The second season of Beast Games arrived with a massive new structure and an immediate test of pure power. Jimmy “MrBeast” Donaldson welcomed 200 contestants to a custom-built arena for a premiere filled with tension, sweat, and a shocking twist. The season’s core theme of “Strong vs. Smart” was put to the test right away as the 100 strongest competitors faced a punishing first challenge designed to cut their numbers in half.
Strong vs. Smart: The new season’s theme begins
Season 2 changed the format from the first year. Instead of starting with 1,000 contestants, MrBeast assembled two specialized teams of 100 players each. On one side stood Team Strong, flexing in sleeveless blue jerseys. On the other was Team Smart, who chanted and tapped their temples. MrBeast introduced them as “the 100 smartest and 100 strongest” people ever gathered in one room, setting the stage for a battle between brains and brawn for the $5 million grand prize.
The premiere episode focused first on Team Strong. Their challenge was straightforward but grueling. Each competitor stood on a raised platform with a trapdoor.
The first challenge: A test of weight and will
The game was called “Climb the Rope.” When the trapdoors opened, each player had to climb down a rope to retrieve a bundle of weighted, color-coded blocks. The twist was personal: each weight was customized to be exactly one-third of the contestant’s body weight. Their task was to haul the weight up, remove the blocks, climb back to the platform without falling, and stack the blocks in a specific color order: yellow, red, blue, then green.
“Your objective is to climb to the bottom of the pole below you. Grab the rope with your custom weight attached to it, hoist it up to you, pull the blocks off the weight, and without falling, return to the surface with the blocks and stack them in the color order I tell you,” MrBeast announced.
Falls were instant eliminations. Only the first 50 players to correctly complete the stack would advance. The field included elite athletes like a former gymnast, a bareknuckle boxer, and a two-time American Ninja Warrior winner. Paralympian Noelle (Player 128) removed her prosthetic leg to be “7 pounds lighter!” before descending, though she was eliminated minutes later.
Contestants began “falling like flies,” as a co-host noted. The first player finished in about ninety seconds, and within two minutes, sixteen had succeeded. After twenty minutes, only two players were still desperately clinging to their ropes. The last woman standing was Sonya (Player 110), the bareknuckle boxer, who secured the final spot after a 27-minute ordeal.
Entering Beast City and a major twist
The 50 victors from Team Strong were joined by 50 winners from Team Smart, who had completed a separate memory-based challenge involving colored blocks. Together, these 100 survivors were led into Beast City, a massive, brightly-lit custom set that holds the Guinness World Record for the largest single set build on a competitive reality TV show. The city featured a basketball court, a gym, a library, lodging kiosks, and a 24-hour Starbucks.
After a short time, a portal opened, leading the group to a large, white, dome-shaped arena. Lined up in a circle with the Strong and Smart teams facing each other, MrBeast presented a stunning offer: ten briefcases, each containing $100,000. Any player could take the money and leave the game immediately. The catch? Anyone who left would be replaced by a new player.
The new players were not rookies. They were returning fan favorites and formidable players from Beast Games Season 1. The masks came off to reveal the Season 1 winner, Jeff (Player 831), and the runner-up, Twana (Player 830). Also returning was Karim (Player 406), whom MrBeast called the “villain of Season 1,” along with seven other memorable contestants.
This twist forced players to weigh instant, guaranteed cash against the unpredictable path to $5 million and the threat of facing proven, savvy veterans. The episode ended on this cliffhanger, with the fate of the ten offers—and the composition of the remaining 100 players—left for the next installment.
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How to watch Beast Games Season 2
Beast Games Season 2 is streaming exclusively on Amazon Prime Video. The first three episodes were released on Wednesday, January 7, 2026. New episodes will be released weekly every Wednesday through the season finale on February 25, 2026.
A major upcoming episode is Episode 4, titled “The Survivor Takeover,” scheduled for January 14. This special crossover will feature Survivor host Jeff Probst and incorporate classic Survivor challenges and twists.
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