One of Squid Game: The Challenge’s Irish contestants says that at times, the show felt like "life or death".
Mikie Bowe, who is from Kilcock, Co Kildare but lives in Belfast, has also revealed that he took part in the show to secure a better future for his five children, four of whom have additional needs and he is their full-time carer.
The 35-year-old said that people have questioned why he would voluntarily put himself through the gruelling physical and psychological reality game show, which is currently the most-watched show on the streaming platform, Netflix.
"The short answer is to secure a better future for my family. I have five kids and a wife. Four of my kids have additional needs, but one of them in particular is going to be with me and my wife forever.
"So to have that extra bit of peace of mind knowing that financially she would have been taken care of, that was very important to me," he said.
The competition is inspired by Netflix’s hit series, Squid Game, and sees 456 contestants from all over the world battling to be the sole winner of a $4.56m (€4.2m) prize by participating in a series of children’s games.
The reality show has added psychological and behavioural tests to the format. It has proved to be as addictive as the original series, with 20 million streams this week alone.
Recalling his time on the show, Bowe said: "I don't just think about the prize money. I think about the mental, emotional and physical strain that came with the challenges.
"My experience actually doing the games and the challenges was intense. I actually needed to give up on the second round of Red Light Green Light because I felt that I didn't have it inside me to actually continue," he said, referencing the show’s famous opening game where contestants have five minutes to run across a huge yard, but must freeze like statues when the music stops or be eliminated.
He added: "My legs were sore and I was cold. I needed to pee immediately and we were not allowed to take any breaks. There was no cut. We actually had to hold our poses for 30 to 40 minutes and we weren't allowed to move a muscle."
Bowe said determination is what got him through. "If it was a game of chance, that's different. But if it's something that I can do - maybe it was just hard - then I'm going to do it and do whatever it takes to win."
Bowe, who is also known in the game as Player 254, says the overall experience was "eye-opening".
"It really, really shows you what you can do when you really, really, really want to do it."
Another tough moment in Bowe’s Squid Game journey was the infamous Dalgona game, better known as the honeycomb cookie challenge. Contestants must carve out a cookie shape from a slab of biscuit, using just a needle and under intense time pressure.
Bowe says the game "stands head and shoulders above the rest" in terms of difficulty.
"About halfway through that game, I was getting nowhere with my shape. I got a triangle, so that's a blessing right there," referencing the fact that some shapes given to players are more difficult.
"But as I was trying to cut this thing out, I was realising one slip of the needle and I'm eliminated and that's it - gone.
"The four-and-a-half million is at my fingertips and I'm not going to do anything to mess this up.
"So I had to pull it all together and actually make it through. And when I did make it through, that was the best feeling ever. I was shaking, I was afraid - it felt like life or death."
Squid Game: The Challenge is available to watch on Netflix now. The series finale will be available to stream on 1 December.
Check out our interview with the other Irish contestant, Eric Roberts, here.
