10 Champions Who Didn’t Win Their Best Season

Becoming a Challenge champion is a rare feat, and it doesn’t happen without serious effort. But the championship title isn’t everything, and these competitors proved they don’t need to be named a “champion” to go down in Challenge history.

Why? Because their most impressive and memorable performances were on seasons they didn’t win — even though they do have a championship under their belt. In many cases, they got their win due to stellar social and political game, which is a less-risky and less-glorifying way to play. On other seasons, their skills were tested far more, and they walked away with stand-out performances, even though the win slipped through their fingers.

CT Tamburello

Season won: Rivals 2, Invasion of the Champions, War of the Worlds 2, Double Agents, Spies, Lies and Allies
Best season: Battle of the Exes

CT has a long Challenge career — and this entry might be wishful thinking — but CT made the biggest impact on the show when he was avoiding alliances and playing by his own rules. On Battle of the Exes, we saw a rebellious CT who overcame his fractured relationship with Diem to become a top team. The duo avoided every elimination and were setting the pace in the final, but narrowly lost when Bananas & Camila came from behind to steal the win.

Abram Boise

Season won: The Inferno 1 and The Inferno 3
Best season: Cutthroat

Abe has always been an intense competitor, but it seemed that his most under-the-radar seasons were the ones he won. On Cutthroat, he was the most veteraned member of the gray team, which was filled with rookies and misfits. Somehow, this team won five of the season’s nine missions before the final. However, the final itself was Abe’s downfall. Dehydration caused him to be carried off the field and taken to a Czech hospital, so he unable to watch Dunbar win the season.

Zach Nichols

Season won: Battle of the Seasons
Best season: War of the Worlds 2

Winning your rookies season is impressive, but winning Battle of the Seasons meant Zach hadn’t competed against most of the veterans yet. By the time War of the Worlds 2 rolled around, Zach was one of the veterans, and he found himself in the crossfires of a civil war on Team USA. By the end of the season, Cara Maria’s alliance was dominating the team, but Zach was the lone teammate to cross the finish line and refuse to play by that alliance’s rules.

Coral Smith

Season won: Battle of the Seasons
Best season: Battle of the Sexes 2

Coral was a solid addition to the Real World team on Battle of the Seasons, but with The Miz as her partner, she’s bound to get overlooked. On Battle of the Sexes 2, she watched The Miz depart midway through the season, but she stayed strong as a leader on the women’s team. Even though the women won few missions, Coral was a consistent strong performer, and the thought of kicking her off the show never crossed anyone’s mind.

Nehemiah Clarke

Season won: The Gauntlet 3
Best season: All Stars 2

While The Gauntlet 3 might not have been as easy for Nehemiah as it was for some of the other winners, he still basically won the season by default. He had a few rough runs on seasons after this (especially Rivals), but he truly shined during the first three All Stars seasons. During the second installment Nehemiah assembled a strong alliance that did well in the game, he won multiple eliminations, and took his Real World roommate Melinda to the final. He was a standout player that season, but it would have been a bit sweeter if it culminated in his second win.

Janelle Casanave

Season won: The Inferno 3
Best season: All Stars 2

If you watched The Inferno 3, you’d know that Janelle won the season — but you’d have a hard time identifying another stand-out moment. The season’s format rewarded players who floated in the middle, and Janelle was never viewed as the strongest nor the weakest on her team. On All Stars 2, Janelle stood out as one of the strongest girls, and she was able to excel with Darrell as her partner. The team nearly won the whole season, but a questionable final allowed Jonna & MJ to get the grand prize.

Rogan O’Connor

Season won: War of the Wolds 2
Best season: Total Madness

After getting disqualified from Vendettas on the first episode, it was impressive to see Rogan skate to the War of the Worlds 2 final and win — but his strategy involved making safe moves and targeting the same people repeatedly. On Total Madness, Rogan wore the target, and he showed off his strength (perhaps too much strength) by winning two eliminations and making bold, alliance-breaking moves. He was a bit of a lone wolf in the final, and he lost in a snow-jumping competition to Johnny Bananas.

Brad Fiorenza

Season won: Cutthroat
Best season: The Duel 2

If you remember Brad winning Cutthroat, it’s likely because he and Tori used their status and obvious alliance to navigate the social game, keeping Brad out of the Gulag the whole time. This alliance also partnership on The Duel 2, but it didn’t keep Brad out of every Duel. He had to face legendary competitors on that season, and his quick thinking got MJ and Landon sent home. Then, he lost the final by mere seconds — which likely wouldn’t have happened if he wasn’t forced to have a partner during the race.

Kenny Santucci

Seasons won: The Inferno 3, The Island, The Ruins
Best season: Fresh Meat 2

Early into his career, Kenny was known for being a fairly sleazy competitor who would rather avoid hard work than show his strength. Then, he was defined by his alliance with Johnny and Evan — but when he showed up on Fresh Meat 2, there was no hiding behind his friends. Kenny had to lead his alliance, and this meant putting a target on his back. He won half the challenges throughout the season and emerged victorious when he was sent into Exile. Unfortunately for Kenny and his partner Laurel, the final was one of the challenges they didn’t win, but they got the second-place prize.

Derrick Kosinski

Seasons won: The Inferno 3, The Island, The Ruins
Best season: The Gauntlet 2

Derrick is known as a scrappy competitor who refuses to give up, and that reputation was built on The Gauntlet 2. As a team captain, he eliminated four other veterans — many of whom were much bigger than him. Then, he lost to Timmy in the final Gauntlet of the season. He eventually won The Inferno 3, but he only had to eliminate one rookie in the process. On The Ruins, he never saw an elimination (which is impressive, but far less memorable than The Gauntlet 2), and The Island is an odd season most people would like to forget.