The Challenge: Invasion of the Champions

Invasion of the Champions is the 29th season of The Challenge. This multi-format season features 18 players who have yet to win competing against 8 Challenge Champions for a share of $350,000. The season was filmed in Thailand from September to November 2016.

Description[]

The Challenge: Invasion of the Champions brings together 18 Underdogs to battle across a series of contests for the chance to move out of squalor and into typical Challenge luxury, The Oasis! Just when the lucky ones get comfortable, they’ll find the game is far from over. The final crop of Underdogs will have to face down eight proven Champions for their share at the $350,000 prize. With devastating elimination rounds, truly baffling hookups and the first-ever three-day final on the way, Season 29 may just prove to be the most unpredictable and gripping yet!

Format[]

The game started off with 18 Underdogs (players who have yet to win a challenge) who get dropped off a boat and onto a beach, where they were living in "The Shelter." They compete individually in challenges, followed by an elimination round. The male and female winners of the challenge would be safe from elimination and earn their ticket to "The Oasis" — the season house. The last-place finishers of each gender automatically went straight into elimination for the first challenge.

In the second challenge, the challenge winners will choose a player of the opposite gender to go into the elimination. The remainder of the cast then voted in who goes against them for the first and second challenge. The males voted for the females, and vice versa.

In the third challenge, and the last chance to earn a ticket to the Oasis, the winners will be safe from elimination, and the two remaining players of each gender will automatically compete against each other. In the elimination, each gender will compete. The winners of the elimination round would return to the game, and earn a ticket to The Oasis. The losers of the elimination round go home. Players could not go into The Oasis until every ticket had been earned. Players who earned their ticket to the Oasis will be exempt from elimination and will not compete in challenges until the Champions enter the game.

In Episode 5, eight of the toughest champions (four male, four female) will enter the game, which will become a team competition - Underdogs vs. Champions. Each challenge will be designated as either an Underdog or a Champion elimination (known as "The Fortress"). The winning team will earn $10,000, $15,000, or $30,000 in their team bank account. The best performing male and female of the team designated for the challenge will then choose one player of each gender to go into the elimination. The remainder of the cast will then vote in the players who will go against the nominated players in The Fortress. The winners return to the game, and the losers are eliminated.

In the final challenge, the teams are dispersed, and the money banked from the challenges are split amongst the respective team members. The remaining money in the pot is determined by final placement.

Money for finalists is split as follows:

Winners: Team bank account + $100,000 each
Runners-Up: Team bank account + $15,000 each
Third Place: Team bank account + $5,000 each

Twists[]

The Shelter: TJ announced to the starting cast of the season that they would be staying in a run-down shelter at the start of the game rather than the traditional luxury house. In order to earn a spot in the luxury house, named The Oasis, players must win a challenge or elimination in the first three rounds of the competition. TJ later surprised the players in the Final Challenge by revealing that they would have to stay at The Shelter for the remainder of the competition.
Champion Invasion: Eight Champions, four male and four female, entered the game in Episode 5 to the surprise of the other players.
- Champions vs. Underdogs: Following the arrival of the Champions, TJ announced that they would be playing on a team against the remaining Underdogs. This twist lasted until the Final Challenge where the teams were once again disbanded.
- Underdog Bloodbath: The Underdogs will face each other in two consecutive elimination rounds. The first one will be a 4-way challenge in which one player of each gender will be eliminated if they finish last. The second competition will be the first three-way elimination in Challenge history with another one eliminated player.

Contestants[]

Male contestants
Contestant		Finish
	CT Tamburello The Real World: Paris	Winner in The True Champions
	Nelson Thomas Are You the One? 3	Runner-Up in The True Champions
	Cory Wharton Real World: Ex-Plosion	Third Place in The True Champions
	Darrell Taylor Road Rules: Campus Crawl	Eliminated in A River of Endless Light
	Shane Landrum Road Rules: Campus Crawl	Eliminated in Caged
	Hunter Barfield Are You the One? 3	Eliminated in The Bloodbath
	Johnny Bananas The Real World: Key West	Eliminated in Go Your Own Way
	Dario Medrano Are You the One? 2	Eliminated in A Low Down Dirty Shane
	Zach Nichols The Real World: San Diego (2011)	Eliminated in Achy Breaky Heart
	Tony Raines Real World: Skeletons	Eliminated in The Mile-High Club
	Anthony Bartolotte Are You the One? 2	Eliminated in Four Tickets to Paradise
	Theo King-Bradley Real World Seattle: Bad Blood	Quit in Helter Shelter
	Bruno Bettencourt Real World: Skeletons	Eliminated in Skeletal Fracture

Female contestants
Contestant		Finish
	Ashley Mitchell Real World: Ex-Plosion	Winner in The True Champions
	Camila Nakagawa Spring Break Challenge	Runner-Up in The True Champions
	Nicole Zanatta Real World: Skeletons	Third Place in The True Champions
	Laurel Stucky Fresh Meat II	Eliminated in Caged
	Amanda Garcia Are You the One? 3	Eliminated in The Bloodbath
	Jenna Compono Real World: Ex-Plosion	Eliminated in The Bloodbath
	Cara Maria Sorbello Fresh Meat II	Eliminated in Go Your Own Way
	Sylvia Elsrode Real World: Skeletons	Eliminated in A Low Down Dirty Shane
	Ashley Kelsey The Real World: San Diego (2011)	Eliminated in Achy Breaky Heart
	Kailah Casillas Real World: Go Big or Go Home	Eliminated in The Mile-High Club
	LaToya Jackson The Real World: St. Thomas	Eliminated in Four Tickets to Paradise
	Anika Rashaun Real World Seattle: Bad Blood	Eliminated in Helter Shelter
	Marie Roda The Real World: St. Thomas	Eliminated in Skeletal Fracture

Game Summary[]

Episode		N/A	Winners	Elimination players		Elimination game^[1]	Elimination outcome
#	Challenge		Winners	Last-place	Voted In	Elimination game^[1]	Winner	Loser
1/2	The Over Under		Nicole	Marie	Kailah	In the Trenches	Kailah	Marie
1/2	The Over Under		Dario	Bruno	Tony	In the Trenches	Tony	Bruno
#	Challenge		Winners	Winner's pick	Voted In	Elimination game	Winner	Loser
3	Shell Shocked		Hunter	Theo	Cory	Who's Got Balls?	Cory	Theo^[2]
3	Shell Shocked		Ashley M.	Jenna	Anika	Who's Got Balls?	Jenna	Anika
#	Challenge		Winners	Last-place		Elimination game	Winner	Loser
4	Caged and Confused		Amanda	Sylvia	LaToya	Thai Rise	Sylvia	LaToya
4	Caged and Confused		Shane	Anthony	Nelson	Thai Rise	Nelson	Anthony
#	Challenge	Fortress team^[3]	Winners^[4]	Player's pick	Voted In	Fortress game	Winner	Loser
5/6	Knockout	Underdogs	Underdogs	Sylvia	Kailah	Tuk Tuk Bang Bang	Sylvia	Kailah
5/6	Knockout	Underdogs	Underdogs	Tony	Shane	Tuk Tuk Bang Bang	Shane	Tony
7	Roll with the Punches	Champions	Champions	Cara Maria	Ashley K.	Pole Wrestle	Cara Maria	Ashley K.
7	Roll with the Punches	Champions	Champions	Zach	Darrell	Pole Wrestle	Darrell	Zach
8	Curry Up	Underdogs	Champions	Nelson	Dario	Bell Ringer	Nelson	Dario
8	Curry Up	Underdogs	Champions	Jenna	Sylvia	Bell Ringer	Jenna	Sylvia
9/10	Fallout	Champions	Underdogs	Bananas vs. Darrell		Balls In	Darrell	Bananas
9/10	Fallout	Champions	Underdogs	Cara Maria vs. Laurel		Balls In	Laurel	Cara Maria
10	Crossover	N/A	Underdogs	N/A
#	Challenge	Fortress team	Winners	Fortress players		Fortress game	Winner	Loser
11/12^[5]	X-It	Underdogs						Jenna
								Hunter
				Amanda vs. Ashley M. vs. Nicole		Inside Out	Ashley M.	Amanda
				Amanda vs. Ashley M. vs. Nicole			Nicole	Amanda
				Cory vs. Nelson vs. Shane			Nelson	Shane
				Cory vs. Nelson vs. Shane			Cory	Shane
12/13	Caved In	Champions	Underdogs	CT vs. Darrell		Knot So Fast	CT	Darrell
12/13	Caved In	Champions	Underdogs	Camila vs. Laurel		Knot So Fast	Camila	Laurel
13/14/15	Final Challenge		CT	2nd place: Nelson, 3rd place: Cory
13/14/15	Final Challenge		Ashley M.	2nd place: Camila, 3rd place: Nicole

Episode Progress[]

Contestants	Episodes
Contestants	1/2	3	4	5/6	7	8	9/10	10	11/12	12/13	Finale
Ashley M.	SAFE	WIN	SAFE	WIN	SAFE	SAFE	SAFE	SAFE	ELIM	SAFE	WINNER
CT	N/A			SAFE	SAFE	SAFE	WIN	SAFE	SAFE	ELIM	WINNER
Camila	N/A			SAFE	SAFE	SAFE	WIN	SAFE	SAFE	ELIM	SECOND
Nelson	SAFE	SAFE	ELIM	SAFE	SAFE	ELIM	SAFE	SAFE	ELIM	SAFE	SECOND
Cory	SAFE	ELIM	SAFE	SAFE	SAFE	SAFE	SAFE	SAFE	ELIM	SAFE	THIRD
Nicole	WIN	SAFE	SAFE	SAFE	SAFE	WIN	SAFE	SAFE	ELIM	SAFE	THIRD
Darrell	N/A			SAFE	ELIM	SAFE	ELIM	SAFE	SAFE	OUT
Laurel	N/A			SAFE	WIN	SAFE	ELIM	SAFE	SAFE	OUT
Shane	SAFE	SAFE	WIN	ELIM	SAFE	SAFE	SAFE	SAFE	OUT
Amanda	SAFE	SAFE	WIN	SAFE	SAFE	SAFE	SAFE	SAFE	OUT
Jenna	SAFE	ELIM	SAFE	SAFE	SAFE	ELIM	SAFE	SAFE	OUT
Hunter	SAFE	WIN	SAFE	SAFE	SAFE	WIN	SAFE	SAFE	OUT
Cara Maria	N/A			SAFE	ELIM	SAFE	OUT
Bananas	N/A			SAFE	WIN	SAFE	OUT
Sylvia	SAFE	SAFE	ELIM	ELIM	SAFE	OUT
Dario	WIN	SAFE	SAFE	WIN	SAFE	OUT
Zach	N/A			SAFE	OUT
Ashley K.	N/A			SAFE	OUT
Tony	ELIM	SAFE	SAFE	OUT
Kailah	ELIM	SAFE	SAFE	OUT
Anthony	SAFE	SAFE	OUT
LaToya	SAFE	SAFE	OUT
Anika	SAFE	OUT
Theo	SAFE	QUIT
Bruno	OUT
Marie	OUT

Competition: The contestant won the final challenge.; The contestant did not win the final challenge.; The contestant won safety from the elimination round.; The contestant won the challenge, but was subject to the elimination round.; The contestant was exempt from participating in the elimination round.; The contestant was not selected for the elimination round.; The contestant won in the elimination round.; The contestant won the elimination round by default.; The contestant lost in the elimination round and was eliminated.; The contestant withdrew from the elimination round.; The contestant came in last in the daily challenge and was eliminated.

Voting Progress[]

Voter	Episode
Voter	1/2	3	4	5/6	7	8	9	10	11	12
Ashley M.	Tony	Theo		Tony		Dario	No voting
CT	N/A				Camila
Camila	N/A				CT
Nelson	Kailah	Anika		Kailah		Sylvia
Cory	Kailah	Anika		Ashley M.		Sylvia
Nicole	Theo	Cory		Shane		Nelson
Darrell	N/A				Ashley K.
Laurel	N/A				Zach
Shane	Kailah	Anika		Kailah		Sylvia
Amanda	Tony	Cory		Cory		Dario
Jenna	Theo	Cory		Shane		Shane
Hunter	Kailah	Jenna		Kailah		Jenna
Cara Maria	N/A				Darrell
Bananas	N/A				Cara Maria
Sylvia	Tony	Cory		Cory		Dario
Dario	Kailah	Anika		Sylvia		Sylvia
Zach	N/A				Ashley K.
Ashley K.	N/A				Darrell
Kailah	Theo	Cory		Shane
Tony	Sylvia	Anika		Ashley M.
LaToya	Tony	Cory
Anthony	Kailah	Anika
Theo	Kailah	Anika
Anika	Tony	Cory
Bruno
Marie

Votes in bold are the votes made by the player who won safety.

Notes[]

↑ The first three elimination rounds were not given a name. Beginning with the fourth challenge, the elimination round is known as "The Fortress."
↑ Theo was disqualified from elimination for refusing to jump off the cliff. As a result, Cory was declared the winner by default.
↑ The Champions (Ashley K., Bananas, Camila, Cara Maria, CT, Darrell, Laurel, and Zach) entered the competition at the fourth challenge as a season twist.
↑ The Underdogs participate in individual challenges from Episodes 1–4. When the Champions enter the competition in Episode 5, all contestants will be separated into two teams — Champions and Underdogs.
↑ T.J. first announced that no elimination round would be held following the "Crossover" challenge in Episode 10, and instead that each contestant was treated to a house party. However, that was a part of the Bloodbath twist and it was a underdog go-away party where the Underdogs will face each other in two consecutive elimination rounds. The first one will be a four-way challenge in which one player of each gender will be automatically eliminated and the second elimination will be a three-way elimination with another one eliminated player.

Episodes[]

Episode		Air date	Viewers (in millions)
1	"Gimme Shelter"	February 7, 2017	0.69
2	"Skeletal Fracture"	February 7, 2017	0.65
3	"Helter Shelter"	February 14, 2017	0.65
4	"Four Tickets to Paradise"	February 21, 2017	0.76
5	"Underdog Eat Underdog World"	February 28, 2017	0.78
6	"The Mile-High Club"	March 7, 2017	0.80
7	"Achy Breaky Heart"	March 14, 2017	0.86
8	"A Low Down Dirty Shane"	March 21, 2017	0.81
9	"An Officer and a Gentlewoman"	March 28, 2017	0.82
10	"Go Your Own Way"	April 4, 2017	0.75
11	"The Bloodbath"	April 11, 2017	0.78
12	"Caged"	April 18, 2017	0.79
13	"A River of Endless Light"	April 25, 2017	0.76
14	"Math Is Hard"	May 2, 2017	0.75
15	"The True Champions"	May 9, 2017	0.73

Reunion[]

The reunion was filmed in New York City, New York, and was hosted by Mike "The Miz" Mizanin. The contestants who attended the reunion were: Amanda, Ashley M., Bananas, Camila, Cara Maria, Cory, CT, Darrell, Hunter, Jenna, Kailah, Laurel, Nelson, Nicole, and Shane.

Trivia[]

Dylan Moore (Real World: Go Big or Go Home) and Emilee Fitzpatrick were flown to Thailand with the initial cast to serve as alternates in case anybody was disqualified. They were eventually sent home after being unused.

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] The first three elimination rounds were not given a name. Beginning with the fourth challenge, the elimination round is known as "The Fortress."

[2] Theo was disqualified from elimination for refusing to jump off the cliff. As a result, Cory was declared the winner by default.

[3] The Champions (Ashley K., Bananas, Camila, Cara Maria, CT, Darrell, Laurel, and Zach) entered the competition at the fourth challenge as a season twist.

[4] The Underdogs participate in individual challenges from Episodes 1–4. When the Champions enter the competition in Episode 5, all contestants will be separated into two teams — Champions and Underdogs.

[5] T.J. first announced that no elimination round would be held following the "Crossover" challenge in Episode 10, and instead that each contestant was treated to a house party. However, that was a part of the Bloodbath twist and it was a underdog go-away party where the Underdogs will face each other in two consecutive elimination rounds. The first one will be a four-way challenge in which one player of each gender will be automatically eliminated and the second elimination will be a three-way elimination with another one eliminated player.

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