The Challenge: All Stars has featured a season that is half the length of the regular-season show on MTV, but in many viewers’ minds, it’s been twice as fun.
In Episode 7 of the spinoff season, competitors learned from host TJ Lavin that the final was very close. By the end of the episode, they learned how close it was, as TJ revealed to all the remaining competitors that they were going to the final.
Here’s a look at which of The Challenge: All Stars cast members qualified for the final, including who has been before, who has won it, and who is there for their first time.
Spoilers will follow for the first season of the show on Paramount+, up through Episode 7.
The Challenge: All Stars final includes former champions, first-timer
At the start of the All Stars season, there was a cast featuring 22 stars from past seasons of MTV’s The Challenge, all of whom started on either The Real World, Road Rules, or Fresh Meat.
By the end of All Stars Episode 7, just 12 competitors were left standing, and all of them were going to TJ’s final. That includes the man behind the All Stars project, The Godfather, Mark Long, who has been in four finals previously and won two.
Aneesa Ferreira and Darrell Taylor are also in the All Stars final, fresh off their appearances on MTV’s Season 36 of The Challenge, aka Double Agents. Darrell went to and won the final in his first four seasons of The Challenge. His castmate Aneesa has been in the final twice in her 14 regular seasons but never won it.
While she’s never won a final on The Challenge, Jemmye Carroll has been to one before. She appeared in the Rivals II final back in 2013 and finished third alongside teammate Camila Nakagawa.
Eric “Big Easy Banks” is also heading to his second final. He previously made it during The Gauntlet II as part of the veterans’ team who lost to the rookies. On the flipside, Alton Williams was on the winning team that season. He also went to the final on The Gauntlet and The Inferno 3 but lost those.
KellyAnne Judd will be competing in her second final on The Challenge. She reached The Ruins final in 2009 but did not win.
Several first-time finalists will be competing in The Challenge: All Stars final. Jonna Mannion has never been in her five appearances on MTV’s show, while Jisela Delgado never reached a final in her three seasons.
Others who are in The Challenge: All Stars final include Ruthie Alcaide, Derrick Kosinski, and Yes Duffy. Derrick reached the final in four seasons and won three of them (The Inferno 3, The Island, and The Ruins).
Ruthie reached a final in her first season, Battle of the Sexes, but didn’t win. Yes reached and won the final on The Challenge 2000. That was his only final appearance in three seasons.
What will TJ Lavin’s All Stars final be like?
At the end of All Stars Episode 7, host TJ Lavin told the competitors to get some rest. The 12 remaining competitors will most likely do a bit of celebrating in the next episode now that they know they’re in the final.
Earlier in the season, the competitors had a daily challenge called Connect Em All, which TJ referred to as a “mini-final.” That daily challenge involved competitors starting in teams of four or five people. The first leg of the challenge involved carrying a large log as a team to a puzzle checkpoint, and then the competitors all broke off into pairs. Once the pairs solved their next puzzle, they each grabbed a log to race towards a finish line individually.
TJ’s final could have a similar team format at the start, or they might compete as individuals the entire time. There may be eliminations along the way, where the competitors performing worse than others are eliminated from continuing. Or there could be eliminations within the final, something seen during MTV’s recent Total Madness season.
As far as what’s included in the final, the All Stars mid-season trailer (below) did give some teases. Among items shown were what appeared to be KellyAnne Judd regurgitating something she ate or drank and competitors paddling through water in Argentina. So it will bring a few elements into play that the Double Agents final had.
It appears that the All Stars final might span two episodes like Double Agents final did. That means TJ’s final will begin in Episode 8 on Thursday, May 20, and conclude in Episode 9 on Thursday, May 27. So buckle up, it’s about to be a wild but continuously fun ride, as the OGs compete for that solo prize of $500,000!
The Challenge: All Stars episodes arrive Thursdays on Paramount+.