The Challenge: Free Agents is the 25th season of the MTV reality game show The Challenge. The season is located in Uruguay and Chile, with former cast members from The Real World and The Challenge competing. The season follows a new format, featuring each contestant competing in either teams, pairs, or for themselves, for a share of $350,000 in prize money.
The season premiered with a special 90-minute episode on April 10, 2014 on MTV, marking the first time the show aired on a night other than a Wednesday since season 14 aired in 2007. The season concluded its run on June 26, 2014 with the Reunion special. This season marks the first since season 11 that does not include any cast members from The Real World: Austin.
Format Prior to each challenge, it is announced whether it is going to be an individual, pair, or team challenge. For pair and team challenges, names are drawn out of a bag — one of each gender, or more for multi-team or pair challenges — that are designated as captains. For team challenges, the captains select players evenly amongst gender. For pair challenges, the captains either select players of the opposite gender for challenges that are designated as male/female pairs, or the same gender for challenges that are designated as same-gender pairs.
After each challenge, the winning teams/pairs/players are not only safe from elimination, but also choose one player of each gender to compete in the elimination round. If a challenge is played in a team or pair format, each member of the winning pair/team is safe from elimination. The losing players then participate in an elimination vote called "The Draw", in which each player either flip over a "kill card", which has a skeleton symbol, or a blank card. If a player flips over a blank card, that player saves himself/herself from participating in the elimination, however, if a player flips over the "kill card", that player has to face the player of the respective gender that was previously voted by the winning team/pair/individual in the elimination. The winning players of each gender return to the game and have a shot at competing for a $350,000 prize, while the losing male and female players are eliminated from the game.
At the end of the season, six players compete in the final challenge — three of each gender. The first-place finishers each win $125,000, second-place contestants each win $35,000 and third-place contestants each win $15,000.
Contestants Male contestants Original season FinishJohnny "Bananas" Devenanzio The Real World: Key West Winner The Real World: Portland Runner-up The Real World: San Diego (2011) Third place The Real World: Paris Episode 11 The Real World: Las Vegas (2011)Episode 11 The Real World: Sydney Episode 9 The Real World: New Orleans (2010) Episode 8 The Real World: Portland Episode 7 The Real World: St. Thomas Episode 6 The Real World: Sydney Episode 5 The Challenge: Fresh Meat II Episode 4 The Real World: San Diego (2011) Episode 3 The Real World: Las Vegas (2011) Episode 2 The Real World: Brooklyn Episode 1 Female contestants Original season FinishLaurel Stucky The Challenge: Fresh Meat II Winner The Real World: Las Vegas (2011) Runner-up Devyn Simone The Real World: Brooklyn Third place The Challenge: Fresh Meat II Episode 11Cara Maria Sorbello The Challenge: Fresh Meat IIEpisode 11 The Real World: Portland Episode 9 The Real World: Chicago Episode 8 The Real World: Cancun Episode 7 Spring Break Challenge Episode 6 The Real World: Cancun Episode 5 The Real World: St. Thomas Episode 4 The Real World: Portland Episode 3 The Real World: Cancun Episode 2 The Real World: New Orleans (2010) Episode 1
Jersey numbers Contestants had numbers on the backs of their jerseys. All of the male contestants wore odd-numbered jerseys, while the females wore even-numbered jerseys.
01 CT 15Cohutta 02 Cara Maria 16 Jessica03 Bananas 17Johnny 04Jemmye 18 LaToya05 Frank 19Brandon 06Devyn 20 Jonna07 Preston 21Swift 08Theresa 22 Emilee09 Chet 23Zach 10Aneesa 24 Laurel11 Isaac 25Jordan 12Jasmine 26 Nia13 Leroy 27Dustin 14Nany 28 Camila
Gameplay Challenge games Out on a Ledge: Played in two teams of 14 players, each team participates in a multi-stage race to the top of Montevideo's World Trade Center. The teams are then split up into three teams — two of four players and one of six players. The three teams are positioned at three different locations — one four-player team is chained together at the rooftop next to a locked box at a puzzle station, another four-player team is chained together at a plank hanging from the edge of the rooftop, while the six-player team is chained together at the base of the building. In Phase 1, the two six-player teams race against each other through all 42 stories of the World Trade Center, and each team is possessing a key that is required to unchain their respective 4-player team that is chained together at the locked box, where Phase 2 begins. In Phase 2, one four-player team uses a key to unlock a box which contains puzzle pieces. When that team solves their puzzle, another key is retrieved to unchain the other four-player team standing by near the plank. In Phase 3, players from the remaining four-player teams have to race along a plank suspended 450 feet above ground level, one player at a time, then retrieve a pink flag sitting in the middle of a rolling log, and ring a bell in the fastest time possible. The entire challenge is a timed event, and the team that completes the challenge in the fastest time wins, while all members of the losing team are automatically sent to "The Draw." Winners: Team Black (Aneesa, Bananas, Cohutta, CT, Devyn, Jasmine, Jessica, Johnny, Jordan, Laurel, Nany, Nia, Preston, and Swift) Auto Body Rally: Played in male/female pairs, each pair has to race in a sports car on a drag strip, then run around a series of hay bales, and ride together on an oversize bicycle within an obstacle course consisting of bales of hay, toward a finish line. When each pair rides the bicycle, one player has to backwards-steer the front of the bicycle while the other pedals in order to navigate through the obstacle course. The team with the fastest time wins the challenge, while the teams with the four slowest times are automatically sent to "The Draw." Winners: Cohutta and Laurel Bar Crawl: A giant wall, with platforms on both sides, numerous holes horizontally-aligned at the base of the wall and two oversize bars in two holes, is suspended from a crane over water. Played in teams of four (two players on both sides of the wall), each team has to advance from one platform to the other by using the bars as a "walkway." Players on each side have to shove the bars through the holes in order for their partners to advance forward on the bars. It is a timed event, and the team that advances all of their players from one platform to the other in the fastest time wins, while the teams with the two slowest times are automatically sent to "The Draw." A team is disqualified if they do not complete the challenge within a time limit, or if any team member drops a bar into the water. Winners: Team Brandon (Brandon, Bananas, Camila and Jessica) Bounce Out: First, players are separated into two teams of 11 players. Then, the two teams are split into two groups — of six and five players. Each player wears oversize plastic bumper suits with pictures of their faces on them, and the groups have to designate one player to serve as "the ball", in which that player try to advance from one side of a beach to another, toward a soccer goal. The remaining players either try to defend their own goal or help escort the designated "ball" toward their opponent's goal. After one group scores a goal, the other group takes the field and try to do the same. The first team to score three goals wins the challenge, while all members of the losing team are automatically sent to "The Draw." Winners: Team Red (Bananas, CT, Jessica, Johnny, Jonna, Jordan, Laurel, Nany, Preston, Swift, and Theresa) Piggy Back: First, players are separated into two teams of ten — five of each gender. Then, each team has to advance on ten hanging ropes from one platform to another that is suspended above water. After one player advances onto one rope, the next teammate has to use the first player as a "human bridge" in order to advance to the next rope. Subsequent players continue the process, until each player is hanging into their own rope, at which point, players continue to use their teammates as "human bridges" in order to reach the opposite platform. Players are disqualified if they don't grab each rope. The team that advances the most players from one platform to the other in the fastest time wins, while all members of the losing team are automatically sent to "The Draw." Winners: Team Purple (Cara Maria, Devyn, Jessica, Johnny, Jonna, Jordan, Leroy, Swift, Theresa, and Zach) Smarty Pants: Played as an individual challenge, host T. J. Lavin asks each player a series of trivia questions, which includes spelling, sports, geography, pop culture, and U.S. history. The challenge is played in multiple rounds — separated by gender. Each player is hanging by a rope from a platform suspended above water, and if they correctly answer a question, they will stay in the game, but will get a red X for each wrong answer. If a player gets two red X's, he/she is dropped into the water. The first four players of each gender to be dropped into the water are automatically sent to "The Draw", while the last player of each gender standing wins the challenge. Winners: Zach and Devyn Sausage Party: Played as an individual challenge, players have to roll themselves along a "barbecue-style" obstacle course on the beach, while covered in shrink wrap. The challenge is played in two separate heats — one for each gender. Player wiggle and roll through a variety of "condiments" and on oversize metal bars that resemble a grill grate, towards a series of oversize circular discs at the end of the course that resemble bread buns. The first player that makes his/her way through the course and onto the oversize "bread buns" wins, while the three players in each heat that do not make it to the buns are automatically sent to "The Draw." Winners: Johnny and Laurel Hold That Pose: Played in two teams of seven, all members of each team have to grab hold of a certain color of rope with their feet and hands. There are two ropes with 28 straps — four straps for each player, and once the hands and feet of each player are strapped in, all team members have to hold a pose above the sand for one minute. The first team to hold a pose for one minute without any players touching the ground wins, while all members of the losing team are automatically sent to "The Draw." Winners: Team Devyn (Devyn, Cara Maria, CT, Jessica, Leroy, Nany, and Zach) Dug Out: Much like the "T-Bone" elimination from Rivals, players run up and down, through intersecting half-pipes that are dug several feet deep, and have to transfer five colored balls to their partner's ball rack from one side to the other. The challenge is played in same-gender pairs — one round for each gender, and the pair that transfers all of their colored balls — 10 total — to each other's racks wins, while the remaining players are sent to "The Draw." Winners: CT and Zach & Nany and Theresa