The Pillar Push preview: Physics, team strategy, and who's best positioned for a 1.2-Ton Challenge in Physical: Asia Episode 9

Physical: Asia Episode 9 ends by unveiling one of the toughest elimination challenges the series has staged: the 1,200-kilogram Pillar Push, a Death Match requiring teams to push a one-ton column for 100 laps.

The challenge sits at the intersection of brute strength, endurance, leverage, and pacing — and not every team entered the arena equally equipped.

Physical: Asia - 1,200-kilogram Pillar Push Death Match

The stage was set when the Master instructed the bottom three teams to step forward and open the metal boxes placed before them.

Shock spread immediately as they found shackles inside. Dong-hyun stared at the contents and asked,

“Why in the world do we need shackles?”

The reveal foreshadowed a challenge designed to break athletes physically and psychologically. Then came the announcement:

“Physical: Asia. Fourth quest: Death Match…The 1,200-kilogram Pillar Push.”

Competitors reacted instantly. When Japan’s Eun-sil heard the number, she repeated it back in disbelief,

“1,200 kilograms?”

Another teammate added the blunt clarification,

“One metric ton.”

What followed was a chorus of gasps across the arena.

But the real twist came seconds later.

The Master announced that any competitor who participated in the Battle Rope Relay could not participate in the Death Match, prompting Australia’s Eddie Williams to fire back with the most visceral reaction of the episode:

“Are you f**** serious?”

The implications were immediate.

Australia had used its full power trio — Eloni, Whittaker, and Eddie — in the relay, leaving their remaining lineup at a severe disadvantage for a challenge built on pushing force and whole-body leverage.

Meanwhile, teams like Mongolia and Korea, who held back their anchors earlier, suddenly found themselves perfectly positioned.

From a physics perspective, the Pillar Push is less about isolated strength and more about continuous applied force, synchronized steps, and angle management.

Momentum must be maintained, and the teams must place their athletes accordingly.

Korea instantly analyzed lane placement and role distribution.

Min-jae noted that the outside positions would bear more force, and despite being the strongest, he took the center because it requires more stamina to be the outermost person.

Min-jae said that it was kind of Amotti to swap places with him, he said,

"He did an incredibly kind thing and took my place on the end."

Therefore, Amotti was placed on the outside, with Dong-hyun taking the innermost lane.

Mongolia entered the challenge with confidence. Orkhonbayar turned to his teammates and declared,

“You and I could do this alone… Add Khandsuren, we’re even stronger.”

Their trio — Orkhonbayar, Adiyasuren, and Khandsuren — brings a good strength-to-mass ratio into the match.

Australia, despite the setback, refused to waver. Dom tried to rally the team by insisting,

“We can take Mongolia, easy.”

Their team — Dom, Katelin, and Alexandra — will rely more on technique and pacing than raw explosiveness.

The Master clarified the stakes:

The first two teams to hit 100 laps advance. The last team is immediately eliminated.

When he called out, “Stand by… Ready…”, the three teams gripped the pillar.

The whistle blew, and Physical: Asia cut abruptly to black, leaving viewers suspended in uncertainty.

Based on the physics of the challenge, Korea and Mongolia enter the Pillar Push with structural, strategic, and physical advantages.

Australia, however, has historically thrived in endurance-heavy team competitions — and the trio representing them has shown grit before.

The Death Match remains unresolved, but Episode 9 makes clear that Quest 4’s second game will not be won by strength alone.

It will be won by teamwork, pacing, and the ability to suffer forward.

Stay tuned for more updates.