Desafio: Aventura season 1 is the first season of Desafio: Aventura, a Romanian television series based on the popular reality game show Desafío. The season featured 24 contestants divided into three teams: "Norocoșii" (The Lucky Ones), "Luptătorii" (the Warriors), "Visătorii" (the Dreamers). The series is hosted by Daniel Pavel and the premiere being scheduled for January 5, 2026.
The season finale took place on May 19, 2026, when Marius "Dumbo" Alexandru was crowned the winner of the competition and awarded the grand prize of €150,000. He secured the victory after winning the final challenge against Vladimir Drăghia. Dumbo decided to give €30,000 to each of the other three contestants, keeping €60,000 for himself.
Format The series places a group of celebrities and civilians in a remote isolated location, where they are divided into three teams by status. Each week, teams compete for the condition they will live that week, either High Beach with all amenities, Medium Beach with some amenities or Low Beach with no amenities at all. In addition, they will compete for leadership, immunity and rewards. The contestants are progressively eliminated from the game as they are voted out by their fellow contestants. The last contestant standing wins the grand prize of €150.000.
Challenges Territorial Challenge: The teams compete for the best living conditions, with the winners receiving the keys to High Beach, a luxury beach house with air conditioning, pool, hot water and furnished with beds. The meals of their choice are prepared by a chef. The second place team goes to Medium Beach, which provides them with basic necessities for survival, a roof, a small refrigerator, beds and a bathroom, but have a minimum ration of food and water. The third place team receives the keys to Low Beach, which has the worst living conditions, members have to live outdoors or build their own shelter, and have poor food ration and are not provided with water. Immunity Challenge: The teams compete for immunity from elimination. Reward Challenge: The teams compete for money, luxuries, food, or trips to local sites. Captains' Battle: Each week a team captain is appointed by vote. The captains face each other in a challenge, and the winner gets an advantage for their team in the next immunity challenge.
Locations and beaches Each group is assigned a different beach to stay. Each beach has different qualities and benefits: Higher Beach/villa has a luxurious cabin with beds, showers, bathrooms and a fully equipped kitchen. In some occasions, there are employees that prepare the meals for each contestant. Medium Beach/the locals’ village features the bare necessities for living. Contestants have a wooden roof with hammocks to sleep. They are given pots and pans, knives, some food and tools to hunt and cook. Lower Beach/deserted features the worst conditions for the contestants to live in. Contestants have to build their own shelter or sleep in a cave. There is no food and the contestants have to eat fruits or try to hunt or fish what they can. During each show, the groups have to compete in a challenge ("Territorial Challenge") to decide which group will stay on each beach. As the show progresses and contestants are eliminated, the teams are merged into a single group and they are taken to Merged Beach, which features commodities slightly better than Medium Beach.
Production Development The show was first announced by Daniel Pavel on August 27, during the announcement of Pro TV's fall schedule, Pavel stated that he would be the host of a new television show, a Desafio-type format. Pavel said "I have been a direct witness to many tough competitions and have seen up close all the stages of survival, but now we are preparing a completely new experience. A new project. An experience. Here, the tests of endurance and courage will be taken further than ever before. These are not just words. The very name, Desafio, represents a brand-new show. Here, strength alone is no longer enough. Strategy is no longer enough either, and emotions can no longer be hidden." After Pavel's announcement, Pro TV officially confirmed this news, with the applications for the show being open immediately for civilian contestants.
Filming for this season took place between November 10 and December 21, 2025, in Chumphon, Thailand
Broadcast The show broadcast twice a week, on Mondays and Tuesdays, starting at 8:30 p.m. Starting on 11 May, two weeks before the grand final, the show's broadcast time was moved one hour later, airing at 9:30 p.m. instead of 8:30 p.m.
Contestants
The contestants were revealed starting on October 27, 2025. Among them were several notable names, such as former goalkeeper for the national football team, Florin Prunea, actor Vladimir Drăghia, manele singer Babasha, tapper Ian and Valentin Tănase, the fastest Romanian sprinter.
They are divided into three teams of eight based on their lifestyle; "Norocoșii" (The Lucky Ones) are those used to comfort, "Luptătorii" (the Fighters) are those who know what hardship means and never give up, and "Visătorii" (the Dreamers) are those who wish to change destinies.
On Week 17, the seven remaining players merged into one tribe. +List of Desafio: Aventura season 1 contestantsContestantOriginal teamPost-Swap teamSwitch teamPost-SwapMerged team FinishNicoleta Mirea 55, BucharestNutritionist Quit Episode 2Andreea Boldeanu 26, Craiova, DoljFlight attendant1st eliminated Episode 4Nicolae Lupșor 44, Marbella, SpainBodybuilderQuit Episode 6Alina Ceban 27, BucharestChief operating officer2nd eliminated Episode 8Delia Salchievici (Returned to game)3rd eliminated Episode 10Nadin Gherman 21, Constanța, ConstanțaShepherdMedically evacuated Episode 11Beatrice "Bettyshor" Ungureanu 27, BucharestFashion designer4th eliminated Episode 12Vlad "Babasha" Babașa 23, Bacău, BacăuManele music singer5th eliminated Episode 14Aurora Ghinoiu24, Galați, GalațiComposer6th eliminated Episode 16Cristina Aiello29, BucharestTennis coach7th eliminated Episode 18Sergiu Călifar36, BucharestInterior designer8th eliminated Episode 20Luiza Condrea 29, BucharestManager9th eliminated Episode 22Florin Prunea57, BucharestFormer goalkeeper10th eliminated Episode 24Cezar Amititeloaie44, Iași, IașiHolistic therapist11th eliminated Episode 26Lucian "Leopardu'" Vasile 24, Bolintin Deal, GiurgiuTransport company administrator12th eliminated Episode 28Iuliana Dup 27, Iași, IașiMilliner13th eliminated Episode 30Codruța Sanfira Filip 30, Tătăruși, IașiArtist14th eliminated Episode 32Georgian Bogdan "Ian" Anghel 29, Berceni, Ilfov Trapper15th eliminated Episode 34Delia Salchievici 24, BucharestTarot card reader rowspan="7" 16th eliminated Episode 36Alina "Lena" Oprea 37, BucharestChief marketing officer17th eliminated Episode 37Codruța "Coco" Meilă 20, Oradea, BihorProfessional MMA fighter18th eliminated Episode 38Rafael Szabo 25, Lugoj, TimișGymnast19th eliminatedEpisode 39Valentin Tănase 28, BucharestAthlete20th eliminatedEpisode 40Vladimir Drăghia 39, BucharestFilm actorRunner-up Episode 40Marius "Dumbo" Alexandru 43, Agigea, ConstanțaHunterWinnerEpisode 40
Season summary +Challenge winners and eliminations by cycle Episode(s) Challenge winner(s) Nominated Eliminated Finish Territory Second chance Reward Immunity Capitans No. Original air dateHighMediumLow1 & 25 & 6 January 2026rowspan="2"rowspan="2"rowspan="2"rowspan="2"rowspan="2"rowspan="2" Quit Episode 23 & 412 & 13 January 2026In the second week, there was no Territory Challenge, so the three teams kept their initial territoriesrowspan="2"rowspan="2"rowspan="2"rowspan="2"1st Eliminated Episode 45 & 619 & 20 January 2026rowspan="2"rowspan="2"rowspan="2"rowspan="2"rowspan="2"rowspan="2"Quit Episode 67 & 826 & 27 January 2026In the fourth week, there was no Territory Challenge, so the three teams kept their initial territoriesrowspan="2"rowspan="2"rowspan="2"rowspan="2" 2nd Eliminated Episode 89 & 102 & 3 February 2026 rowspan ="2"rowspan="2"rowspan="2"rowspan="2" rowspan="2" rowspan="2" 3rd Eliminated Episode 10 11 & 129 & 10 February 2026In the sixth week, there was no Territory Challenge, so the three teams kept their initial territoriesrowspan="3"rowspan="3"rowspan="2"rowspan="2" Evacuated Episode 11rowspan="1" 4th Eliminated Episode 1213 & 1416 & 17 February 2026 rowspan ="2"rowspan="2"rowspan="2"rowspan="2" rowspan="2" rowspan="2" 5th Eliminated Episode 1415 & 1623 & 24 February 2026In the eight week, there was no Territory Challenge, so the three teams kept their initial territoriesrowspan="2"rowspan="2" rowspan="2" rowspan="2" 6th Eliminated Episode 16 17 & 182 & 3 March 2026 rowspan ="2"rowspan="2"rowspan="2" rowspan="2" rowspan ="2" rowspan="1" rowspan="2" 7th Eliminated Episode 18 19 & 209 & 10 March 2026In the tenht week, there was no Territory Challenge, so the three teams kept their initial territoriesrowspan="2"rowspan="2" rowspan="2" rowspan="2" 8th Eliminated Episode 2021 & 2216 & 17 March 2026rowspan="2" rowspan ="2"rowspan="2" rowspan="2" rowspan="2" rowspan="2" 9th Eliminated Episode 2223 & 2423 & 24 March 2026In the twelfth week, there was no Territory Challenge, so the three teams kept their initial territoriesrowspan="2" rowspan="2" rowspan="2" 10th Eliminated Episode 2425 & 2630 & 31 March 2026rowspan="2" rowspan ="2"rowspan="2" rowspan="2"rowspan="2" rowspan="2" 11th Eliminated Episode 2627 & 28 6 & 7 April 2026In the fourteenth week, there was no Territory Challenge, so the three teams kept their initial territoriesrowspan="2" rowspan="2" rowspan="2" rowspan="2" 12th Eliminated Episode 2829 & 3013 & 14 March 2026 rowspan ="2"rowspan="2"rowspan="2" rowspan="2"rowspan="2" rowspan="2" 13th Eliminated Episode 3031 & 32 20 & 21 April 2026In the sixteenth week, there was no Territory Challenge, so the three teams kept their initial territoriesrowspan="2" rowspan="2" rowspan="2" rowspan="2" 14th Eliminated Episode 3233 & 34 27 & 28 April 2026rowspan="1" rowspan ="1"rowspan="1" rowspan="1" rowspan="1" rowspan="1" rowspan="1" 15th Eliminated Episode 3435 & 36 4 & 5 May 2026With the merger of the teams, the Territory Challenge was removed from the competition. As a result, all seven remaining contestants lived together on the Middle Island. rowspan="2" rowspan="1" rowspan="2" 16th Eliminated Episode 3637 & 38 11 & 12 May 2026 rowspan="2" rowspan="1" rowspan="2" 17th Eliminated Episode 37 rowspan="2" rowspan="1" rowspan="2" 18th Eliminated Episode 3839 & 40 18 & 19 May 2026 rowspan="1" rowspan="1" rowspan="1" 19th Eliminated Episode 39 20th Eliminated Episode 40 Runner-up Episode 40 Winner Episode 40
Episodes
Voting history