodes.

In episode 4, during an elimination challenge, five volunteers were asked to stand behind one of six boxes each. These boxes had cards which gave the ones picking them the power to either eliminate others, gain advantages to the next game, or face elimination themselves.

Unexpectedly, Phalisia volunteered herself for this Squid Game: The Challenge elimination round. She was shaking from nervousness and mentioned several times that the anxiety was making her nauseous. A player who opened his box before her had received an advantage for the next game. Some had also been eliminated. Surprisingly, although she was the last in line, she got the most power with her card.

Phalisia was allowed to eliminate three contestants of her choice. First, she started off by eliminating the player with the advantage. Her next move, interestingly, flipped the game around and potentially weakened the formidable "Gganbu Gang."

The Gganbu Gang had several Squid Game: The Challenge players teaming up to get ahead in the game and were one of the leading alliances. Within the group, there was a tight duo of Rick and Stephen, whom she chose as her final two eliminations.

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With unpredictable elimination challenges and slightly different tasks from the original show, Squid Game: The Challenge is only getting more competitive. At the end of episode 5, the 63 remaining players headed into the marble game, which will cut the population in half once it's over.

The next five episodes of Squid Game: The Challenge will be ready to binge on November 29 on Netflix.