'The Mole' Finalists Talk Strategy and Season Finale Spoilers (EXCLUSIVE)

Spoiler alert: This article contains major spoilers for Season 1 of The Mole.

This fall, Netflix revived the ABC hit competition series The Mole, a game that requires one contestant to remain hidden in plain sight.

Hosted by Alex Wagner, the 2022 reboot brought more drama than ever before. Each episode, one player was eliminated, and as the season progressed, the finalists grew closer to uncovering the truth.

At last, on Friday, Oct. 21, the Season 1 finale debuted on Netflix and a winner was finally revealed. Distractify sat down with the final three — Will Richardson, Joi Schweitzer, and Kesi Neblett — who got candid about their strategies. So who wins Season 1 of The Mole? Read on for spoilers!

With only three contestants remaining, the finalists were offered one last money grab. Episode 10 saw Will, Joi, and Kesi secure an additional $5,000, which brought the total prize pot to $101,500. Ahead of the big reveal, the stakes couldn't have been higher.

Kesi had previously accused both Will and Joi of being the “s***hole mole.” However, in the final moments of the competition, she settled on the latter.

Joi, on the other hand, had her suspicions set on someone else. Throughout the competition, Joi expressed her doubts that Kesi’s intentions were pure. But ahead of the final quiz, Joi had a last-minute change of heart and selected Will as the could-be Mole.

“My gut was telling me it was Kesi — we’ve worked together a couple [of] times. And she dropped the ball every single time we worked together and it was blatant sabotage." Joi continued, "I'm like ‘It's her!’ But I had been going for Will.”

The decision, Joi shared, was a “$100,000 mistake,” as both her and Kesi’s answers were wrong. Will’s guess, however, was spot-on. In turn, he took home the win. So, who was the Mole?

All 12 competitors on this season of The Mole gave it their all. But in the end, it was Will who cracked the case. After months of keeping her status a secret, Kesi was revealed as the Mole. (Surprise!)

It turns out her attempts to sabotage the group were made in vain. With this, Will took home the entire prize pot.

In our exclusive interview, Will revealed the strategy that led him to the finale and helped mislead his co-stars until the end. "When I found out [Joi] had been going for me since the beginning, I started playing into that a lot harder,” the reality TV star recalled. "Like she will tell you, I started handcuffing myself by not using my journal to write notes because I know she was paying attention.”

Though disappointed, Joi applauded her co-stars for playing the long game and doing it well. "I wish I would have stuck to my gut but what can I do?" she shared. "[Kesi] played an excellent role. And congratulations to this guy, [Will].”

You can watch Episodes 1 through 10 of The Mole on Netflix now!