Meet the 3 Singaporeans vying to compete on US reality game show Beast Games
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Over the weekend, (from left) Ms Nicole Chen, Mr Calros Ong and Ms Willabelle Ong put out calls on their social media platforms seeking votes in the hopes of becoming the first Singaporean to participate in the game show
PHOTOS: NICOLE CHEN, CALROS ONG AND WILLAMAZING/INSTAGRAM
SINGAPORE – A pro boxer, a luxury content creator and a comedy influencer may have little in common, but they are the three Singaporeans shortlisted to participate in the popular American reality game show Beast Games (2024 to present).
Over the weekend, Mr Calros Ong, Ms Willabelle Ong and Ms Nicole Chen put out calls on their social media platforms seeking votes in the hope of becoming the first Singaporean to join the third season of the competition, the brainchild of internet sensation and American YouTuber MrBeast, who also hosts the Amazon Prime Video show.
The person with the most votes when voting ends on May 1 will go on to compete in the United States.
Beast Games sees participants undertake mental, physical and social challenges with the aim of winning US$5 million (S$6.4 million). Season 2, which premiered on Jan 7 and ended on Feb 25, saw an initial 200 contestants. Season 1 featured about 1,000 contestants.
In a TikTok post on April 26, Mr Ong, 21, said he dropped out of school at age 16 and put his all into a boxing career.
He was set to compete in his fifth pro fight in Bangkok on April 25, but pulled out as it clashed with one of the selection stages for Beast Games.
“Choosing to forfeit that fight was a big sacrifice, but this opportunity to represent Singapore on such a big international platform was too important to miss,” the undefeated fighter told The Straits Times on April 27.
Mr Ong, who has about 9,000 followers on TikTok, said he was unfazed about being scrutinised by a global audience.
“It is a rare chance to compete on a global scale and push my limits in new ways,” he said.
“While the two other shortlisted contestants are mainly influencers, I’ve been training hard right here in Singapore, specifically for Beast Games, even while waiting for updates.”
In a post on TikTok, Ms Ong, 31, said that since being informed in January that she was in the running for a slot on the show, she has spent time on Zoom interviews and background checks with the show’s production team.
“Seasons 1 and 2 were quite physically demanding, and that gave me pause. I’m not someone who comes from an athletic background, so I had to really sit with the decision,” she told ST, adding that she would have regretted turning down the offer.
In a TikTok video asking her 701,600 followers to vote for her, Ms Ong, who produces vlogs on travelling and luxury fashion, said: “I would love to have this incredible opportunity to represent Singapore and be my most authentic self.”
Ms Chen told ST she was in Tokyo Disneyland when she received an e-mail from Beast Games’ production team, adding that she was speechless and even wondered if it was a scam.
The 28-year-old TikTok jokester, who goes by the online moniker Nicole Liel, said she leapt at the chance, having been involved in a traffic accident as a pedestrian in 2019. “I kind of made a promise to myself that if life throws opportunities at me, I’m just going to take them.”
“If you remove the influencer part, I’m literally just a very standard Singaporean,” she added. “Go through school, go to work, BTO, get married, complain about the weather, complain about how everything is getting more expensive… like I am your neighbour.
“Sometimes, you just need to say yes and see where life brings you. I’m basically living proof that ‘anyhow try also can’.”
The Squid Game-esque show divides the participant pool into groups, where they compete in high-intensity challenges.
During Season 2, the competition took place in Beast City – located in Ontario, Canada – which can accommodate 500 people, including contestants. It has roundabouts and mini chalets, and reportedly cost US$14 million to build.
Fifty people will initially share a chalet, sleeping in bunk beds, with the number of participants whittled down each week.
The challenges include “social voting” to eliminate participants, dead-hanging for more time and scavenger hunts on a massive scale. Participants are eliminated after every challenge until the final, which is a contest between two individuals.
The previous editions of Beast Games saw it claim several records, including the largest single pot of prize money in TV history (US$5 million), the largest island to be given away on a show (La Vivienda Island in Panama in Season 1) and the most people simultaneously dropped through trap doors (38).
