A Challenge game that started with 30 contestants — an Olympian, a WWE superstar and Big Brother winners among them — has been reduced to a final collection of eight Double Agents. So now that the final four teams have been locked, the question is: Who will win?
After a commanding victory by Kam and Cory in “Escape the Volcano,” a mini-final that found the game’s remaining ladies racing through a 10-mile course to rescue their partners from a volcano, Kyle found himself in hot water. He knew without a win, he was likely to be thrown into the Crater, and after Fessy was named the house’s elimination-round vote, the Double Agents sealed Kyle’s fate. He would have to face off against the hulking Fessy in “Hall Brawl,” and most of Kyle’s fellow competitors thought he’d be lucky to come out alive.
And while he did, indeed, emerge, alive, it wasn’t without injury — Kyle broke his finger and had to be medically discharged from the game. It was a heartbreaker for the Brit who’s come close to winning The Challenge a handful of times, but for the game’s remaining eight players, it meant they’d officially reached the game’s last leg.
And, in true Season 36 fashion, Fessy’s Crater victory came with a handful of team shakeups. Fessy, who’d been angling to get Kaycee on his team since the game’s beginning, finally got his wish, leaving Leroy to partner up with Kyle’s former partner Nany. And, as Kam and Cory had cemented their partnership with their earlier victory, Fessy’s former partner Amber B. and Rogue Agent CT were left to form the fourth and final team.
For Leroy and Nany, who’d been friends since filming Real World: Las Vegas together more than a decade earlier, the switch felt like a full-circle moment. And not only is their bond ironclad but they’ve also each put up stellar Season 36 performances: Leroy won five missions while partnered up with Kaycee, while Nany found success as a solo player.
“The more I think about it, the more exciting running this final with [Leroy] makes me,” Nany said.
Still, when it comes to running, Fessy and Kaycee might have an edge over the game’s other teams. While neither has a particular fondness for puzzles or math, the pair of Big Brother standouts are at the top of the pack when it comes to pure athletic prowess.
“I feel like I made the right decision,” Fessy said. “They’re looking at us like we’re the favorites to win.”
A team that’s not necessarily favored to win? CT and Amber B. While CT is a decorated champ, he spent the season fighting off calls for him to retire and insistence that he was past his prime. More, while Amber B. has shown, with two Crater wins, that she has the capacity to compete, she proved with her performance in “Escape the Volcano” that she can buckle under pressure. Perhaps most damning, she and CT haven’t performed in a single mission together and are going into the final mission blind.
“CT and I have not been partners the whole season,” Amber B. said. “I don’t know what to expect, but…I am not stopping.”
Conversely, after coming off such a commanding victory, Kam and Cory might have the perfect momentum to win. While neither has been able to snag a first-place finish, they’ve each put up huge showings in previous finals, often missing the title by a hair.
“I feel like I’m finally peaking at the right time,” Cory said. “I just picked up Kam. I’ve been performing well…this feels good.”
The only thing that might feel better? A million-dollar grand prize. So who’s gonna get it? Will the Double Agents winners be Team Leroy and Nany, Team Amber B. and CT, Team Fessy and Kaycee or Team Kam and Cory? Make your case, then hang tight to see how the Challenge final unfolds on Wednesday!
