Episode 8 of Cutthroat began with three cast members getting sent home. The cast only had 24 contestants, so this trio’s departure was a significant disruption to the cast — plus, two other competitors left earlier in the season.
This makes Cutthroat one of the most departure-heavy Challenge seasons, but it’s not the worst. So let’s look at the number of DQs across the show’s history. Firstly, I will rank the seasons by the number of cast members who were disqualified. Secondly, I will rank the DQs by the percentage of people who left, based on the intended size of the cast (for example, The Duel 2 was intended to have 26 cast members, though there were 28 players total with replacements MJ and Nehemiah).
What’s a disqualification? It’s when a cast member leaves outside of the season’s format. This includes:
-Getting kicked off for violence
-Injury or medical eviction
-Leaving for a family emergency
-Being forced to leave because they’re partnerless
-Quitting outside of the game’s intended structure
-Breaking the Challenge “code of conduct”
-Stealing a golf cart, punching a producer, and threatening bodily harm
What is not considered a proper disqualification?
-Cast members who were never acknowledged as part of the cast (like Piggy on The Inferno)
-Medical disqualification in the final or an elimination
-A cast member leaving by throwing an elimination, even if the cast member refused to participate in the game. If it’s assumed the competitor would have continued on the season if they had not been in the elimination, it’s not considered “quitting outside of the game.”
0 Disqualifications
Road Rules: All Stars
The Real World/ Road Rules Challenge
Challenge 2000
Battle of the Seasons 2002
The Gauntlet
The Inferno
Battle of the Season 2012
Invasion of the Champions
Battle for a New Champion
Battle of the Eras
Spinoffs
Champs vs. Pros
All Stars 1
All Stars: Rivals
The Challenge: Australia
The Challenge: Argentina
The Challenge: UK
The Challenge: USA 2
While all of these seasons has no proper disqualifications, a few deserve asterisks next to them: Piggy was edited out of The Inferno and replaced with Christena, Team Sydney (Ashli, Dunbar, Isaac, and Kellyanne) was removed from Battle of the Seasons before filming started, Coral medically tapped out of the Gauntlet final, and Michaela was medically removed from the USA 2 final.
It’s impressive that the largest cast ever, Battle of the Eras, had zero disqualifications (though Derrick’s knee probably should have been addressed).
1 Disqualification
Battle of the Sexes 2 | 2.8% (1 out of 36)
-Steven was eliminated for violence after kinda-sorta hitting Shane.
War of the Worlds | 2.9% (1 out of 34)
-Alan was medically disqualified after fracturing his hand during the Impending Dune challenge.
The Gauntlet 2 | 3.1% (1 out of 32)
-Jo quit and called the Trinidadian police because she felt uncomfortable with the show.
*Beth and Cameran both refused to participate in the Gauntlet, thus getting sent home.
Free Agents | 3.6% (1 out of 28)
-Frank was medically disqualified for a pneumonia that was allegedly contagious.
Total Madness | 3.6% (1 out of 28)
-Big T was medically disqualified for cutting her toe, which required fresh cotton pads.
*Jay was medically disqualified in his elimination due to a head injury. Bayleigh quit the final due to a knee injury. Melissa quit the final due to pregnancy exhaustion.
The Challenge: USA | (1 out of 28)
-Ben was medically disqualified for a shoulder injury right before the final.
*Basically everyone quit the final other than Danny.
The Inferno 2 | 5% (1 out of 20)
-Beth quit due to drama with her team.
The Duel | 5% (1 out of 20)
-Tina was disqualified for violence after punching Beth.
The Inferno 3 | 5% (1 out of 20)
-CT was disqualified for violence after punching Davis.
The Island | 5% (1 out of 20)
-Dave quit because he hated being on The Island, missed his girlfriend, and wanted a cheeseburger.
Rivals | 3.6% (1 out of 28)
-Adam Royer was disqualified for violence after punching Ty, who called him a guy.
The Extreme Challenge | 8.3% (1 out of 12)
-Ayanna was the first Challenger to ever get kicked off. She was eliminated for violence as a result of an altercation with Christian that wasn’t caught on camera.
2 Disqualification
Ride or Dies | 5.9% (2 out of 34†)
-Emmy quit the competition because she didn’t like being on The Challenge. She had no idea what the show was, and she didn’t know her “ride or die” Nam.
-Nam was disqualified because he was left partnerless without Emmy.
*Kenny & Kenny were temporarily disqualified because one (or both) tested positive for COVID. Olivia was disqualified from the final due to a severe facial injury.
†There’s no real way to know how many people were intended to be on this cast. It’s assumed Olivia & Horacio and Emmy & Nam were brought in to replace Kaycee & Kenny and Aneesa & James (her original partner, but then James was dropped because Jordan needed a replacement partner after Nia could not compete for medial reasons).
The Gauntlet 3 | 6.3% (2 out of 32)
-Tyrie departed the competition to attend to a family/ friend emergency.
-Coral quit the game because the men on her team were “trimming the fat” and throwing competitions to get girls eliminated.
*Eric was medically disqualified from the final, costing his team the win.
Vets & New Threats | 6.3% (2 out of 32)
-Nia was medically disqualified due to a knee injury.
-Cara Maria left to attend to a family emergency.
Cutthroat (2010) | 6.7% (2 out of 30)
-Shauvon quit the competition because her teammates felt she was a bad competitor who held the team back.
-Chet was medically disqualified because he sustained a concussion.
The Duel 2 | 7.7% (2 out of 26)
-CT and Adam were both disqualified for the explosive fight on the first night. Both threw punches and drinks and bashed in walls.
Fresh Meat 2 | 7.7% (2 out of 26)
-Brandon was eliminated because he broke the Challenge code of conduct by drinking a beer before in Exile.
-Katelynn was eliminated with Brandon, but we all know she had a knee injury, and that’s the real reason the team was eliminated.
Fresh Meat | 8.3% (2 out of 24)
-Evan was medically disqualified after sustaining a sports hernia.
-Coral was medically disqualified with her partner, Evan, after injuring her knee.
Champs vs. Stars 2 | 10% (2 out of 20)
-Hennessy left the competition because she felt disrespected by Devin.
-Aneesa was medically disqualified because she sustained an ankle injury when CT fell on her.
3 Disqualification
Battle of the Sexes | 8.3% (3 out of 36)
-David E. quit the show because Puck spit on him and wasn’t disqualified.
-Puck quit the show when his then-wife, Betty, had issues leaving Jamaica after their on-screen wedding.
-Emily quit the competition when her then-boyfriend James was eliminated.
*Blair and Shane were offered the Lifeshield but refused it, so they were eliminated. Jake held the Lifeshield but asked his teammates to eliminate him.
Rivals 2 | 9.4% (3 out of 32)
-Naomi left the game to attend to a family emergency.
-Trishelle quit the game because she was unhappy with the season (and allegedly cut her toe on glass in the pool).
-Sarah was disqualified because she was left without a partner.
War of the Worlds 2 | 9.4% (3 out of 32)
-Zahida left the game to attend to a family emergency.
-Faith quit the competition because some Brits made too much noise.
-Turbo quit the competition for aggressive behavior toward his teammates and the security team.
Vendettas | 10.7% (3 out of 28)
-Eddie left the competition due to an unaired conflict with other cast members.
-Sylvia was medically disqualified following an illness and elimination win.
-Kayleigh was bullied out of the competition after her luggage was thrown over the balcony.
*Veronica was medically disqualified from her elimination due to a broken finger. Nicole chose to quit the final after an ankle injury.
Battle of the Exes 2 | 11.5% (3* out of 26)
-Diem was medically disqualified for a medical emergency resulting from the return of her cancer.
-CT was disqualified because he was left without a partner when Diem went home.
-Nia was disqualified for violating the Challenge code of conduct by inappropriately touching Jordan.
*Knight and Jemmye were unable to compete in Battle of the Ex-iled due to Knight’s injury. I’m not including them because this was web-only content and not part of the regular season. If you want to include them, this pushes the season to 5 DQs, representing 19.2% of the cast.
All Stars 2 | 12.5% (3 of 24)
-Kendal was medically disqualified due to sickness.
-Casey quit the competition due to her pregnancy.
-Cohutta was disqualified because he was left without a partner when Casey left.
All Stars 3 | 12.5 (3 of 24)
-Tina was medically disqualified due to a hand injury.
-Jemmye quit the competition to attend to a family emergency.
-Veronica was medically disqualified due to a broken toe.
*Melinda refused to compete in the Arena because she felt too injured to continue. Beth quit in the Arena because Jonna was receiving too much help from the audience.
All Stars 4 | 12.5 (3 of 24)
-Janelle quit the competition due to drama with Ayanna.
-Tony quit the competition to attend to a family emergency.
-Flora quit the competition before the final daily challenge because she felt too old to compete against Laurel and Averey.
4 Disqualification
The Ruins | 14.3% (4 of 28)
-Shauvon quit because she thought she popped her breast implant, even though it wasn’t deemed medically necessary.
-Tonya was disqualified for hitting Veronica.
-Brad and Darrell were both disqualified for getting into a fight where Brad threw a few punches and Darrell almost knocked out Brad’s eye.
Battle of the Bloodlines | 14.3% (4 out of 28)
-Candice was medically disqualified after splitting her lip open during a challenge.
-Leroy had to leave because he was partnerless when Candice was disqualified.
-Tony was medically disqualified after collapsing due to a ruptured spleen.
-Shane had to leave because he was partnerless when Tony was disqualified.
Battle of the Exes | 15.4% (4 out of 26)
-Vinny was disqualified for violating the Challenge code of conduct when he ripped off Mandi’s top.
-Sarah had to leave because she was partnerless when Vinny was disqualified.
-Dustin was medically disqualified after falling and cutting his knee open.
-Heather had to leave because she was partnerless when Dustin was disqualified.
Champs vs. Pros | 20% (4 out of 20)
–Camila was disqualified because she stole a golf cart, drove it under the influence, punched a security guard, locked herself in her hotel room, and made threats of bodily harm.
-Jenna was medically disqualified after breaking her ankle.
-Ashley left the competition to attend to a family emergency.
-Terrell Owens quit because CT made some moderately unkind comments and he couldn’t take it.
5 Disqualification
Final Reckoning | 14.7% (5 out of 34)
-Devin was first disqualified when he left before the first challenge due to a family emergency. While this wasn’t originally acknowledged, it left Bananas without a partner and was discussed later in the season.
-Kailah and Melissa were disqualified for getting into a fight.
-Cory was disqualified for violence after body slamming Tony.
-Devin was disqualified for a second time because he was partnerless when Cory was sent home. This makes him the only person to be disqualified two times in the same season.
*Zach and Amanda were disqualified from the Redemption House because Zach hurt his nose. While this was an unconventional end to their season, they were already out of the game. If you want to count this, it bumps Final Reckoning up to 7 DQs, representing 20.6% of the cast.
Dirty Thirty | 16.7% (5 out of 30)
-Ashley quit before the first Challenge because her luggage got lost. Allegedly, she was also injured after Invasion and Champs vs. Pros.
-Nelson was disqualified for violence after shoving Derrick K. and receiving a warning for unruly behavior.
-Shane and Simone were disqualified for violence after getting into a fight in the Redemption House.
-Ammo quit the competition before entering the Redemption House due to a traumatic episode.
*I’m including Redemption disqualifications this season because every competitor was guaranteed to compete in Redemption, unlike Final Reckoning.
The Challenge: World Championship | 16.7% (5 out of 30)
-Nathan was disqualified for “medical reasons.”
-Grant was medically disqualified after sustaining a knee injury in a challenge.
-Jonna had to leave because she was left partnerless when Grant left.
-Ben was also disqualified for “medical reasons.” (It was Covid.)
-Amber left the season because she was pregnant.
Cutthroat (2026) | 20.9% (5 out of 24)
-Sydney was medically disqualified after her knee was injured by Deb Chubb in a challenge.
-Cory quit the competition due to a family emergency.
-Josh, Leo, and Nelson were disqualified following an unaired argument that violated the Challenge code of conduct. Allegedly, Leo and Josh used racially insensitive language and Nelson destroyed parts of the kitchen.
6 Disqualification
Spies, Lies and Allies | 17.7% (6 out of 34)
-Nam was sent home for medical reasons. (It was covid.)
–Lauren was disqualified after being accused of using insensitive language, which she denies.
-Tommy was medically disqualified after getting a head injury in a challenge.
-Aneesa was medically disqualified after injuring her shoulder in a challenge.
-Fessy was disqualified for being involved in an argument where glass was thrown.
–Ashley was disqualified for an unaired argument where she allegedly used insensitive language.
Double Agents | 20% (6 out of 30)
-Nicole was medically disqualified for a shoulder injury after the Road Kill challenge.
-Liv was medically disqualified for a hand injury after the Road Kill challenge.
-Natalie A. was removed from the competition for health reasons (she later confirmed she was pregnant and miscarried).
-Lio removed himself from the game for mental health reasons.
–Lolo quit the competition out of frustration and for mental health reasons.
-Nam was medically disqualified due to a back injury.
*Kyle was medically disqualified from the game when he broke his finger in Hall Brawl.
8 Disqualification
Rivals 3 | 30.1% (8 out of 26)
-Leroy was medically disqualified due to a back injury.
-Averey had to leave because she was partnerless when Leroy was disqualified.
-Brandon quit the game because he missed his girlfriend and was too cool to compete.
-Briana had to leave because she was partnerless when Brandon quit.
-Thomas quit the competition because he had a family/ girlfriend emergency at home.
-Simone had to leave because she was partnerless when Thomas quit.
-Tony was disqualified for violating the Challenge code of conduct during an argument with his partner, Camila, when he cornered her in the kitchen.
-Camila was disqualified with Tony for disruptive behavior, and she wouldn’t have had a partner.
Stop Being Polite 