Challenge Chances: Who Will Walk Away With The Final Reckoning Grand Prize?

The Redemption Home has been razed, Armageddon is a fleeting memory and the finalists of the latest Challenge season have been named. So, between Team Cara Maria/Marie, Team Joss/Sylvia, Team Ashley/Hunter and Team Natalie/Paulie, who do you know has what it takes?


On tonight’s episode, soon after a grueling final elimination round that boiled down to a battle of will between Natalie and Bananas, the Big Brother export, who just missed out on the last leg of Vendettas, proved she’d come a long way, and beat Johnny in a game of patience that lasted more than five hours.


“I’m in disbelief,” Paulie mentioned. “Natalie and I just pulled off the biggest win of the season so far.”


However is there an even bigger one to come?


Let’s take a closer look at the final Final Reckoning teams:


While Cara Maria and Marie are the only team that hasn’t however won a mission, they’ve demonstrated that slow and steady might, indeed, win the race. There was no doubt coming into the game that Cara had the brawn — she’s the game’s reigning champ and the only solo winner in franchise history. Still, Marie initially felt like she couldn’t keep up with Cara, and occasionally fell short. Nevertheless it was Marie’s resolve that got her team back inside the game soon after an eleventh-hour banishing to the Redemption Residence. They mention it’s not so much about the battles as it is the war — is the final fight the two-woman team’s for the taking?


And while Cara is no doubt the most enduring veteran left, the team of rookies are champing at the bit to best her. Natalie and Paulie, affectionately (…maybe…) dubbed the “Redemption Residence Residents” by Ashley, were not on anyone’s radar to create it to the finale. Whenever they seemed to the naked eye like a strong team, they couldn’t seem to get their act with each other soon after being sent to the Redemption Residence because the initial Armageddon casualties. They failed twice to come back inside the game, and were rapidly reduced to the butt of the house’s jokes. Finally, though, thanks to a Herculean effort by Natalie, the game’s never-say-die rookies finally returned to the game in Episode 15 with a come-from-behind victory over Brad and Kyle. Since then, they’ve been on a tear, winning their first two missions back and sending seemingly sure-thing winners Bananas and Tony residence. Will the greenest team visualize the greenest reward?


On the other hand, though Natalie and Paulie are newest to the franchise, it’s Hunter and Ashley who are newest to Final Reckoning. The two powerhouses earned entry to the game as Mercenaries with a win over Faith and Angela in Episode 7, and rapidly branded themselves as threats, winning their second mission back and speedily taking control of the Lavender Women alliance. Ashley proved in Dirty Thirty that she’s got what it takes to win, and Hunter is a consummate workhorse — are those qualities enough to compensate for the fact that no one argues as loudly and aggressively as they do?


Finally, is it possible that the game’s sleeper hits — Joss and Sylvia — will come out on top? While few pointed to the Brit-American team as early contenders, the duo probably boast the most impressive Final Reckoning resume: Joss and Sylvia have taken out Tori, Derrick, Bananas and Tony in Armageddon, won two missions in the game’s residence stretch and are the only team that has remained in the game without punctuation since the initial mission. Talk trash, and then some let their performances speak for them — Joss and Sylvia have proven they’re the latter, and also it could mean they’re in for a payday.


No matter which duo wins, though, the victory won’t come without complication — TJ reported that for the opening time since Rivals III, and for only the second time in Challenge history, duos will compete with each other, nevertheless also clock individual scores at each checkpoint. Any time all is mentioned and done, the more solid performer of the winning team will be left with an enormous choice: split the cash with his or her partner, or take the complete $1 million grand prize and run. In other words, the awards ceremony would make for the most explosive finale yet.


So, who do you know will win the final mission, and how? Share your thoughts, and visualize who’s crowned the latest Challenge victor next Tuesday night!