The Challenge: Final Reckoning is the thirty-second season of the MTV reality competition series The Challenge. This season featured alumni from The Real World, Road Rules, The Challenge, Are You the One?, the U.S. version of Big Brother, and the U.K. television shows Ex on the Beach and Geordie Shore, competing along with, for the first time, alumni from Bad Girls Club and Vanderpump Rules who appeared on the U.S. version of Ex on the Beach. The season premiered on July 10, 2018 on MTV.^[1][2]

Format

Contestants are competing in pairs with someone they have a vendetta against (i.e. a rival or ex), who are unknown to them until they successfully survive the Opening Challenge. The elements of the game are as follows:

• Daily Missions: Each round, the pairs compete in a challenge. The winning team is immune from elimination and has the "Power Vote" in the Reckoning Vote.
• Reckoning Vote: Following the Daily Mission, teams have to secretly vote one of the losing pairs for the Elimination Round. The "Power Vote" counts as two votes, but may only be cast on one team.
• Elimination Rounds (Armageddon): At the "Armageddon", the results of the Reckoning Vote are revealed to the players. In the event of a tied vote, the pair holding the "Power Vote" hold the tie-breaking vote (but should they not be able to reach a decision, then they become the nominated pair). The teams who voted for the nominated team are also revealed, and the nominated team has to call-out a non-immune team who voted for them. The two teams then face each other in the Armageddon. The losing pair is eliminated, while the winners stay in the game.

In the end, the Final Four teams compete in the Final Challenge and compete for $1,000,000, with the winning team taking it all. Unbeknownst to the contestants until the final challenge, the person who accrues a faster time during aspects of the final challenge that are individually timed has a choice between keeping all the money to themselves or sharing it with their partner.

Twists

• Redemption House: Similar to XXX: Dirty 30, the "Redemption House" gives eliminated teams a chance to re-enter the main game. Periodically, the teams in Redemption House participate in a Double Cross Draw. The team who picked the XX Card will challenge a fellow Redemption pair to an "Apocalypse Challenge", while the teams not picked are officially eliminated from the game and are sent home. The winning team from the "Apocalypse Challenge" returns to the main game, while the losing team stays in "Redemption House", awaiting the next Draw & Challenge.
• Purges: Some challenges are designated as Purges, where the losing team is immediately eliminated, while the winning team gains an advantage for the next Daily Mission.
• Mercenaries: For some of the Elimination Rounds, the Nominated pairs have to face a Mercenary team - late entrants into the game who compete to earn their spot in the game.

Contestants

Teams

Pre-season team backgrounds

Male teams

• Bananas & Tony: The two initially bonded on Rivals III. Their alliance would remain strong until Vendettas, when Tony voted Bananas into an elimination, which he lost.
• Brad & Kyle: The two first met on Vendettas, where Brad used a grenade to make Kyle sit out of a challenge. Kyle's team eventually lost the challenge and Kyle declared Brad would be his "biggest vendetta".
• Cory & Devin: Tension between the two began on Rivals III when the two got into a heated argument at a bar. Their conflict carried on later in the night when they returned to the house, with producers and Devin's teammate Cheyenne eventually stepping in to get Devin to stop antagonizing Cory. They later solidified their rivalry on XXX: Dirty 30 after Cory voted Devin straight to the Redemption House following the first purge, claiming Devin couldn't be trusted.
• Nelson & Shane: Despite aligning with many of the same people, Nelson and Shane have a long history of butting heads, stemming back to Invasion of the Champions. Nelson eventually eliminated Shane in the Underdog Bloodbath, and Shane accused him of tricking his friend Cory in the elimination, causing Cory and Nelson to nearly get into a physical altercation. The two also got into a heated confrontation on Vendettas, though it was only shown in the trailer.

Female/male teams

• Amanda & Zach: On Invasion of the Champions, Amanda spread a rumor that Zach's then-ex-girlfriend Jenna hooked up with Bruno Bettencourt before Zach arrived. This created tension between Zach and Jenna, who were in the process of rekindling their relationship.
• Ashley & Hunter: Ashley and Hunter had a romantic fling on Invasion of the Champions. Eventually, tensions between the two exploded: Ashley said she was using Hunter to advance in the game, and Hunter called Ashley disposable.
• Britni & Chuck: The two were inseparable on their season of Are You the One?, despite finding out that they were not a perfect match. After the show, the two began a relationship, with Britni moving to Hawaii to be with Chuck. However, Chuck suddenly walked out on Britni prior to her appearance on Vendettas, though she would ultimately rebound with Brad.
• CT & Veronica: On XXX: Dirty 30, before voting her into elimination, CT claimed that Veronica was weak and nobody would want her on their team. Veronica won the elimination round, later secured her team the victory at the next challenge, and sent CT straight to Redemption.
• Da'Vonne & Jozea: Despite being teammates, Da'Vonne orchestrated Jozea's eviction on Big Brother 18 after he admitted to her that he wanted to get rid of all the veteran players. Da'Vonne, who was a returning player, immediately told Head of Household and fellow veteran Nicole Franzel of Jozea's plan, which resulted in her targeting him that week.
• Derrick & Tori: The two first met on Are You The One? Second Chances, though the two were invested in other relationships. However, by the time the two appeared on XXX: Dirty 30, they had begun dating. After Derrick was eliminated, Tori cheated on him with Jordan Wisely. While discussing their relationship at the reunion, Tori claimed Derrick hacked into her phone, a claim that Derrick denied.
• Joss & Sylvia: On Vendettas, Joss and Sylvia were initially friendly, with a mutual attraction forming between the pair. However, Joss burned a bridge with Sylvia when he and Brad chose to vote her into elimination to save themselves after a challenge in which Sylvia did all the work. Though a remorseful Joss tried to reason with Sylvia that it was purely a gameplay move, Sylvia lashed out, not wanting to hear his explanation.
• Natalie & Paulie: Natalie and Paulie never aligned with each other on Big Brother 18, with Natalie voting to evict Paulie the first week, and Paulie nominated Natalie during his second Head of Household reign. However, tension between the two exploded during the seventh week of the game when Paulie began targeting Natalie after she questioned his intentions with his showmance Zakiyah Everett. Paulie began making numerous derogatory comments towards Natalie, calling her "F.T." (fake tits) in reference to Natalie's breast implants and infamously telling her that, "[she's] about as fake as those things on your chest." Natalie then aligned with Bridgette Dunning and Michelle Meyer to evict Everett from the house, before organizing Paulie's eviction the next week.

Female teams

• Angela & Faith: Tension between the two began on the first season of Ex on the Beach when Faith went on a date with Angela's love interest Tor'i Brooks. Faith and Tor'i took body shots while on their date, which Tor'i later hid from Angela. At the following elimination ceremony, tensions between the two cliques erupted, as Angela, Tor'i, Cory and Taylor Selfridge attempted to send home Alicia Wright, while the rest of the group wanted to send home Chelsko Thompson. During the ensuing argument, Faith told Angela what really occurred on her date with Tor'i, leading to Angela angrily proclaiming that she wanted to go home.
• Cara Maria & Marie: On XXX: Dirty 30, Cara Maria orchestrated Marie's elimination, claiming that she was untrustworthy. Though they tried to put the past behind them on Vendettas, the two became involved in an awkward love triangle with Kyle, as both girls expressed an attraction towards him. Though Marie got him first, Kyle ultimately left her for Cara Maria.
• Jenna & Jemmye: Jenna initially saved Jemmye from the first purge on XXX: Dirty 30. Though Jemmye claimed that she owed Jenna, in a confessional, she revealed that she had no intentions on saving Jenna if the situation arose. This would come to fruition only a few episodes later when Jemmye pulled the double cross and sent Jenna into elimination against her friend Kailah. A blindsided Jenna lost the elimination round, though she returned after winning the first redemption challenge. At the next challenge, when Jenna was given the opportunity to create the pairings, she chose to pair Jemmye with Ammo Hall in revenge.
• Kailah & Kayleigh:^[g] After it was discovered that Kayleigh had kissed Bananas earlier in the season on Vendettas, Kailah, along with Jemmye and Britni, threw Kayleigh's bed and suitcase over a balcony to evict her from the room where Natalie was staying. Kayleigh later quit the game after feeling bullied by the girls.
• Kam & Melissa:^[g] On Vendettas, Kam and Melissa got into a heated argument that nearly turned physical, after Kam tried to tell a drunken Melissa about her reputation in the house. An attempt to clear the air the following only led to another argument between the two. After being eliminated, Melissa returned for the final challenge as a mercenary and awarded Kam with a grenade punishment that had ultimately cost her a spot in the Final 4.
• Kam & Kayleigh:^[g] Kam and Kayleigh did not connect on Vendettas and largely avoided getting to know one another.

Gameplay

Challenge games

• Opening Challenge: Half the cast is buried underground in caskets in a graveyard, and their partners have to dig them out. The partners who are above ground have to use walkie-talkies and the voices of their below-ground partners are disguised, so the digging partner is not sure who their partner is until they are unburied. The buried teammate must instruct their teammate where they are located in the graveyard. The last two teams to dig their partner out are automatically eliminated, while the winning team has to eliminate one additional team.
  • Winners: Amanda & Zach
  • Sent to Redemption: Britni & Chuck, Jemmye & Jenna, Da'Vonne & Jozea
• Wreck Yourself: The competitors' teams are split into two roles: one being a Pusher, and one being the Swinger. The contestants are harnessed on top of a circular platform suspended in midair. The Pusher must push the Swinger off the platform for them to collect rings hanging in the middle of the platform, which they then must hand back to the Pusher. The team that collects the most rings in the shortest amount of time wins.
  • Winners: Brad & Kyle
• Shark Bait: This is a purge challenge where large replicas of steaks with climbing holds, and ropes, are hung over water about 40 feet. Teams must jump from the platform onto the steaks, and from the steaks to ropes, alternating until they get to the other side of the platform. If one of the teammates falls, they are both disqualified and their score only counts how far they made it. The team that gets both members to the other side the fastest wins, and the team that falls soonest is sent straight to Redemption.
  • Winners: Brad & Kyle
  • Sent to Redemption: CT & Veronica
• Off The Rails: Teams must go in rounds finishing an obstacle course on top of a moving train. First, they must cross the balance beam, by using each other to balance and walk across the single beam. Next, they must walk across a tightrope each while balancing on each other, using lifelines to grab onto as well. If one teammate falls, they both lose. The team to successfully complete the obstacle course the fastest wins.
  • Winners: Amanda & Zach
• Dig Deep: The paired teams are separated into two large groups randomly. The two groups are then put into mine shafts, and must solve 3 puzzles before being able to dig themselves out and race to the finish line. The first paired team to finish within the large team that finishes first, wins.
  • Winners: Kam & Kayleigh
• Don't Push Me Around: The paired teams are separated into two large teams and must play a game of rugby. The girls may only take girls and guys may only tackle guys on the opposing team. Players must retrieve the ball from their opponents end zone, and fight through an obstacle course in order to return it to their own end zone and score a point. The first team to score two points wins, and they then select the pair within the team that was the MVP.
  • Winners: Amanda & Zach
• Dunking for Dinner: This challenge is played in two phases. The first phase, one member of the team must be dunked into water by a crane with their arms tied, while the other player controls the crane. Players must move disks from one circle to the other in an allotted amount of time. The number of disks transferred corresponds to the number of dishes the team is allowed to eat. In the second phase, the player that controlled the crane now must eat as many dishes as possible. The team that eats the most dishes in 15 minutes wins, while the team that eats the least is purged straight to Redemption.
  • Winners: Ashley & Hunter
  • Sent to Redemption: Kam & Kayleigh
• Sky Bridge: Teams are lifted into the sky via a giant crane. There is a partially completed bridge that they must complete and crawl over by passing rope from side to side and tying knots. The team to complete their bridge and make it to the other side fastest wins.
  • Winners: Bananas & Tony
• Caged In: One player will be inside of a cage and the other on the outside. When TJ says go, the players who are outside of the cage must run to a tree line, pick up a tool, and cut down branches. Players will bring the branches back and throw the branches inside the cage. The person inside the cage must use twine and the branches to make a makeshift pole tall enough to reach the keys to the cage. Once unlocked, the teams must run across a field and solve a puzzle. The first team that solves the puzzle wins. The last place team will get a significant disadvantage at the next challenge.
  • Winners: Amanda & Zach
• What Goes Up, Must Come Down: Teams must race up flights of stairs to the roof of a 200-foot tower. At the top, one member will be suspended on the side of the tower and look down at the answer key to a puzzle. They must communicate to their partner how to assemble the puzzle. Once the puzzle has been correctly assembled, both players must repel down the tower to the ground. The team with the fastest time wins. For finishing last in the "Caged In" challenge, Cara Maria & Marie had to find the correct key from a key-chain to unlock the gates to the tower before proceeding, while the gate began unlocked for all other teams.
  • Winners: Bananas & Tony
• Hit List: Teams begin on the edge of a plank suspended above water. One at a time, teams will be asked a trivia question regarding The Challenge trilogy. If they answer correctly, they can assign a strike to another team while answering incorrectly earns their own team a strike. Once a team earns three strikes, a battering ram will knock them into the water. The last team remaining wins.
  • Winners: Natalie & Paulie
• Heads Will Roll: Teams begin on opposite platforms above ground. In between the two platforms is a rotating log which players must run over while carrying a flag to transfer the flag to their teammate. The team with the most flags transferred wins, while the team that transfers the least flags is purged straight to Redemption. In the event that multiple teams are unable to collect flags, the losing team is determined based on distance travelled across the log.
  • Winners: Natalie & Paulie
  • Sent to Redemption: Nelson & Shane
• Rolling Thunder: Each team has a giant boulder which they must roll to the finish line. Halfway through the course, there is a ditch where teams have two routes they can choose from. The first team to reach the finish line wins, while the last team to reach the finish line is eliminated.
  • Winners: Joss & Sylvia
  • Eliminated: Kam & Kayleigh
• Painfully Wrong: All teams begin at the start of five zones, in between each zone is a 7000-volt copper curtain. One at a time, teams will be asked a trivia question. If they answer correctly, they can force another team to advance through the copper curtain to the next zone. Once a team reaches the fifth and final zone, they are out of the challenge. The last team remaining wins.
  • Winners: Joss & Sylvia

Armageddon games

• Think Outside the Box: One teammate is tethered to the center of the arena and attached to a resistance band while the other is inside a cage with a hole in the ceiling. The tethered teammate must run and retrieve large puzzle pieces that fit together to form a cube and give them to their teammate in the cage. The teammate in the cage must assemble the puzzle in order to climb out of the cage. The first team to successfully have their teammate escape the cage wins.
  • Played By: Natalie & Paulie vs. Kam & Kayleigh
• Ramp It Up: Each team starts on separate ramps. Each player must race up their opponents ramp to collect a single ball. Once collecting a ball they must race back to the top of their ramp and deposit the ball into a cylinder tube. The first team to collect 7 balls will win, while the other team is sent to Redemption.
  • Played By: Derrick & Tori vs. Joss & Sylvia
• No Slack: Teams will be tethered together in a box, separated by three walls each. Each player must smash through a plaster hole in each wall until both players are able to escape through the six walls. The first team to break through the six walls and escape the box wins.
  • Played by: Angela & Faith vs. Ashley & Hunter
• Think Tank: Similar to "Water Torture" from Battle of the Seasons (2012), one player will be hanging from a rope system by their ankles over a water tank where a puzzle key is located at the bottom. The other player will be climbing a ladder to give their partner enough slack to dive underwater and read the puzzle key which they will then relay to the climber to solve a complicated puzzle. The first team to complete the puzzle wins. If neither team is able to complete the puzzle in the allotted time, whichever team has the most correct answers would win.
  • Played by: Da'Vonne & Jozea vs. Kam & Kayleigh
• Tread Lightly: Players have to balance a ball between two sticks, then run across a stage with two treadmills going in opposite directions, and deposit their ball into a bin. The first team to deposit ten balls into their bin wins.
  • Played by: Nelson & Shane vs. Brad & Kyle
• Shake It Off: Both teams must shake off medallions hanging from a rope by jumping off a platform, grabbing the rope, and letting it go so that it shakes until all the medallions are off. The first team to shake off all nine medallions from their rope wins.
  • Played by: Amanda & Zach vs. Cory & Devin, Da'Vonne & Jozea vs. Cory & Devin
• Meet Me Halfway: Both players on each team will start at opposite ends of a maze. Carrying a key to a lock, each player must crash through dry walls in the maze until the reach the center where they then must unlock a box, retrieve the contents and ring their nearest team bell. The first team to ring their bell with the contents of their box wins.
  • Played by: Cara Maria & Marie vs. Nelson & Shane
• Don't Trip Me Up: One member of the team must dive under a water tank to untie tiles so that both team members can build a house of cards on a floating platform to a designated marker. The first team to build their tower wins.
  • Played by: Bananas & Tony vs. Joss & Sylvia
• Milk and Cookies: One team member would stand on a perch, both arms above their head with their wrists tethered to a bucket of mursik milk. The other team member would be eating cookies and Mursik milk. If the player on the perch falls off, their partner must stop eating cookies. If both team members eating finish their cookies and milk, then the elimination comes down to the perched players in a battle of endurance. The first team to either eat the most cookies or stand on the perch the longest, wins.
  • Played by: Bananas & Tony vs. Natalie & Paulie

Apocalypse (Redemption) games

• Balls to the Wall: Similar to the elimination of the same name in XXX: Dirty 30, players are placed in separate cages with a sludge hammer for each partner sticking out of the walls. Each teammate must break the sledgehammer through the wall before proceeding to break a block of ice that blocks their escape. The first team to successfully escape the cage by breaking the ice wins.
  • Played By: Da'Vonne & Jozea vs. Natalie & Paulie
• Pyramid Schemers: One team tries to solve two same-colored puzzles on a rotating pyramid in under three minutes. After three minutes, the next team tries to solve their respective puzzle. The first team to finish both of their puzzles first wins. If the first team completes their puzzle, the second team has a limited amount of time to complete their puzzle or they lose.
  • Played By: Da'Vonne & Jozea vs. Natalie & Paulie
• That's The Ticket: One player is stationed in a giant sphere filled with numbered, multi-colored balls. Their goal is to collect their team's five numbers while the partner from the opposing team rotates a crank that spins the wheel. Whoever deposits the correct five balls first wins.
  • Played By: Cara Maria & Marie vs. Kam & Kayleigh, Brad & Kyle vs. Natalie & Paulie
• I Got You Pegged: Both teams must place 16 numbered pegs on their respective climbing wall, with one person climbing and the other distributing the pegs. The numbers on the blue pegs are additioned to the total and the numbers on the red pegs are subtracted from the total, the goal is reaching the number 32. The first team to have the right answer and ring the bell wins.
  • Played By: Brad & Kyle vs. Kam & Kayleigh
• King of the Ring: Both teams start on one end of a battering ram. On go, the teams must push, pull, or drag the other team to get them out of the ring to gain one point. The first team that gets 3 points wins.
  • Played By: Bananas & Tony vs. Nelson & Shane

Final Challenge

Prior to the final challenge, it is announced that the top player from the winning team would make the ultimate decision whether to keep the one million dollars for themselves or split the money with their partner. Each team also receives a grenade which they can use against another team, penalising them with a disadvantage during any checkpoint during the final. The final starts with players climbing out of a helicopter, down a ladder to the ground. Players must then complete a series of timed checkpoints before the results will ultimately be revealed.

Checkpoints

• Vengeance Run: Players complete a four-kilometre run down a flat road.
• Final Stand: Pairs stand on together on top of a tower with a narrow foothold. The first, second and third teams to fall off receive a ten, five and two-and-a-half-minute time penalty respectively added to their pair's total time. The last team to fall off receives no time penalty.
  • Grenade: Both members must wear weighted vests while completing the checkpoint. (Unused)
• Breakfast of Champions: Pairs must eat 32 plates of food containing delicacies from countries visited during the Challenge trilogy. The first team to eat all 32 plates wins the checkpoint and have their time stopped. Each remaining plate not consumed from the other three teams counts as a one-minute penalty towards that team.
  • Grenade: Both members must drink one "Amasi Fish Milkshake" before proceeding with the checkpoint. (Used by Ashley & Hunter on Joss & Sylvia)
• Savana Sprint: Players complete a three-kilometre run through the jungle to the Sudwala Caves.
  • Grenade: Pairs are given a ten-minute time penalty added to their total time. (Used by Joss & Sylvia on Ashley & Hunter)
• Final Reckoning: Players must walk over burning coals to reach the finish line.
  • Grenade: Both team members begin with their ankles chained and locked. They must unlock themselves by finding a key on a key-chain with 32 keys on it before proceeding. (Used by Natalie & Paulie on Joss & Sylvia)

Results

• Winners: Ashley & Hunter (69 minutes 3 seconds)
  • (Ashley was the top performing individual player between her and Hunter and thus she was awarded the 'Million Dollar Dilemma'. She chose to take the $1,000,000 prize all for herself, leaving Hunter with nothing)
• Runners-up: Joss & Sylvia (69 minutes 43 seconds)
• Third place: Natalie & Paulie (71 minutes 33 seconds)
• Fourth place: Cara Maria & Marie (104 minutes 28 seconds)

Game summary

Elimination chart

Game progress

Competition

  The team won the final challenge

  The team did not win the final challenge and did not receive any money

  The team won the challenge and was immune from the Armageddon

  The team won the challenge and an advantage for the next challenge

  The team did not nominate the team voted into the Armageddon and was not eligible to be picked for the Armageddon

  The team was eligible to be picked for the Armageddon, but was not selected

  The team won in the Armageddon

  The Mercenaries won Armageddon and entered the game

  The team lost in the Armageddon and was eliminated

  The team won the challenge, but could not decide their vote and was automatically sent to the Armageddon, and lost

  The team was eliminated at the challenge site

  The team was disqualified from the competition due to disciplinary reasons

Teams

Redemption house

Redemption chart

Redemption progress

Competition

  The team won the Redemption elimination, and returned to the main game

  The team pulled the XX card and chose their opponent for the Apocalypse

  The team was selected by the XX Holder and competed in the Apocalypse

  The team lost the Redemption elimination, and remained in the Redemption House

  The team lost the Redemption competition, and was permanently eliminated from the competition

  The team was not picked in the Double Cross and was permanently eliminated from the competition

  A contestant was removed from the competition due to injury, so his/her partner was also eliminated

Voting progress

Bold indicates the winner of that week's challenge, earning them the Power Vote, so their vote against a team counts twice.

Episodes

Reunion special

The two-part reunion special aired on November 27 and December 4, 2018, and was hosted by WWE pro wrestler, Dolph Ziggler. Cast members (including Britni, Kayleigh and Kyle via Satellite) attended at the MTV Studios in New York City.