MrBeast's Beast Games Season 2 has cast New Jersey resident Apollo Poetry from over 400,000 applicants, officially selecting him as one of the "100 Smartest People on the Planet" for the Amazon Prime Video series. The competition, which premiered on January 7, 2026, features a $5 million grand prize, the largest in television history. Apollo enters the arena with a staggering intellectual profile, testing in the top 1% for Memory Index, top 1% for Processing Speed, top 2% for Spatial Ability, and the top 6% for IQ. Apollo was cast specifically for his elite cognitive scores. A holder of two Master's degrees including an MBA, he has bridged the gap between high-level logic and emotional intelligence. As a public speaker, he has presented an EQ workshop for MENSA and delivered three TEDx talks. He has also facilitated a social and emotional learning workshop in high schools across the country for over 100,000 people, which was featured on The Oprah Winfrey Show.
The New Jersey resident's accolades extend far beyond the screen. He is a Guinness World Record breaker, an Amazon Best-selling author, and a member of the All 50-State Club after visiting every state in the U.S. He has previously been featured on MTV, ABC, PBS, FOX, and NPR. In July 2026, one of Apollo's poems is scheduled to be flown to and permanently placed on the surface of the moon. He stated that he applied for this opportunity so that long after he's gone, his daughter can look up to the moon and know that he is always right there with her. As Beast Games continues to trend globally on Prime Video, Apollo Poetry stands as a formidable representative of New Jersey's community, competing to bring the $5 million prize home. The selection process for the show involved rigorous cognitive testing and evaluation, with Apollo's exceptional scores across multiple intelligence metrics making him a standout candidate among the hundreds of thousands of applicants worldwide.
This casting highlights the growing intersection of intellectual achievement and mainstream entertainment, as game shows increasingly seek participants with verified high-level cognitive abilities. The substantial prize money reflects the premium placed on intelligence in contemporary media competitions, while Apollo's diverse background in both analytical fields and emotional intelligence workshops demonstrates the multifaceted nature of modern intellectual achievement. The series represents a significant shift in television programming, where intellectual prowess is not only celebrated but also competitively rewarded at unprecedented levels, potentially influencing how intelligence is perceived and valued in popular culture.
