{"id":167423,"date":"2026-02-24T20:43:37","date_gmt":"2026-02-24T20:43:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/167423\/"},"modified":"2026-02-24T20:43:37","modified_gmt":"2026-02-24T20:43:37","slug":"as-finale-nears-meet-tampa-bays-beast-games-contestants","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/167423\/","title":{"rendered":"As finale nears, meet Tampa Bay\u2019s \u2018Beast Games\u2019 contestants"},"content":{"rendered":"

What would you do for a shot at $5 million?<\/p>\n

Mr. Beast, the most-subscribed-to YouTuber, on Wednesday will unveil the winner of the $5 million jackpot for season two of his Amazon Prime competition show, \u201cBeast Games\u201d \u2014 and it could be someone from the Sunshine State.<\/p>\n

The second season of the reality show premiered Jan. 7, with weekly releases narrowing 200 \u201cstrong vs. smart\u201d contestants down to 10.<\/p>\n

Of those who made it past the first few episodes, eight are from Florida \u2014 with three residing in Tampa Bay. And a few Floridians are still up for the grand prize.<\/p>\n

If you\u2019re not caught up to the finale, beware of spoilers.<\/p>\n

The contestants spent last summer in \u201cBeast City\u201d in North Carolina, which was home to a 24-hour Starbucks, a cafe serving Mr. Beast\u2019s chocolate brand, Feastables, and sleeping pods.<\/p>\n

Colby Sparkman, a Clearwater native and business student at the University of Central Florida, was approached by a \u201cBeast Games\u201d producer while waiting tables at the Cheesecake Factory in Orlando.<\/p>\n

\u201cI asked some of my friends, asked some of my family, \u2018Does this sound like a real opportunity?\u2019 And they all said no,\u201d Sparkman said in an interview with \u201csmart\u201d contestant Brandon Borick<\/a>.<\/p>\n

His \u201cgreat success\u201d playing high school football<\/a> in Palm Harbor paid off as he was cast as part of the \u2018strong\u2019 team.<\/p>\n

After Sparkman was tasked with hanging 50 feet in the air for two and a half hours stacking giant blocks, he faced an intense obstacle course race \u2014 but didn\u2019t make it out. He was eliminated in episode three.<\/p>\n

Another Tampa Bay local that met an early fate was \u201csmart\u201d contestant Andrew Herkelman, a pre-calculus teacher at IMG Academy in Bradenton.<\/p>\n

Most of Herkelman\u2019s digital footprint is recorded precalculus lessons, but this isn\u2019t his first game show appearance. He was dueling for $250,000 on Rob Lowe\u2019s \u201cThe Floor\u201d a few years ago.<\/p>\n

Herkelman\u2019s chance at $5 million ended during the blocks challenge. Now, he posted on Instagram<\/a> that it\u2019s a love-hate relationship with blocks.<\/p>\n

Pinellas County\u2019s Vance Walker made it the furthest out of those representing Tampa Bay.<\/p>\n

Being the first \u201cAmerican Ninja Warrior\u201d winner with cerebral palsy in 2023 led him to be cast on the \u201cstrong\u201d team in \u201cBeast Games.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

\u201cNobody wants it as badly as I do,\u201d Walker told the Tampa Bay Times a few years ago<\/a>. \u201cWhen there are times that I want to stop, I picture myself at the bottom of that rope, climbing it for that million dollars and reaching my goal.\u201d<\/p>\n

Kicking it off with a familiar rope hang, he excelled in an obstacle course, but met his fate in one of the most notoriously brutal games in the series, the solitary box. In the challenge, three contestants enter a box with a telephone that can bring them anything, but only two will make it out.<\/p>\n

Top-10 finalists Nick Mariano and Auguste Auger teamed up against Walker by asking Mr. Beast to survey the other contestants, assuming he wouldn\u2019t be selected to move on.<\/p>\n

Mariano, a wrestler from Orlando, is one of the three finalists who call Florida home.<\/p>\n

He was selected as team captain in episode seven, where the 10 contestants each pulled from a $1 million pool. Mariano grabbed more than his fair share, guaranteeing him$250,000.<\/p>\n

The other Floridians that still have a shot at $5 million include Navy veteran and dad of three Cory Sims and the self-proclaimed \u201cEnigma of Boca Raton,\u201d Jim Bent.<\/p>\n

The season finale will be released early on Wednesday morning, at 3 a.m. on Amazon Prime.<\/p>\n