Topstep Labs has put the $3K Challenge back on sale as two separate drops. Drop #008 is Undead. Drop #009 is Slasher. Both ask you to make $3,000 twice, then pay you a flat $3,000 cash and close the account.

Topstep announced them on 15 October. The Labs page and the official blog both list the same rules.

Undead (Drop #008)

• Price: $199 one-time
• Max size: 5 minis or 50 micros
• Static max loss limit: $1,000
• Profit target: $3,000 per round
• Payout: $3,000 cash after both rounds
• Max accounts: 5 per trader

Slasher (Drop #009)

• Price: $65 one-time
• Max size: 2 minis or 20 micros
• Static max loss limit: $500
• Profit target: $3,000 per round
• Payout: $3,000 cash after both rounds
• Max accounts: 5 per trader

Neither version has a daily loss limit, a consistency target, a minimum number of trading days, a scaling plan, or a profit split. You start each round at $0. Hit the target with no open positions and you advance or get paid. Hit the static floor and the account fails.

The first $3K Challenge was Drop #003 in August. It cost $49, allowed 1 mini or 10 micros, and used a $1,000 static max loss. Undead keeps the same floor but raises the price and the size. Slasher cuts both the floor and the price.

These sit outside the normal Topstep Trading Combine. Labs drops are limited experiments. Topstep has used them to test static floors, fixed payouts, and different size limits. The $50K Static Combine from earlier in October is still a separate Labs product.

A static floor is the part most traders notice first. On a trailing account the floor can move up after a green day. Here it stays put, so the full $1,000 or $500 of room is available until you lose it. The tradeoff is the target-to-floor ratio. On Slasher you need $3,000 with only $500 of room. On Undead it is $3,000 against $1,000. Both rounds have to be cleared before the payout is available.

Our Take: These are short, fixed-payout experiments, not a cheaper path into a normal Express Funded Account. Slasher is cheap enough to try if you already trade micros and want a pure target-versus-static-floor test. Undead gives more size at a higher price and a wider floor. Neither replaces the standard Combine if your goal is a scalable funded account with ongoing payouts. Treat them as limited Labs drops and check the current Labs page before you buy, because these sell out.

Gourang Parekh

I’ve been trading for over 5 years, mainly across Indian markets, futures, forex, crypto, and CFDs. Over the years, I’ve traded with a lot of different brokers and prop firms and spent a huge amount of time testing their rules, platforms, pricing, drawdown models, payout systems, and trading conditions.

I’ve been through plenty of failed prop firm challenges myself before eventually figuring out what works for me. That experience has given me a pretty practical understanding of what traders actually deal with when choosing a prop firm or trading platform.

Outside of trading, I work with financial content, SEO, and WordPress. I’ve built websites and tools around trading and finance, tested a wide range of trading tools, and even modified Pine Script indicators on TradingView as a hobby.

I write about prop firms, brokers, crypto platforms, and trading tools with a focus on the things that actually matter to traders, including rules, costs, payouts, and the overall trading experience.

Expertise: Prop Firms, Forex Brokers, Futures, Crypto, CFDs, Trading Platforms, Trading Tools, Risk Management

Prop Firm Trader