EXCLUSIVE | Payal Gaming reacts to The Alliance exit: 'If it was in-house voting, I would have been a finalist'

Payal Gaming is one of the most popular YouTubers in India, known for her dominance in the gaming world and enjoys a massive fan following. The content creator recently made her OTT and reality TV debut as a contestant on Amazon Prime Video's The Alliance. Competing alongside well-known personalities such as Kushal Tandon, Zaid Darbar, Mini Mathur and others, Payal impressed viewers with her strategic gameplay and resilience under pressure. However, just a week before the grand finale, her journey on the show came to an unexpected end following a shocking elimination.

In an exclusive conversation with WION, Payal Dhare opened up about her shocking elimination, friendships and betrayals inside the house, meeting Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and the contestants she believes played the smartest game and deserves to win.

WION: Your elimination came as a shock. How have you been coping with it?

PAYAL:I feel I should have been in the finale week. The whole week, it will stay on my mind until it ends. I think that if it had happened on the basis of voting, I would have had a lot of votes in my house. But Ace got the power and deleted me. So I am very sad about that. If someone gets power in this game, they can end someone's journey. And I will feel very bad about that till the end. There were a lot of odds against me.

A lot of things were not in my favour from the beginning. I was sidelined. People were not taking me in the alliance. There were trust issues. I have cried a lot. And at the age of 25, I feel like what I have seen on the show, I will never experience such things ever in my life. But fighting all those things, I reached week 5. And there was only one week's journey left. Maybe if there was public voting or voting in the headquarters, I would have definitely been a finalist.

WION: When you entered The Alliance, did you imagine reaching this far in the competition?

PAYAL: When I entered, I came with the winner's mindset. I knew that I had to reach the finals. But when Vanshaj was eliminated in the first week, I was a little scared that these people had already started doing politics. There were so many votes that everyone was against him. And the next target was me. Kushal even told me, “Now it's your turn. Now they will remove you.” So I was scared somewhere. But I also know how to play games. I have played online games. But I have also played some real-life games. I befriended people. I befriended those whom I didn't like. I performed challenges. I was very good at mental challenges. So all my strategy-based tasks went very well. And on that basis, I think I got a chance till week 5.

WION: What has been the biggest lesson you have learned about friendship on the show? As we have seen you making bonds with everyone, like Agu and Vanshaj.

PAYAL: Honestly, I didn't expect much from Agu. When I came out and saw the show- I talking about one episode in particular- which was about making alliances, I was telling him to stand up for himself. Told Agu, ‘In your team, Aly can be seen as a leader. And you are a very good performer. You have always given your place to someone else.’

I used to spend so much time with Agu. I shared a lot of things with him; I used to share everything with him. And I genuinely considered him my true friend. And in the end, everything gets revealed. I am very disappointed with Agu.

I don't want to say anything about Vanshaj. Vanshaj played a very good game. He supported me a lot till the end. But the sacrifices I made, I shouldn't have made; I should have played for myself. But our team was such that I, Sohail, and Zaid were together. And we knew that it would be very difficult to knock out. And we had made a strategy. But that strategy backfired for me. And because of that, I got out of the show. It happens. But I am happy that I made good friends like Dilbar, Vanshaj, and Neeti. I fought a lot with Zaid too. But in the end, we were friends. I made good friends who will be with me for a lifetime.

WION: Asking you a sneaky question. We, as the audience, only get the edited version of the show. But what's the hidden part of the show that you can talk about?

PAYAL: When I saw the episodes, Kushal Tandon seemed very arrogant. He seemed to be fighting all the time. But it wasn't like that. He had an emotional side too. If someone was alone, he would go to them. When my team wasn't being formed, he supported me a lot. He said to me, “Don't worry, I am there. I am the ace. I will support you fully. I know that you have been formed in a different way in your team. When there were no options left, the leftovers were put together." So, he supported me emotionally a lot last week.

I used to think Ali Gony was playing on the front foot. But when I came out and saw the show, i realised there was so much planning and plotting. He used to stay in the smoking room from morning to night. He used to sit in the smoking room and plan everything.

There are a lot of things that are not shown in the show. For example, Mini Ma'am was very friendly with everyone. And when I came out and saw that the show projects her as a mastermind. She used to say, "Let's take Payal as a scapegoat," for the nomination. And when they had to take me in the team, she told me, “Payal, you are the smartest, we are taking you for your brain.” And when I came out, I realised she was taking me in the team for the nomination.

WION: You have represented your gaming community at the highest level and even met PM Modi, also. So, how was your experience?

PAYAL: It's been two years, but it was a very good experience to meet him (PM Modi) and to represent my community. And we told him what changes we need, what we can do better. It was a very good conversation. And it will be a lifetime memory. We told him that there should be game development in India. And how other people can pursue gaming seriously as a career. Nowadays, people take gaming and gambling as the same thing, but gambling is a different thing. So, yeah, it was a very good conversation. He also asked us about our journey, about how we came to this level, where we came from. It was such a homely feel there.

WION: Among the remaining contestants, who do you think has played the smartest game and deserves to win?

PAYAL: Smartest, I must say, Mini Ma'am has played. Emotionally, I know I am hurt because, when I came out, I saw a lot of things. But I think it was a very smart move that Mini Ma'am played in her game. She put herself first. Even her ally Nikhil sir left, but she was there. So, she played a very smart game.

And apart from that, I think Vanshaj played a very smart game. He manipulated a lot of people by coming inside and saying that such a thing happened outside. But nothing like that happened. So, it was also a smart move that he took Zaid aside and made an alliance with Zaid. So, both Mini Ma'am and Vanshaj have played well.

WION: Now that your journey has come to an end, what would you like to say to your fans who voted for you and supported you?

PAYAL: I just want to say thank you so much for supporting me. I am happy that I came till the 5th week. And I know that many people got disappointed with my decisions. But it's a game. And you try everything to survive in the game. It was for survival; if I had been at the top, I would have never made any sacrifice. But the odds were such that I had to do it. And the ace was given the power, so they took me out. But if there had been in-house voting, I would have been a finalist. It's just that you all gave me so much love. Thank you for that.