'The Circle' Season 5: Samantha Carmona bags $100K cash prize after being crowned winner of Netflix show

While Samantha 'Sam' Carmona was ecstatic to come in second to Chaz Lawery in the finale, the final moments of 'The Circle' took a surprising turn
UPDATED JAN 18, 2023
Samantha Carmona takes home a $100,000 cash prize after being crowned the winner of 'The Circle' Season 5 (Netflix)
Samantha Carmona takes home a $100,000 cash prize after being crowned the winner of 'The Circle' Season 5 (Netflix)

Spoilers for 'The Circle' Season 5

MANCHESTER, UNITED KINGDOM: Only moments after 'The Circle' Season 5 commenced, the finale has now arrived and the new champion has been revealed. As the show's participants gathered together for the last time, viewers were stunned by the twists and turn the series had in store for them. Out of the five finalists, one player has been crowned the winner. And that contestant also got to take home the coveted cash prize worth $100,000!

While several viewers were guessing if Raven Sutton or Chaz Lawery would win Season 5 of the reality TV game show, it was the enigmatic makeup artist Samantha Carmona, (simply known as "Sam") who was the underdog of this season. The Brooklyn native started the game at the bottom of the "most popular" list, but through sheer grit and an unfazed dedication to showcasing her "true self," Sam worked her way up to the top.

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Samantha' Sam' Carmona in 'The Circle' Season 5 (Netflix)
Samantha Carmona in 'The Circle' Season 5 (Netflix)

Sam was determined to make the most of her experience on 'The Circle', entering with an open heart and an eye towards leaving with a clear conscience. She managed to rebound from a last-place finish in the initial ratings to becoming the closest ally of Chaz Lawery, the most influential player of the season. As a result, Chaz was able to protect Sam from being blocked multiple times.

Sam's entertaining reactions kept viewers in stitches all season. Especially when she discovered that the player Jennifer was, in fact, catfishes Brett Robinson and Xanthi Perdikomatis. She was also hilariously baffled when she learned that these two catfishes had been pretending to be Chaz when they hacked his account. Sam's comical reactions to the situation provided 'The Circle' fans with plenty of laughs, be it her facial expressions or her witty comebacks.

Samantha' Sam' Carmona in 'The Circle' Season 5 (Netflix)
Samantha Carmona in 'The Circle' Season 5 (Netflix)

While Sam was ecstatic to come in second to Chaz in the finale, the final moments of 'The Circle' took a surprising turn as the screen revealed that Sam had won the game, leaving her "gusband" Chaz speechless and shocked. Her emotional speech about using the winnings to improve her mother's and grandmother's lives had the whole room in tears. "My grandmother lives in the projects. She lives on the fourteenth floor. She is highly asthmatic," shared the makeup artist on winning the cash prize. She continued to add during sobs, "If the elevator breaks, she sits in front of the building. I don't want that for her." Sam added that she wanted to "take care of her family."

Catch the finale of 'The Circle' Season 5, now available for streaming on Netflix.

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