The first animal winner of a brain survival competition has emerged. Netflix's Death Game: Bet 10 million won (hereafter Death Game) captivated viewers with a series of unpredictable twists.
Episode 3 of Netflix's daily variety show Death Game (directed by Kwon Dae-hyun, produced by TEO), released on the 4th, was a surprise from the start. Hong Jin-ho, who had defeated Lee Se-dol and Seven High to record two consecutive wins, opened the episode by making an unexpected decision. After confirming that his opponent was Pengsoo, Hong Jin-ho said after some deliberation, "Because my signature is 2, I am satisfied with two consecutive wins and will end my challenge here," surrendering his attempt at a three-peat and securing the final prize of 15,000,000 won.
Pengsoo made an unprecedented challenge as the first animal to appear in a brain survival competition. A player whose poker face makes their expressions unreadable and who has a strength in reading opponents' minds. Appearing in a Seoul National University jacket, Pengsoo sought to seize the initiative with the resolve, "I have no confidence. I'm going to lose," and the appearance of Yurisah as Pengsoo's opponent added tension.
Yurisah, who is active as an influencer, is a Mensa member with an IQ of 156 and a player with a record of winning an international tournament just three months after learning poker. She drew attention by showing fervent fandom for Pengsoo as soon as she appeared. Commentator Jang Dong-min, responding to Yurisah's presence—who had shown strong presence in the "blood game" series—said, "She is an incredible genius. She's in the handful of people I've played against," expressing his high expectations.
The main game of this episode was "Love wins all." It is a game in which players use randomly distributed card combinations such as rock, paper, scissors and love cards to boldly bluff and bet to take all of the opponent's chips, and the ability to declare a combination falsely is also a key element of the match. Jang Dong-min said, "Bluffing that makes others believe my combination is strong is important," emphasizing that acting ability and psychological warfare are also decisive factors. He also noted that beginners sometimes find luck in holdem and predicted that "beginner's luck" might come to Pengsoo as well.
Jang Dong-min's prediction proved accurate. In a practice game to explore strategy, beginner's luck came to Pengsoo, resulting in Pengsoo's decisive victory. Pengsoo, who said he had never played holdem or poker before, declared, "I'm lucky. I've come this far on luck alone. I will surely try to beat a human's head," expressing his resolve. Yurisah responded, "It will be a close match. We must not be complacent," showing her tension.
Pengsoo's performance continued into the main game. Facing Pengsoo, who shook Yurisah's mentality with bold bluffing and betting, Yurisah continued cautious play to put forth a winning hand but gradually appeared to be driven into a corner. In particular, when she declared surrender despite a critical opportunity that came in round 13, Jang Dong-min evaluated, "Yurisah is as if possessed by a ghost right now," adding, "Pengsoo is not a novice. He is much stronger in psychological warfare than I thought."
The turning point of the match came in round 15. Yurisah, holding a powerful card combination, made a decisive move with bluffing and betting, but a reversal occurred when Pengsoo's declaration—believed by everyone to be a bluff—turned out to be the truth. A genuine "rock triple" appeared with a 0.86% probability. After a battle spanning 18 rounds, Pengsoo defeated Yurisah to secure the victory in episode 3. Casters Park Sang-hyun and Jang Dong-min could not hide their amazement, calling the result "shocking" and "stunning."
Pengsoo, who was named the winner of Death Game episode 3, received 10,000,000 won along with the victory token seed. Especially tense was the appearance of Napoli Mafia (Chef Kwon Seong-jun), a former winner of Culinary Class Wars, as his next opponent, and Pengsoo declared a challenge for consecutive wins, raising expectations for the next match. Viewers are focused on whether Pengsoo will succeed in a streak to win 15,000,000 won or whether Napoli Mafia, strong in survival, will claim his first victory.
Meanwhile, Death Game is a one-on-one brainy final match decided in a single round, and it is released every Wednesday at 5 p.m. on Netflix.
[Photo] Provided by Netflix
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