The latest episode of Mnet’s Queendom Puzzle was packed with twists that set the show for the upcoming semifinals. Fans witnessed the All-Rounder battle, the first elimination, the revelation of the Top 7, and the announcement of the project-group name. They also noticed changes in the upcoming brand-new songs’ performance line-up.
Girls Generation’s Taeyeon, who also hosted the second season of Mnet’s Queendom, is the MC of the Queendom Puzzle. The ongoing survival show features many popular K-pop idols, including members of active girl groups, fighting for the seven spots of a new project group. Without further ado, let’s take a recap of all that happened last week on Queendom Puzzle.
Note: The article contains spoilers for the latest episode of Queendom Puzzle.
The All-Rounder battle and revelation of the Top 7
In the newest episode, contestants faced each other in the All-Rounder battle via two groups, Queendom and Puzzle. The battle lasted for five rounds, each challenging the contestants’ talents in all aspects to become the queen of K-pop. The teams were as follows:
| Queendom Team | Puzzle Team |
| Rocket Punch’s Yeonhee | H1-KEY’s Riina |
| tripleS’s Seoyeon | Weeekly’s Zoa |
| Weki Meki’s Elly | Rocket Punch’s Suyun |
| Rocket Punch’s Takahashi Juri | CLC’s Yeeun |
| Shiroma Miru | LIGHTSUM’s Sangah |
| Weeekly’s Lee Soojin | Cherry Bullet’s Jiwon |
| MOMOLAND’s JooE | Weeekly’s Jihan |
| Fye | woo!ah! ‘s Nana |
| Dohwa (AOA’s Chanmi) | woo!ah! ‘s Wooyeon |
| Cherry Bullet’s Chaerin | PURPLE KISS’s Yuki |
| Weeekly’s Soeun | WJSN’s Yeoreum |
| H1-KEY’s Hwiseo | Cherry Bullet’s Bora |
| tripleS’s Jiwoo | Lovelyz’s Kei |
Following the five rounds, Taeyeon announced that Puzzle Team won all five, winning the title of All-Rounder. They also gained a combined score of 1146, while the score of team Queendom was 812. Subsequently, all the members of Team Puzzle garnered 20,000 points in their scores, securing them for the next round.
First elimination on Queendom Puzzle
The first elimination began with the group performance of the song RISE UP featuring all 26 contestants. The performance highlighted all contestants’ capabilities and raised anticipation about the elimination.
- Before announcing the eliminated contestants, SNSD’s Taeyeon announced the Top 7 who were safe and promoted to the next round. These girl idols won the audience’s hearts and gained the highest scores in global votes. Moreover, they also gained points through various missions on the show.
The top 7 on Queendom Puzzle (in no particular order) are as follows:
- H1-KEY’s Hwiseo
- WJSN’s Yeoreum
- woo!ah! ‘s Nana
- Weeekly’s Jihan
- PURPLE KISS’s Yuki
- CLC’s Yeeun
- Lovelyz’s Kei
However, these rankings will not affect the upcoming rounds as the scores are reset. Regardlessly, the seven members proved their efficiency and made them the content to look out for in the show. Meanwhile, five contestants had to leave this week during the elimination ceremony.
The five contestants leaving Queendom Puzzle in 1st elimination:
- tripleS’s Seoyeon
- Cherry Bullet’s Chaerin
- MOMOLAND’s JooE
- LIGHTSUM’s Sangah
- Weeekly’s Soeun
The brand-new songs for the semifinals and project group name reveal
Apart from announcing the top 7 and elimination, the show also disclosed more information about the brand-new song performance held during the semifinals.
- The songs are PUZZLIN, co-composed by DAY6’s YoungK; i DGA, co-composed by iKON’s Bobby; and I DO, co-composed by producer Ryan Jhun.
Previously, fans voted on which song would suit each contestant, and all 26 contestants were split among three groups. However, after the first elimination, the line-up will change again to form the three groups for the semifinals.
MC Taeyeon also unveiled the official name of the seven-member project group consisting of the winners of Queendom Puzzle. The winning group will be called EL7Z U+P (pronounced as Ellz Up), which is a stylized version of Puzzle.
- The fans’ initial response to the project group’s name isn’t that great. Many viewers commented that the name appears like a wifi password and joked that this is a strong password. However, the fans also noted that this is an expected theme as they initially didn’t like Mnet’s choice of names, Kep1er and ZEROBASEONE.
Mnet’s Queendom Puzzle will air the semifinals live on August 8 and the finals on August 15. Seven more contestants will face elimination in the semifinals meaning only 21 members will eventually reach the platform finals. Meanwhile, Mnet will air a special episode next week on August 1, further raising the viewers’ anticipation.
What’s your opinion about the first elimination and the project group name? Share with us in the comments below.
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