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Steven Jones Enters the Game Again – This Time on Netflix
- Steven Jones, WSOP runner-up, joins Netflix's 'Squid Game: The Challenge.'
- Show mirrors original 'Squid Game,' but with safer competition for $4.56M.
- Despite filming controversies, popular show's new season launches in November.
Steven Jones knows what it means to sweat for seven figures. The 2023 WSOP Main Event runner-up, who banked $6.5 million last summer in Las Vegas, is now appearing as a contestant on Netflix’s Squid Game: The Challenge, a reality series loosely inspired by the dystopian Korean drama that took the world by storm.
Jones is contestant #183 in the second season of the high-stakes show, which pits 456 players against each other for a life-changing $4.56 million prize. That number, both the player pool and the prize, is a deliberate nod to the original Squid Game, but the risks are (thankfully) far less fatal.
Jones wrote on Instagram, teasing his appearance ahead of the show’s November 2025 premiere.
From Rio to Red Light, Green Light
Netflix dropped the first four episodes of Season 2 on November 4, with four more coming on November 11 and the finale landing on November 19. Jones appears in the trailer, typically a strong hint that he makes some waves.
The poker pro posted about the appearance on Instagram, writing:
Your boy has entered the games!
Big Money, Even Bigger Ethics Questions
Though the game itself is a sanitized version of the fictional survival contest, The Challenge hasn’t been without controversy. Several past contestants have alleged extreme filming conditions and questionable oversight, particularly during the first episode’s recreation of "Red Light, Green Light", filmed in freezing conditions over long hours.
Still, Netflix appears unfazed. The first season picked up a BAFTA and three Emmy nominations. Season 3 is already casting.
Producer Stephen Lambert defended the show, saying:
We’re giving away the largest prize in TV competition history. It wasn’t going to be a walk in the park.
What We Know About Jones’ Run
In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, executive producer Tim Harcourt pushed back on the idea that The Challenge exists solely to exploit desperation.
Harcourt said:
I take issue with the notion that Squid Game has just one. Yes, it’s a critique of capitalism but it’s also about how we’re trained to compete from a young age, how people behave under pressure, and how camaraderie forms in the most unlikely places.
So How Far Does Jones Go?
The full extent of Jones’ progress remains to be seen, and Netflix has kept spoilers under wraps, but with his trailer appearance and background in high-pressure poker, it’s safe to say he’ll bring some calculated calm to the chaos.
FAQs: Steven Jones & Squid Game: The Challenge
What is Squid Game: The Challenge?
It’s a reality competition on Netflix based on the fictional Squid Game series, where 456 real people compete for $4.56 million through physical and social games.
Who is Steven Jones?
Jones is a professional poker player who finished 2nd in the 2023 WSOP Main Event, winning $6.5 million.
Is Squid Game: The Challenge dangerous?
Unlike the fictional version, it’s a standard reality show. No real harm is intended, though filming conditions have come under scrutiny.
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