Vets & New Threats features 16 "Vets" who have previously competed on The Challenge, and 16 "New Threats" making their debut on the series. The season has contestants competing in challenges as male-female pairs, each comprising one Vet and one New Threat (unless otherwise impossible due to uneven numbers or other restrictions). The initial pairs were determined by a draft after a special challenge during the "Day Zero" launch special.[5]
Each episode is designated as either a male or female elimination cycle, with the first cycle determined by a coin toss. The format is as follows:
Daily challenges: Contestants compete in a challenge as male-female pairs. The winning team is immune and receives the power to either save another team from the elimination round (if gender numbers are even) or nominate a team to potentially compete in the elimination round (if gender numbers are uneven). The last-place team is automatically sent to the elimination round, where the team member of the designated gender will compete.
Nominations: Teams who did not place first or last in the daily challenge (collectively the "Jury") vote for a contestant of the designated gender to compete in the elimination round against the same-gender contestant from the last-place team.
For episodes where gender numbers are even, all non-immune contestants are eligible to be voted for.
For episodes where gender numbers are uneven, and as a result there is a Hangnail, the Jury vote between the Hangnail and the same-gender contestant from the team nominated by the daily challenge winners.
Eliminations (The Arena): The contestant voted in by the Jury individually competes in an elimination round against the same-gender contestant from the last-place team. The winner remains in the competition while the defeated contestant is eliminated. Afterwards, new pairs are determined for the next cycle of the competition.
Twists
The Selection: During the launch special, contestants had to race up and down a mountain to reach the cast accommodation for the season. Their placements determined the order they got to draft their initial partner ahead of the first daily challenge. After each elimination, contestants select a new partner for the next cycle in the order they placed in the daily challenge.
Performance Points: Contestants earn points based on their placements during daily challenges. Two points are also awarded to the winner of each elimination round, including wins by default. The significance of these points will be revealed later in the season.
Hangnails: A contestant whose partner was eliminated, and as a result there are uneven gender numbers for the next episode, is considered a "Hangnail". The Hangnail is not paired up for the next episode, does not compete in the daily challenge and automatically becomes the nominee for the Jury vote against the same-gender contestant nominated by the daily challenge winners.
Mud Ball Madness: Twice during the challenge, a helicopter drops hundreds of colored balls into a mud pit. With both team members tethered together, teams must retrieve as many balls as they can and place them in their container outside the pit to score points. Different colored balls are worth different point values. The team that scores the most points wins while the team that scores the fewest points is automatically sent to the Arena.[8]
Winners:Bananas & Dee
Side by Side: Teams enter a giant pit which has side-by-side vehicles repeatedly speeding over the gap above. They must memorize a series of colored symbols located on the underside of the vehicles, which is only visible while the vehicles are mid-air, and replicate it using pieces at their station outside the pit. The first team to finish wins while the last-place team is automatically sent to the Arena.[9]
Winners:Leka & Turbo
Water Tower: One team member swims to a platform where they must solve a slide puzzle. Meanwhile, their partner must swim to a tall container with climbing holds on the outside, climb up to retrieve a flag, jump into the container and dive out the bottom before bringing the flag to the slide puzzle. Teams are disqualified from the challenge if the team member at the container falls off, or is unable to dive out. The team with the fastest time wins while the last-place team is automatically sent to the Arena.[b]
Winners:Justin & Olivia
Amazed: Held across two heats, teams must search a shipping container maze for a Sudoku puzzle, solve it, and return to the entrance. The further in a puzzle is, the easier it is to solve, and there is a 45-minute limit before teams time-out. The team with the fastest time wins while the last-place team is automatically sent to the Arena. If multiple teams time-out, last-place is determined by how many correct numbers teams placed on their puzzle.[10]
Winners:Ben & Michaela
Dirtballer: Inspired by the film Him, teams must dig up three goalposts, transport them across a 500-metre (1,640ft) field and replant them in the ground to assemble a goal. Afterwards, one team member must kick a football and score a field goal. The first team to finish wins while the last-place team is automatically sent to the Arena.[11]
Winners:Jake & Michaela
Runes My Life: Teams must swim to a rope ladder, climb up to a structure and then climb down five connected pillars or nets to collect rune tiles. After collecting all five tiles, teams must solve a puzzle before swimming back to the start. Both team members must complete the challenge's components for a team's attempt to count, and teams time-out if they are unable to complete the challenge after a certain time. The team with the fastest time wins while the last-place team is automatically sent to the Arena. If multiple teams are unable to finish, last-place is determined by progress in the challenge made by both team members.[12]
Winners:Leo & Sydney
Arena games
Inertia: Each contestant begins inside a giant wheel at the start of a track containing several humps. They must generate momentum to roll the wheel over the humps to reach the end of the track before returning to the start. The first contestant to finish wins.[13]
Played by:Justin vs. Rogan
Laser Focus: Played across three rounds, each round contestants play "offense" and "defense" once. Ten laser beams consecutively light up for a limited time within a circle. The offense contestant attempts to touch each beam before it turns off to earn a point, while the defense contestant attempts to block them. The contestant who scores the most points during their turn as offense wins the round. The first contestant to win two rounds wins the elimination.[9]
Played by:Blue vs. Tay
Hold 'Em Back: Contestants play as "offense" and "defense" once. The offense contestant must clip themself to a rope, collect a token and deposit it into a container near the boundary of the Arena, repeating this process for three ropes. Meanwhile, the defense player is located behind a wall with the ends of each rope, and attempt to pull the ropes back to prevent their opponent from depositing the tokens. The contestant who deposits all three tokens the fastest during their turn as offense wins.[10]
Played by:Bananas vs. Gabe
Him Collider: Inspired by the film Him. While holding a football, contestants must run through a circular hallway and pass through their opponent to deposit the ball in a container at the end. The first contestant to score in two out of three rounds wins, and also receives tickets to the world premiere of Him.[11]
Played by:Ben vs. Derek C.
Out of Time: Contestants must run up a ramp, climb down a ladder and press a button at the end, before returning to press a button at the start to complete one lap. The contestant that completes the most laps in five minutes wins.[12]
1 2 3 4 In episode 5, Cara Maria withdrew from the competition due to a family emergency. Jonna entered the competition as a replacement for Cara Maria.[6]
1 2 3 In episode 3, because Nia had not yet received the results for an MRI scan for a knee injury, Gabe & Nia did not participate in the "Water Tower" challenge and were automatically declared the last-place team. Ahead of the Arena, Nia was medically removed from the competition.[7] As a result, no Arena was held in this episode and America was declared the winner by default.
1 2 The episode 5 nominations ended in a "stalemate" as Ben and Yeremi remained tied after a revote. As a result, a coin toss was held to determine which contestant would compete in the Arena.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.
