During the All Stars 4 finals, we saw Steve surpass Laurel during the last lap of the final — only to lose the lead because he misunderstood the rules of the final. While this was a tough pill to swallow, he’s not the first person to lose due to unclear or unfair rules.
These 10 competitors had the strength and endurance needed to win the final, but a formatting decision took the victory away from them. I am including examples of weird formatting or unclear twists, but I am not including competitors who lost because they were legitimately injured or elected to quit the race.
The Veterans (The Gauntlet 3)
In the past, if a player couldn’t complete the final it meant teams were given a time penalty. Apparently, that wasn’t the case on The Gauntlet 3. The “Army Strong” final meant Challengers had to complete the race as a team, and when Big Easy collapsed, the veterans didn’t know that it disqualified them from the race. Perhaps if the rules were explained we would have seen many more Challenge champions emerge from this season.
Brad Fiorenza (The Duel)
Unlike prior seasons, The Duel was the first one to have a time advantage challenge prior to the final race, and it was a game of soccer. Wes, who was skilled at the sport, won. Meanwhile, Brad lost the final even though he completed the course in less time than Wes.
Wes & Kenny (Rivals)
Now, competitors know to expect overnight finals — but it wasn’t always the case. During the first Rivals season, Wes & Kenny completed day 1 with an alleged 40 minute lead. But, on day 2 it translated into a 1 minute head start over the second place team, and inevitable winners, Johnny & Tyler.
Brad Fiorenza (The Duel 2)
We all thought The Duel was meant to be an individual format, but it didn’t seem production got the memo on this season. The final forced competitors to work in pairs, and when Rachel was partnered with Brad, she let him do the bulk of the hard work. As a result, Brad slowed down and Evan was able to surpass him at the very last minute.
Tori Deal (Spies, Lies and Allies)
At the end of this final, there was an elimination between the two males and two females on the losing cell. This should have been a punishment for doing poorly, but it ended up being an advantage that allowed Kaycee to partner with CT. This meant Tori was forced to work with Kyle — and we all know being paired with CT was the key to winning the final. So, Tori was screwed out of her preferred partner, the inevitable winner, because she won the first half of the final.
Joss & Sylvia (Final Reckoning)
Who really knows why Joss and Sylvia lost this final. Some people speculate it’s because they intended to share the money, but even if we’re meant to believe the TV edit, the team lost because people piled grenades on them. Keep in mind, no one earned their grenades in the final, they were just given one by default and Sylvia & Joss were punished for doing well.
Kam Williams (Vendettas)
For some reason, this final had to have mercenaries. And for some reason, they were in charge of administering a luck-based game of high-low. Kam was the only person to lose to a mercenary, and she was given the extra task of burying a log, the worst punishment available. Oddly enough, the female mercenary was Melissa, and the only finalist she had a “vendetta” with was Kam.
Angela Rummans (USA 1)
This season’s final was a huge mess because Ben was DQed right before the race began. This meant one female was solo during each stage, and for Angela, it was the overnight portion. She decided not to complete this stage, which was back-breaking labor designed for two people. Angela assumed it would just result in a last-place finish for the stage, but it was considered “quitting.”
Steve Meinke (All Stars 4)
It felt like Steve had mastered all of the checkpoints in the Star Loop final, but he thought he had to burn two star advantages at the very end. Sadly, this violated the one advantage per lap rule, and he had to do the Swing It checkpoint. Had Steve been given zero additional advantages, he most likely would have won, but he was forced to waste time getting harnessed and complete the checkpoint that Laurel and Cara Maria skipped.
Desi Williams (USA 1)
During this final, if your partner quit, you were also eliminated. But this wasn’t a rivals, exes, or ride or dies season, the pairs were assigned by “the algorithm.” As luck would have it, Desi’s partner, Enzo, forgot how to swim in the middle of a swimming challenge. So, when he quit the race, she was ejected too.
Stop Being Polite 