The purge — it’s become a common practice on The Challenge since it debuted on Invasion of the Champions. We’ve seen it return many times since then, and some seasons have relied on it more times than others. Most recently, Battle of the Eras turned its mini-final into a purge, an interesting but entertaining choice.
Here, I am going to rank every purge challenge where the punishment for getting purged is equal to losing an elimination. This means I will consider challenges where purged players go home or are sent to the redemption house.
This list will not consider challenges where the loser automatically goes into elimination, final challenges that dismiss people at certain portions, or challenges where the winner is tasked with eliminating an opponent.
18. Outside the Box: Vendettas. Purged: Nelson | Clearly, this was a last-minute purge challenge because Nelson’s elimination against Darrell resulted in a draw. So, only a male was sent home. Not only was this unfair, but the point system in this game made it hard to determine who was doing poorly during the challenge.
17. Heads Will Role. Final Reckoning. Purged: Shane & Nelson | There’s really not a whole lot memorable about this challenge. Few people were could actually navigate the rolling platforms, meaning it came down to seconds in the worst way possible.
16. Rolling Thunder: Final Reckoning. Purged: Kam & Kayleigh | This daily challenge did a great job proving that the girls were at a disadvantage throughout Final Reckoning. The girl/girl teams found themselves in the worst positions, and for the most part, this challenge was just a race to remove your ball from a ditch.
15. End of the Line: Battle for a New Champion. Purged: Ed | Imagine taking Maximum Velocity, the final challenge on Battle of the Sexes, and upping the ante. While this did make for a tense race, it was very quick, and once James fell, we knew everyone who didn’t fall off their rope was safe.
14. Shark Bait: Final Reckoning. Purged: CT & Veronica | Initially, this looked like a good design for a Purge challenge, but the clunky equipment meant few people finished the course and it was a matter of getting to the second steak.
13. Dark Tide: Battle for a New Champion Purged: Ravyn | This challenge had many elements that seemed cool, but it ended up being determined by whether or not someone could paddle board. However, it did feel fairly intense because most of the cast was waiting on the shore praying their allies would be safe.
12. Puzzling Swim: War of the Worlds 2. Purged: Joss & Kayleigh | The fact that this was an out-of-the blue purge seemed quite random, but it was a nice change of pace for the season. While it did make some players feel vulnerable, the fact that it was solely based on swimming abilities was a bit underwhelming.
11. Dunking for Dinner: Final Reckoning. Purged: Kam & Kayleigh | It was fun to see each teammate have their own distinct role, and this competition forced people to eat gross food — a common equalizer in the final. But, like many of Final Reckoning’s purges, this competition showed how much harder this season was for the women.
10. Snaking Your Way Back In: Dirty Thirty. Purged: Hunter, Tony, Jenna, Kailah | For a purge directly before the final, this wasn’t a very memorable game. On the male side, Hunter’s injury made him dead on arrival, and there weren’t any shockers on the female side. But, we did get the longer, more complex X Marks the Spot challenge before this one.
9. Drum Roll. Battle for a New Champion. Purged: Michele | Of all of season 39’s purges, this one felt the most intense. In the first heat, we watched people fall into the water, meaning we knew who would be in danger. It also became clear that this was a competition that was about arm strength, endurance, and balance. This meant Berna emerged as an unexpected winner, and anyone could have lost, though Michele’s defeat wasn’t super unpredictable.
8. Opening Challenge: Final Reckoning. Purged: Chuck & Britni, Jenna & Jemmye | Final Reckoning started with an opener that served two purposes: giving the show cool footage and highlighting the gender inequities in the competition. Unsurprisingly, Britni and Jenna were the two diggers who did the worst job retrieving their partners. Then, their misfortune continued when neither were given a shot to battle back into the game.
7. Save Me, Rhonda. Vendettas. Purged: Devin & Jemmye | This was a really cool idea, but for a purge, it wasn’t the most intense. All competitors ran the race individually, meaning viewers couldn’t gauge success until the very end. Plus, running through busy Spanish streets meant the street traffic could impact players differently.
6. Impending Dune. War of the Worlds. Purged: Liz & Josh | Eighteen newbies entered The Challenge this season, and with such a huge number, it was good that competitors had to prove their worth. We got to see the prospects and the veterans compete together, and the competition mixed speed and puzzles, standard Challenge elements. While Josh took his loss pretty hard until he returned to replace Alan, it really sucked for Liz because she never got the shot to reenter the game.
5. Judgement Day. (War of the Worlds)
Purged: Paulie & Da’Vonne
Considering that this season opened with a purge, and the veterans had immunity, it was only suitable that it ended with a purge but the veterans were vulnerable. The obstacle course definitely tested multiple skills, and it was an opportunity for some competitors to prove they were worthy of the final. Some Challengers received safety from the Crash Landing challenge, and while that wasn’t officially part of this purge, the plane wreck was a really cool visual.
4. The Purge (Dirty Thirty)
Purged: Darrell, Devin, Shane, Amanda, LaToya, Simone
This was a dirty way to start the season, and it was cool to watch people win safety in waves. The first four males and females who won the first checkpoint became clear front runners in the game, and the winner for the third heat had the dirty task of saving one person and purging three others. The only mediocre part was the second stage, where many people skated to safety because they were on the stronger team.
3. Duned (Battle of the Eras)
Purged: Nehemiah & Laurel
With three main checkpoints, this felt like a true mini-final. As such, the competition benefited from people taking the lead, losing it, and other competitors pulling ahead. This resulted in a back-and-forth race where Laurel unexpectedly lost. The competition did a great job making it feel like there was a lot at stake, and the purge didn’t change the pace of the season; there was still an elimination following it.
2. Underdog Bloodbath (Invasion of the Champions)
Purged: Hunter, Shane, Jenna, Amanda
As the original purge, this one set a strong precedent. It started with X-It, a challenge that proved 75% of the competitors have never heard of a Sudoku. Then, we saw the Inside Out eliminations, and they provided a steady amount of drama. The males and females played the tug-of-war games with different approaches, which allowed competitors to earn safety with different, dramatic strategies.
1. Get Off the Rock (Vendettas)
Purged: Rogan & Nicole R.
Coming off Dirty Thirty, a season filled with redemption games, this was a true purge. It had multiple stages, including an overnight portion, and it felt like it was setting the stage for an intense season. Most importantly, this did a good job of introducing up to the competitors this season, including the strange, new, British faces on the cast.
Stop Being Polite 