What Happened to Past Squid Game Winners? All 30+ Games Explored

The Squid Game has been running for decades. The 2020 game Gi-hun survived was not the first—it was one of many.

Season 1 revealed that the games have occurred annually for years. By Season 3, we learn there have been over 30 games, meaning over 30 winners walked away with billions of won. Yet we've only met a handful of these champions.

What happened to the others? Did they spend their money and disappear? Did they, like the Front Man, return to serve the organization? Or is there something darker waiting for Squid Game winners?

The Winners We Know About

Only a few Squid Game champions have been identified:

In-ho (The Front Man) - 2015 Games: The show's biggest revelation. In-ho won the games, presumably to pay for his ailing mother's medical care. But instead of rebuilding his life, he returned to the games as their overseer. His brother Hwang Jun-ho's investigation revealed that winning didn't save In-ho—it broke something in him.

Seong Gi-hun (Player 456) - 2020 Games: The protagonist of the series. Won ₩45.6 billion but refused to touch the money for a year. Eventually used it to care for Sae-byeok's brother and fund his mission to destroy the games.

Unknown Player - 2021 Games: Season 2 confirmed that another game occurred after Gi-hun's. The winner remains unidentified, but they presumably received a similar prize.

Historical Winners: Brief flashback sequences suggest winners from the 1990s and 2000s, but their identities and fates remain unknown.

Are VIPs Former Winners? The Popular Theory

One fan theory suggests the wealthy spectators were once players themselves.

The Theory: VIPs are winners who became so wealthy and corrupted that they now fund the games for entertainment. Having survived, they crave the thrill of watching others face what they faced.

• VIPs seem to understand the games intimately
• Their dehumanized view of players could come from personal experience
• The organization would have reason to recruit former winners
• It would explain how some winners "disappear"

• VIPs appear to be foreign billionaires, not Korean game survivors
• Their wealth seems generational, not game-won
• They lack the trauma you'd expect from survivors
• The Front Man's role suggests winners take different paths

The Show's Stance: Creator Hwang Dong-hyuk has been deliberately vague about VIP origins. He's confirmed they're "powerful people who've lost touch with humanity" but hasn't specified whether they're former players.

The Front Man Path: Why Winners Return

In-ho's story suggests winning the Squid Game doesn't mean escaping it.

• His mother likely died anyway
• He couldn't reconnect with his brother
• Normal life felt meaningless
• The games gave him purpose others couldn't

• Willingness to let others die
• Moral compromise
• Trauma bonding with an extreme experience
• Survivor's guilt

These qualities don't prepare someone for normal life—they prepare someone to run the games.

Other Winners Might Follow: If In-ho's path is common, many winners might be working within the organization. Guards, managers, recruiters—the games could be staffed significantly by former champions.

The Cycle of Violence: The show suggests winners become perpetrators. Those who survive the games often can't escape them—they just change roles.

What Happened to the Missing Champions?

30+ winners should mean 30+ people living with ₩45+ billion. So where are they?

Theory 1: Most Blew Through the Money Like lottery winners, most may have spent their fortune quickly. Without financial literacy and with deep trauma, the money might not have lasted.

Theory 2: Many Died By Suicide The trauma of winning—watching hundreds die, often including friends—could be unbearable. Some winners may not have survived their survival.

Theory 3: The Organization Monitors Them Winners know too much. The organization might keep tabs on champions, silencing any who threaten exposure.

Theory 4: They Disappeared Intentionally Smart winners might have fled Korea, changed identities, and vanished. You can't be found if you don't want to be.

Theory 5: Some Became Recruiters We know the ddakji recruiters travel seeking players. Former winners would understand desperation intimately—making them perfect recruiters.

Theory 6: Elimination The darkest theory: winners who don't comply with the organization are eventually eliminated. Only those who join or stay silent survive.

What Happens After You Win?

Based on Gi-hun and In-ho, we can piece together the post-victory experience:

• Winners wake up somewhere in Seoul with their prize card
• They receive a number to call for any "concerns"
• The organization appears to offer no support

• Massive survivor's guilt
• PTSD from witnessing and participating in deaths
• Inability to discuss experiences with anyone
• Paranoia about the organization's reach

• Explaining sudden wealth to authorities
• Tax implications (the organization doesn't handle this)
• No guidance on investment or management
• Pressure from family and friends who learn of the money

The Empty Victory: Both Gi-hun and In-ho demonstrate that winning doesn't bring happiness. The prize is tainted by how it was won. Every spending moment reminds you of those who died.

The Show's Message: Squid Game argues that money obtained through others' suffering can never truly satisfy. The winners aren't free—they're trapped in a different way than the losers.