Which Teams Had the Best and Worst Outcomes from the Era Invitational?

The real Challenge: Battle of the Eras is about to commence, and every team has lost two players. In some cases, the Era Invitational eliminations helped teams trim their fact, but in other cases, there were detrimental losses.

As we enter the more-stable portion of the game, which team of eight is in the best position to do well? And which one will have the hardest time being successful following the Invitational?

Best Position: Gen 3

After two rounds of Balls In, Leroy and Amanda left the Gen 3 team. Both players have a lot of potential, but they’re also not guaranteed to be helpful to their team.

In the game, Amanda tends to be a clever player who can figure out puzzles and inject strategy into daily challenges, but she’s also a smaller girl. With her departure, the Gen 3 team is losing more brains than muscle, and they might be OK without Amanda because Devin and Averey are fairly logical players. However, there’s no denying that Gen 3 will be a more cohesive group with Amanda gone. Sometimes, her strategic mind doesn’t let her follow the pact, and without her, it will be easier for Tori to become the voice of her team.

In Leroy’s case, he’s a player who adds strength and speed to the team — and he lost in an elimination that measures those two skills. Not only that but he was defeated by Tony, who’s a historically clumsy player. If Leroy is outperformed in Balls In, it’s probably a sign that he’s not in his best shape this season or his heart may not be in this game.

Worst Position: Gen 1

Following Pole Wrestle, two Road Rulers are heading home. While one of these losses may be felt harder than the other, both have negative impacts on the team.

Keeping Katie on the Gen 1 team probably wouldn’t have helped the team a great deal, but historically, Katie has been a non-factor for her teams. On seasons like The Gauntlet 2, The Gauntlet 3, and Cutthroat, she was a mid-tier player. She would give the missions a solid effort for the sake of the team, and any time she quit, she was the only one impacted by the loss. However, Katie’s departure means Aneesa remains on the team, and she’s more likely to serve as an anchor moving forward in the game. Katie can run, and when she gets tired, someone like Brad or CT can just pick her up and keep moving.

On the other hand, it’s quite a shock to see Mark leave so early. He’s a highly experienced player, and he’s in great shape. Not only did the Gen 1 team lose their biggest source of lean muscle, but they also lost a logical player who can quickly assess a challenge and execute it well. While losing any male on the Gen 1 team will hurt them, Mark might have been their most well-rounded player.

The other two teams will also feel their losses — just not as severely as Gen 1. Gen 2 keeps their size, which is especially important for their men, and their elite roster of women remains intact (even though Kellyanne is a great competitor). Meanwhile, Gen 4 also maintains their size — which was likely their goal. Paulie and Nurys are great competitors, but there’s a lot less drama now that they’ve departed.