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• "Squid Game: The Challenge" is down to its final three contestants.
• Finalists Sam Lantz, Mai Whelan, and Phill Cain are competing for the $4.56 million grand prize.
• The winner will be revealed during the season one finale on Netflix Wednesday.

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Netflix's "Squid Game: The Challenge" started with 456 contestants, but now only three are left to compete for one of the largest cash prizes in reality television history: $4.56 million.

Sam Lantz (Player 016), Mai Whelan (Player 287), and Phill Cain (Player 451) are the only competitors to have survived elimination through games like "Marbles" and "Glass Bridge" based on the original Netflix drama.

The finale of "Squid Game: The Challenge" drops Wednesday (December 6) at 9 p.m. ET on Netflix.

Here's everything you need to know about the three potential winners of the reality competition series.

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Sam Lantz (Player 016)

Sam Lantz is a 37-year-old artist and business owner living in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, though he is originally from Kuna, Idaho.

If you are a fan of Sam's beard, you might be pleased to know that he is the owner of a gender-inclusive beard grooming brand called Beard Giant.

Sam also runs an art studio called Uncle for which he hand paints and sells sculptures, according to his online store.

On episode eight of "The Challenge," Lantz, who is gay, said in an interview that he struggled with his sexuality as a child because he grew up in a religious family.

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"It felt like I couldn't be myself because if I was myself, I was at risk because the talk was constantly about how people like me were going to hell or they were to die because of their decisions," he said.

Sam added that after he left home, he came out and is now estranged from his family.

"I've built a new family, and I have other people who filled those roles in a better way than my blood or relation ever has," the artist said.

Sam is married to Doug Lantz, a booking producer at ABC News and "Good Morning America."

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The couple lives with their two dogs, a terrier mix called Duke and a pitbull called Moo.

Mai Whelan (Player 287)

Mai Whelan is a 55-year-old immigration adjudicator living in Fairfax County, Virginia.

Mai was born in Vietnam but immigrated when she was 8, spurred by the capture of Saigon in 1975 by the People's Army of Vietnam and the Viet Cong during the Vietnam War.

On episode nine of "The Challenge," Mai shared a memory from her experience as a refugee that she said informed her self-preservation-style of gameplay on the show.

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At the airfield Mai and her family escaped to, she said she heard the sound of gunfire and looked up, only to have a soldier put a gun to her temple.

"And in that split second, my life was almost over," Mai said in an interview on the show. "That is a moment where I would never, never forget. And that moment is a driving moment for me to be strong."

Mai joined the US Navy before entering her current role as an immigration adjudicator.

Mai is also a mother, grandmother, avid gardener, and traveler. She's hopeful the show winnings can help her buy a home for her retirement.

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Phill Cain (Player 451)

Phill Cain is a 27-year-old musician living in New Jersey.

Phill identifies as genderfluid and uses he/she/they pronouns.

Phill was born in Brazil and said on episode seven of "The Challenge" that they were bullied after moving to the United States around middle school.

On the same episode, Phill said they studied psychology at college and that this helped them better understand and avoid conflict with their competitors on "The Challenge."

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This is not Phill's first time on screen as they appeared as Technician #2 on "Hawaii Five-O" season 10.

Phill is also no stranger to competition as they have been playing Quadball, formerly known as Quidditch, for several years.

They currently play on Major League Quadball's New York Titans and US Quadball's New York Slice teams and, in 2022, they won gold in the International Quadball Association's Pan-American Games as part of the Brazilian national team.

Phill recently launched a new pop-punk band with two friends called Six Ways to Saturday.

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If they win, Phill has said they want to donate a portion of their winnings to ocean conservation.

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