The Challenge: Battle of the Seasons is the 23rd season of the MTV reality game show, The Challenge. The season took place in Bodrum, Turkey and Swakopmund & Windhoek, Namibia, and featured cast members from select seasons of The Real World and The Challenge competing for the $250,000 grand prize.
The season premiered with a special 90 minutes episode on September 19, 2012, and concluded its run on December 19, 2012, with the reunion special.
Format During each Challenge, teams compete in order to become the Power Team, who have the ability to place one team of their decision into the Arena. The other couple going into the Arena is the last placing team of the daily Challenge. Once in the Arena, a team must decide one male-female pair to compete. The losing pair in the Arena go home, and leave their team short two players. Teams can compete with only two players, and have potential to make a greater share of the final's $250,000.
First place wins $250,000, second-place wins $50,000 and third-place wins $40,000.
Contestants Male contestants Original season Finish Frank SweeneyThe Real World: San Diego (2011)Winner Zach NicholsThe Real World: San Diego (2011)Winner Dustin ZitoThe Real World: Las Vegas (2011)Runner-up Chet CannonThe Real World: BrooklynThird place JD OrdoñezThe Real World: BrooklynThird place Derek ChavezThe Real World: CancunEpisode 11 Robb SchreiberThe Real World: St. ThomasEpisode 10 Alton WilliamsThe Real World: Las Vegas (2002)Episode 9 CJ KoegelThe Real World: CancunEpisode 8 Ryan KnightThe Real World: New Orleans (2010)Episode 7 Trey WeatherholtzThe Real World: St. ThomasEpisode 6 Preston CharlesThe Real World: New Orleans (2010)Episode 5 Eric BanksReal World/Road Rules Challenge: Fresh MeatEpisode 5 Brandon Nelson The Challenge: Fresh Meat IIEpisode 3 Danny JamiesonThe Real World: AustinEpisode 2 Wes BergmannThe Real World: AustinEpisode 1 Female contestants Original season Finish Ashley KelseyThe Real World: San Diego (2011)Winner Sam McGinnThe Real World: San Diego (2011)Winner Trishelle CannatellaThe Real World: Las Vegas (2002)Runner-up Devyn SimoneThe Real World: BrooklynThird place Sarah RiceThe Real World: BrooklynThird place Jonna MannionThe Real World: CancunEpisode 11 Marie RodaThe Real World: St. ThomasEpisode 10 Nany GonzálezThe Real World: Las Vegas (2011)Episode 9 Jasmine ReynaudThe Real World: CancunEpisode 8 Jemmye CarrollThe Real World: New Orleans (2010)Episode 7 Laura WallerThe Real World: St. ThomasEpisode 6 McKenzie CoburnThe Real World: New Orleans (2010)Episode 5 Camila NakagawaSpring Break ChallengeEpisode 5 Cara Maria SorbelloThe Challenge: Fresh Meat IIEpisode 3 Melinda StolpThe Real World: AustinEpisode 2 Lacey BuehlerThe Real World: AustinEpisode 1
Teams
8 teams of 4 competed in this season of The Challenge. Most teams were formed from Housemates from the same season of The Real World. In a minor twist, the Las Vegas team was composed of two Housemates each from the two Las Vegas-based seasons of The Real World. Additionally (due to the pre-production disqualification of a Real World: Sydney team), an 8th team consisted solely of Fresh Meat (contestants who debuted on The Challenge) was introduced at the First Challenge. Team Fresh MeatTeam San DiegoDannyChetCJBrandonAltonJemmyeAshleyLauraLaceyDevynDerekCamilaDustinKnightFrankMarieMelindaJDJasmineCara MariaNanyMcKenzieSamRobbWesSarahJonnaEricTrishellePrestonZachTrey
Gameplay Challenge games Don't Cross Me: There are four giant beams shaped like two crosses suspended 25 feet above the water, with ladders coming down from the edges. The object is to cross the beams, meet at the center, then climb back down the ladders until all team members reach the markers. If one player falls off the ladder or the beams, that player, along with their teammate on the other side, has to start over at the bottom of the ladder. The team that crosses the beams and climbs down the ladders in the fastest time becomes the power team, while the team with the slowest time is automatically sent to the Arena. Winner: Team Cancun Oil Change: Players from two opposing teams have to wrestle each other out of a square pit filled with olive oil, alternating between male and female. A team wins if one player from the opposing team makes contact with a boundary surrounding the pit. The player that wins the wrestling match collects one of four puzzle pieces needed to complete their team icon, and gets to choose the match for the next round. If nobody wins a match within a 10-minute time limit, the match ends in a draw with no puzzle pieces earned. The first team to collect four puzzle pieces becomes the power team; however, the challenge continues until the last team that fails to collect all of their puzzle pieces is automatically sent to the Arena. Winner: Team San Diego Hook, Line & Sinker: A platform is suspended from a structure 30 feet above water, and teams have to advance from one side of the platform to the other using metal hooks and foot holds. A team is disqualified if one player falls into the water or does not make it to the end within a 10-minute time limit. The team that makes it to the end of the platform in the fastest time becomes the new power team, while the team with the slowest time is automatically sent to the Arena. Winner: Team Las Vegas Don't Weigh Me Down: Teams have to hold up a large basket attached to a rope from a platform. Each team is split in half — one half of the team is standing atop their designated platform holding up their basket, while the other half runs to a rockpile, and deposits heavy rocks in their opponents' baskets. The players atop the platform have to keep their baskets from touching the ground for as long as possible, while opposing players try to "weigh down" their opponents' baskets with the heavy rocks. The team whose basket touches the ground first is automatically sent to the Arena, while the last team to keep their basket full of rocks from touching ground level wins Power Team. Winner: Team Cancun Chairman of the Board: One member of each team sits on a chair on a platform suspended 30 feet above water. Contestants are asked trivia questions on categories like sports, U.S. currency, previous Challenges, The Real World seasons, and spelling. At the end of each round, if a player has fallen and still has teammates left, another team member may take their place on the platform. The first team to lose all members is automatically sent to the Arena, while the last team with a player on the platform wins power team. (Note: Trishelle did not participate in this challenge due to dehydration, leaving Team Las Vegas with one less team member.) Winner: Team San Diego Insane Games: This challenge consists of a series of games: "Chariot Race," "Egg Drop," "Ear Pull," a Winner's Playoff and "Fish Head." The team that finishes last in the first two games will compete in a loser's bracket at the end in order to avoid the Arena. "Chariot Race": One guy from each team has to act as a "horse," and pull a sled with his teammates inside the sled. The player pulling the sled has to wear a horse mask, which will make it hard to see, and will require communication from the entire team. Last-place finisher: Team Brooklyn. "Egg Drop": One guy and one girl from each team is chosen to toss eggs over a 10-foot wall. One player on the other side of the wall wears a collar around his/her head (shaped like an oversize funnel), and has to catch the egg in their collar. The first team to catch six eggs in their collar wins. Last-place finisher: Team St. Thomas. "Ear Pull": One player per team sits on a pair of logs, and has to pull a two-foot string from their opponent's ear by only using their own ears and faces. The game in played in same-gender rounds, in a best 2 out of 3. The top two teams advance to a playoff round for a chance to win Power Team. Top two finishers: Team Las Vegas and Team New Orleans. Winner's playoff: Teams Las Vegas and New Orleans compete in a jousting race. Teams approach each other in opposite directions on a track, with a wooden rail in the middle. The riders in the chariot have to knock their opponent off their chariot. The first team to do so wins Power Team. Loser's round - "Fish Head": One player from each team has to knock their opponent off a platform, using a 15-pound fish. The game is played in same-gender rounds. If teams are tied after the first two rounds, a sudden-death round is played, in which T. J. Lavin flips a coin to determine which gender will compete. The losing team is automatically sent to the Arena. Losing team: Team St. Thomas. Winner: Team New Orleans Logged Out: Each team has to solve a simple memory game while hiking up a tall mountain. Each team starts at the foot of the mountain, where the first station shows the 9 pieces that solve the puzzle. They then must hike up to the second station, where there are 13 logs with pictures of the pieces; each team must carry the logs to the top of the mountain and reassemble them in the right position. Everyone must stay together at all times. The first team to get the puzzle right wins Power Team, while the team that fails to complete their puzzle is automatically sent to the Arena. Winner: Team Brooklyn Hunger Games: Food items are presented to the contestants. Each team writes an estimation of how much of that food item they can eat; the team with the highest estimation is then required to eat said item. If the team fails to reach the quantity they declared, they move onto the losers' round. If the team wins, they choose another team to enter the losers' round, and their team advances to the winners' round. A team is disqualified if even one team member vomits. The two losing teams compete head-to-head to each as much food as possible within two minutes to decide the losing team. The two winning teams compete head-to-head to each as much food as possible within two minutes to decide the new Power Team, while the team who loses the losers' round is automatically sent to the Arena. Winner: Team Brooklyn Abandon Ship: Teams have to race a life raft from a ship to the shore. First, at least one player has to pull off three buoys from a line resting 25, 20 and 15 feet below the surface of the life raft buoy, which is five feet below the water. After the last buoy is pulled, the life raft immediately inflates above the water, and each team races in their life raft to the shore. A team is given a five-minute penalty is a player does not pull off a buoy before a teammate jumps off the ship into the water. The team that advances their life raft to the shore in the fastest time wins Power Team, while the team with the slowest time is automatically sent to the Arena. Winner: Team San Diego Force Field: Teams have to push each other off a platform that is placed in the center of a mud pit, by using large, inflatable inner tubes. The challenge is played in two different rounds — one for each gender, as well as with a point system, ranging from zero to 80 points. A team is disqualified if they fall down within the platform three times. The first team to be knocked off the platform (during a gender-designated round) will get zero points, while the second, third and fourth teams knocked off receive 20, 40 and 60 points, respectively. The last team standing gets 80 points and wins the round for their team. The same process continues in the second gender-designated round until the team that accumulates the most points in both rounds becomes the new Power Team, while the team that accumulates the fewest combined points is automatically sent to the Arena. Winner: Team San Diego