The Challenge: Battle of the Bloodlines

Battle of the Bloodlines is the 27th season of The Challenge. This season features alumni from The Real World, Road Rules, Are You the One?, and The Challenge competing with and against their family members for a share of $350,000. This season was filmed in Turkey and Germany for the final from June to August 2015. It premiered on December 2, 2015, and concluded with the "S#!t They Should Have Shown" special on February 17, 2016.

Description[]

Fourteen players from MTV series will travel to Bodrum, Turkey to join the people who know their toughest strengths, crippling weaknesses, and deepest fears better than anyone -- their own flesh and blood. In this unprecedented format, competitors will battle it out WITH and AGAINST their bloodlines, turning family into foe. This shake-up gets even more twisted when players learn that their fates are combined with their bloodlines’. It’s anyone’s game when family still means everything, because despite strong performances, competitors could still go home if their relatives fall short. With $350,000 on the line and family honor to defend, there will be blood.

Format[]

Each team participates in numerous challenges which are followed by an elimination round — "The Pit." The winning team of each challenge earns immunity from entering The Pit, while the last-place finisher is automatically sent to The Pit. The winning team also earns the right of choosing the team that will face the last-place finisher in The Pit. There is, however, a condition in which if a same-gender team is automatically sent to The Pit, the winning team is required to send a team that has at least one player of the matching gender to compete in The Pit. The team who wins the elimination round returns to the game and has the opportunity to compete for a share of a $350,000 prize, while the losing team is eliminated from the game.

Host T. J. Lavin initially did not reveal any twists to the gameplay, however, beginning in Episode 3, a twist to the game occurred when players were forced to compete against their bloodlines. From then on, the two teams would compete against each other so that the winning team of a challenge was safe from elimination and could nominate one player from the losing team for "The Pit." The losing team is also required to nominate one of their players for "The Pit." Whichever player wins the elimination round returns to the game while the other is sent home along with their bloodline from the opposing team.

In Episode 10, the families were brought back together and competed as pairs for the remainder of the season.

Money for finalists is split as follows:

First Place: $250,000 ($125,000 each)
Second Place: $75,000 ($37,500 each)
Third Place: $25,000 ($12,500 each)

Twists[]

Red vs Blue: A Red and Blue Team were formed, chosen by Cara Maria and Jamie respectively, and were picked by alternating between the alumni and bloodline players so that the initial pairings were divided. Players fate in the game remained the same. The losing player of the elimination and their bloodline on the opposite team will be eliminated. The twist ended in Episode 10 and the game returned to its original format.

Contestants[]

Teams
		Finish
Cara Maria Sorbello Fresh Meat II	Jamie Banks Cousin	Winners in Family Matters
Cory Wharton Real World: Ex-Plosion	Mitch Reid Cousin	Runners-Up in Family Matters
Jenna Compono Real World: Ex-Plosion	Brianna Julig Cousin	Third Place in Family Matters
Aneesa Ferreira The Real World: Chicago	Rianna Polin Cousin	Eliminated in Tear Down This Wall
Johnny Bananas The Real World: Key West	Vince Gliatta Cousin	Eliminated in Out for Blood
Abram Boise Road Rules: South Pacific	Mike Boise Brother	Eliminated in Blood Versus Love
KellyAnne Judd The Real World: Sydney	Anthony Cuomo Cousin	Eliminated in Blood Is Thicker Than Mud
Thomas Buell Real World: Ex-Plosion	Stephen Buell Twin Brother	Eliminated in Blood Brothers
Nany González The Real World: Las Vegas (2011)	Nicole Ramos Cousin	Eliminated in Dirty Little Secret
Dario Medrano Are You the One? 2	Raphy Medrano Twin Brother	Eliminated in A House Divided
Tony Raines Real World: Skeletons	Shane Raines Brother	Medically Disqualified in #Corneesa
Camila Nakagawa Spring Break Challenge	Larissa Nakagawa Sister	Eliminated in #Corneesa
Leroy Garrett The Real World: Las Vegas (2011)	Candice Fowler Cousin	Medically Disqualified in #Corneesa
Cohutta Grindstaff The Real World: Sydney	Jill Tuttle Cousin	Eliminated in Bad Blood
Christina LeBlanc Are You the One? 2	Emily Reese Stepsister	Eliminated in There Will Be Blood

Game Summary[]

Episode		Gender	Challenge winners	Pit contestants		Pit game	Pit outcome
#	Challenge	Gender	Challenge winners	Last-place team	Winners' pick	Pit game	Winner	Loser	Eliminated
1	Water Battle	Female	Cohutta & Jill	Jenna & Brianna	Christina & Emily	End Of My Rope	Jenna	Christina	Christina & Emily
2	Family Dinner	Male	Cara Maria & Jamie	Cohutta & Jill	Thomas & Stephen	Squaring Off	Thomas	Cohutta	Cohutta & Jill
	Challenge	Gender	Winners	Losers' pick	Winners' pick	Pit game	Winner	Loser	Eliminated
3/4	Meet Me Halfway^[1]	Female	Red Team	Larissa	Jenna	Door Slammer	Jenna	Larissa	Camila & Larissa
4/5^[2]	Air to the Throne	Male	Red Team	Raphy	Mitch	My Way or the Highway	Mitch	Raphy	Dario & Raphy
6	Family Connection	Female	Red Team	KellyAnne	Nany	Ring My Bell	KellyAnne	Nany	Nany & Nicole
7	Hand Me Down	Male	Red Team	Mike	Stephen	Home Wrecker	Mike	Stephen	Thomas & Stephen
8	Too Clingy	Female	Red Team	Jenna	KellyAnne	Spun Out	Jenna	KellyAnne	KellyAnne & Anthony
9	Air Pockets	Male	Red Team	Mike	Jamie	Hand it Over	Jamie	Mike	Abram & Mike
	Challenge	Gender	Winners	Last-place team	Winner’s pick	Pit game	Winner	Loser	Eliminated
10	Weight for Me	N/A	Cory & Mitch	Cara Maria & Jamie	Bananas & Vince	Through Thick and Thin	Cara Maria & Jamie	Bananas & Vince
11	Truck Crossing	Female	Cory & Mitch	Aneesa & Rianna	Cara Maria & Jamie	Mine Not Yours	Cara Maria	Aneesa	Aneesa & Rianna
12/13	Final Challenge	N/A	Cara Maria & Jamie	2nd place: Cory & Mitch; 3rd place: Jenna & Brianna

Note: Players in bold indicate that they're competing in the Pit.

Episode Progress[]

Contestants	Episodes
Contestants	1	2	3/4	4/5	6	7	8	9	10	11	Finale
Cara Maria	SAFE	WIN	WIN	WIN	WIN	WIN	WIN	WIN	ELIM	ELIM	WINNER
Jamie	SAFE	WIN	SAFE	SAFE	SAFE	SAFE	SAFE	ELIM	ELIM	SAFE	WINNER
Cory	SAFE	SAFE	WIN	WIN	WIN	WIN	WIN	WIN	WIN	WIN	SECOND
Mitch	SAFE	SAFE	SAFE	ELIM	SAFE	SAFE	SAFE	SAFE	WIN	WIN	SECOND
Jenna	ELIM	SAFE	ELIM	SAFE	SAFE	SAFE	ELIM	SAFE	SAFE	SAFE	THIRD
Brianna	SAFE	SAFE	WIN	WIN	WIN	WIN	WIN	WIN	SAFE	SAFE	THIRD
Rianna	SAFE	SAFE	WIN	WIN	WIN	WIN	WIN	WIN	SAFE	OUT
Aneesa	SAFE	SAFE	SAFE	SAFE	SAFE	SAFE	SAFE	SAFE	SAFE	OUT
Bananas	SAFE	SAFE	WIN	WIN	WIN	WIN	WIN	WIN	OUT
Vince	SAFE	SAFE	SAFE	SAFE	SAFE	SAFE	SAFE	SAFE	OUT
Abram	N/A			WIN	WIN	WIN	WIN	OUT
Mike	N/A			SAFE	SAFE	ELIM	SAFE	OUT
Anthony	SAFE	SAFE	WIN	WIN	WIN	WIN	OUT
KellyAnne	SAFE	SAFE	SAFE	SAFE	ELIM	SAFE	OUT
Thomas	SAFE	ELIM	WIN	WIN	WIN	OUT
Stephen	SAFE	SAFE	SAFE	SAFE	SAFE	OUT
Nicole	SAFE	SAFE	WIN	WIN	OUT
Nany	SAFE	SAFE	SAFE	SAFE	OUT
Dario	SAFE	SAFE	WIN	OUT
Raphy	SAFE	SAFE	SAFE	OUT
Shane	SAFE	SAFE	SAFE	DQ
Tony	SAFE	SAFE	WIN	DQ
Camila	SAFE	SAFE	OUT
Larissa	SAFE	SAFE	OUT
Leroy	SAFE	SAFE	DQ
Candice	SAFE	SAFE	DQ
Jill	WIN	OUT
Cohutta	WIN	OUT
Emily	OUT
Christina	OUT

Competition: The contestant's team won the final challenge.; The contestant's team lost the final challenge.; The contestant's team won the mission and was safe.; The contestant was safe from the Pit.; The contestant won in the Pit.; The contestant was placed into the Pit and won.; The contestant's team won the mission and was safe, but their bloodline was placed into the Pit and won.; The contestant was placed into the Pit and was eliminated.; The contestant wasn't part of the elimination round, but got sent home due to their bloodline's loss.; The contestant's team won the mission and was safe, but their bloodline was placed into the Pit and lost.; The contestant was removed from the competition due to injury.; The contestant was forced to leave the competition after their teammate was removed due to an injury.

Voting Progress[]

Voter	Episode
Voter	1	2	3/4	4/5	6	7	8	9	10	11
Cara Maria		Thomas & Stephen	Jenna	Mitch	Nany	Stephen	KellyAnne	Jamie
Jamie		Thomas & Stephen	Larissa	Raphy	KellyAnne	Mike	KellyAnne	Mike
Cory			Jenna	Mike	Nany	Jamie	Aneesa	Jamie	Bananas & Vince	Cara Maria & Jamie
Mitch			Larissa	Mike	KellyAnne	Mike	Jenna	Mike	Bananas & Vince	Cara Maria & Jamie
Jenna			Larissa	Raphy	KellyAnne	Mike	KellyAnne	Mike
Brianna			KellyAnne	Mitch	Aneesa	Stephen	KellyAnne	Jamie
Aneesa			KellyAnne	Raphy	KellyAnne	Mike	Jenna	Mike
Rianna			Jenna	Mike	Nany	Stephen	KellyAnne	Jamie
Bananas			Jenna	Mitch	Nany	Stephen	KellyAnne	Jamie
Vince			Larissa	Raphy	KellyAnne	Mike	Jenna	Mike
Abram				Mitch	Nany	Stephen	KellyAnne	Jamie
Mike				Raphy	KellyAnne	Mike	KellyAnne	Mike
KellyAnne			Larissa	Mike	KellyAnne	Mike	Jenna
Anthony			Jenna	Mitch	Nany	Stephen	Aneesa
Thomas			Jenna	Mike	Nany	Jamie
Stephen			Larissa	Mike	KellyAnne	Mike
Nany			Aneesa	Raphy	KellyAnne
Nicole			Aneesa	Mitch	Nany
Dario			Jenna	Mike
Raphy			Larissa	Mike
Tony			N/A
Shane			Jenna
Camila			Jenna
Larissa			Jenna
Leroy			Larissa
Candice			Jenna
Cohutta	Christina & Emily
Jill	Christina & Emily
Christina
Emily

Notes[]

↑ Candice initially suffered a busted lip at the "Meet Me Halfway" challenge in Episode 3, and when she returned to the house, she revealed that she also suffered a fractured toe. Prior to the third Pit elimination at the beginning of Episode 4, host T. J. Lavin delivered the news that Candice was medically unable to continue competing. Leroy was sent home as the result of being Candice's bloodline.
↑ Tony was sent to the hospital after he initially thought he suffered a back injury during the "Meet Me Halfway" challenge. When he returned to the house, he declined additional medical attention when producers and fellow contestants noticed that he appeared pale. As the cast and crew were headed to the third Pit elimination at the end of Episode 3, Tony fainted, and was rushed back to the hospital, where his bloodline Shane was summoned to be by Tony's side. Prior to the "Air to the Throne" challenge in Episode 4, T.J. Lavin announced that Tony & Shane were removed from the competition, with Abram and his brother Mike being brought into the competition as replacement players. It was later revealed during the after show that Tony suffered a ruptured spleen as well as internal bleeding and underwent emergency surgery.

Episodes[]

Episode		Air date	Viewers (in millions)
1	"There Will Be Blood"	December 2, 2015	0.55
2	"Bad Blood"	December 9, 2015	0.56
3	"Camilanator: Judgement Day"	December 16, 2015	0.68
4	"#Corneesa"	December 23, 2015	0.69
5	"A House Divided"	December 30, 2015	0.84
6	"Dirty Little Secret"	December 30, 2015	0.79
7	"Blood Brothers"	January 6, 2016	0.76
8	"Blood Is Thicker Than Mud"	January 13, 2016	0.88
9	"Blood Versus Love"	January 20, 2016	0.93
10	"Out for Blood"	January 27, 2016	0.72
11	"Tear Down This Wall"	February 3, 2016	0.79
12	"True Blood"	February 10, 2016	0.73
13	"Family Matters"	February 17, 2016	0.88

Reunion[]

The reunion was filmed in New York City, New York, and was hosted by entertainment personality Nessa. The contestants who attended the reunion were: Abram, Aneesa, Bananas, Brianna, Cara Maria, Cory, Jamie, Jenna, KellyAnne, Mitch, Nany, Nicole, Rianna, and Vince.

Trivia[]

The villa that the contestants resided in was the same villa used for Battle of the Seasons (2012). The villa was refurnished to distinguish the two seasons.

The Challenge Seasons

Road Rules: All Stars • Real World/Road Rules Challenge • Challenge 2000 • Extreme Challenge • Battle of the Seasons (2002) • Battle of the Sexes • The Gauntlet • The Inferno • Battle of the Sexes 2 • The Inferno II • The Gauntlet 2 • Fresh Meat • The Duel • The Inferno 3 • The Gauntlet III • The Island • The Duel II • The Ruins • Fresh Meat II • Cutthroat • Rivals • Battle of the Exes • Battle of the Seasons (2012) • Rivals II • Free Agents • Battle of the Exes II • Battle of the Bloodlines • Rivals III • Invasion of the Champions • Dirty 30 • Vendettas • Final Reckoning • War of the Worlds • War of the Worlds 2 • Total Madness • Double Agents • Spies, Lies & Allies • Ride or Dies • Battle for a New Champion • Battle of the Eras

[1] Candice initially suffered a busted lip at the "Meet Me Halfway" challenge in Episode 3, and when she returned to the house, she revealed that she also suffered a fractured toe. Prior to the third Pit elimination at the beginning of Episode 4, host T. J. Lavin delivered the news that Candice was medically unable to continue competing. Leroy was sent home as the result of being Candice's bloodline.

[2] Tony was sent to the hospital after he initially thought he suffered a back injury during the "Meet Me Halfway" challenge. When he returned to the house, he declined additional medical attention when producers and fellow contestants noticed that he appeared pale. As the cast and crew were headed to the third Pit elimination at the end of Episode 3, Tony fainted, and was rushed back to the hospital, where his bloodline Shane was summoned to be by Tony's side. Prior to the "Air to the Throne" challenge in Episode 4, T.J. Lavin announced that Tony & Shane were removed from the competition, with Abram and his brother Mike being brought into the competition as replacement players. It was later revealed during the after show that Tony suffered a ruptured spleen as well as internal bleeding and underwent emergency surgery.

[1]

[2]