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This season began some two months ago and a lot has taken place in Thailand that has seen just about everything. We started this journey with eighteen underdogs with varied backgrounds ranging from two off the plane from Seattle to another returning to MTV after a decade-long absence. We then had eight champions invade the game to spoil the party of a potential first Challenge win, and things have not been the same since, with plenty of drama both before and after the merge. And now, we stand just before the show's first-ever three-day final...but before that comes who will join the guy champions in the semi-final four to join the four remaining women in Thailand.
It's with this in mind that with just a day before Week 11 commences, it's the ideal time for us to take our first trip into a room we only visit a few times during The Challenge but entered a good many times during Are You The One? Season 5. It's The Strategy Room, where we analyze where the game situation stands at various points in the season, and one of the few times where this site actually puts on our analyst's hat and break things down when the game gets serious, just like you would see on other sites and webcasts when they do this every week. Because of how unique we are covering this world in focusing more on storytelling and social reaction, it's only late this late in the season do we get to do analysis.
Ahead, we'll take a look at each of the remaining players, one-by-one, at what they've done in Thailand, the possibilities that await them and help make sense of it all, along with unveiling our site's first power rankings of the season and last week's fantasy scoring. Join us after the jump as we head look at where Invasion of the Champions stands from the Strategy Room.
THE PLAYERS
Okay, so this might not be the best and most fairest format for a Challenge season, but there's been a lot of drama and a lot of action to come to the conclusion that this season has been really good. The guy who will be joining me to review this cycle in a special springtime edition of our Reality Debrief in just a few weeks, Andrew Kirk, says that it's probably the best season he's watched of this show since Rivals I six years ago... I agree with him in that it's better than just about most of the other seven Challenges I've gotten to watch since joining this world back five years ago.
With that in mind, this gives us an opportunity to look at each of the remaining competitors in Southeast Asia and to handicap who might have the edge. First, we begin with the champions.
● CT: Of everyone left here, CT is the only one who's not been in an elimination so far, and tonight that will change. Unlike what we've seen in past seasons, CT has been flying under the radar in only seeing him in competition in guiding these champions along, and whose only times on camera off-competition has been offering that dad's commentary. Sure, he's let everyone grab the spotlight while he's been checking regularly on how baby CT is doing back home. Obviously, what happened three years ago humbled this beast of a competitor, and so has the feeling of becoming a dad since Diem Brown's passing. He came here with new perspective, and like the other guys champ has become a father figure, to put it. He might need to prove himself a little more here should he go to the final.
● DARRELL: For the one champ who came to Asia with the longest gap between seasons, Darrell has proved that a 7-year absence means nothing when you're one of The Challenge's greatest champions. He still has it as as if he didn't retire. No doubt, word of him competing on this season came as a surprise and delight to fans, who first saw him on Road Rules Campus Crawl fifteen years ago and then proceeded to win his first four Challenges. Here, we've seen him take down Zach when he was an underdog to Thor, and of course him taking down Bananas in the last champs Fortress. So having gained that momentum of taking down the defending champ will now favor Darrell more as we head into these last few weeks, making this a more even affair heading into crunch time.
● CAMILA: Camila has once again reached that position of being close to the final. It's been seven years since we first saw her on that Spring Break Challenge and from an entertainment standpoint she's been a fan favorite...all of those meltdowns we've seen her in the house are the stuff of legend. Competitively, it's been a mixed bag over the years and of the remaining champs Camila is no doubt the one who has to prove herself the most. She has a 6-4 elimination record, has made it to two finals and won one of them. Being the one who hasn't had as much success on the field as she has being a popular castmate, she is in the ultimate of must-win scenarios heading into tonight.
● LAUREL: Laurel also came to this Challenge after a few seasons' hiatus - just three compared to seven years with Darrell. But like the 4-time champ, Laurel has proved why she's been the best female competitor of this latest crop of Challengers and being off for three years has seen her show no to little rust. Of course, she has remained undefeated in eliminations at 9-0, has made to the end in all of her four previous starts, and of course won the whole thing in the Free Agents final. She got through an emotionally tough elimination with Cara Maria when the champs were last in the Fortress, got into words with Amanda last week after pulling off those veteran/rookie pranks, and obviously there's that new relationship she has with Nicole. This is, needless to say, her title to lose.
Now, the underdogs:
● ASHLEY: If you were one of those who had Ashley going to a Challenge final after a first MTV season where she was only on for 3 hours in the Bay Area, then good luck cashing that check in the casinos of her new Vegas hometown. This is something we didn't expect: someone who was a Real World wild card who most didn't see going on a Challenge, much less become a good competitor, and was my Rivals 3 breakout performer. Her & Cory's jungle loss hampered chances for a much better final than it turned out to be, but here Ash has once again performed well to get to the end. And of course, winning her way out of the Bloodbath has certainly improved her chances and depending upon what may happen tomorrow, this could be the start of a great career for Ashley.
● NICOLE: When we saw her on Real World and her "skeletons" coming to Chicago for what really was a family visit by her sisters, it became clear that Nicole came to that show just for this show. Well here we are two years later, and Nicole has had a stellar first go at this on Invasion. Here, Nicole has lived up to expectations though you might say it been an easy way of sorts: when she competed in her first mission she won, then watched everyone else in street clothes until the champs came. And when they did came, not only did she get close to the duo known as Team Black, she has also won safety in every other underdog week. And obviously, she emerged out of the double elimination last week as well. But the moment when she has to shine should be forthcoming here.
● NELSON: Something we did not expect last week was of Nelson barreling his way to ring the bell first in the Fortress and gain his way out...only for the gameplay he has of playing both sides of the two other guys there getting exposed, and for Cory to lose his cool. Nonetheless, this has to be the best moment he's had on the Trifecta, considering what we've seen from him in not doing well in daily challenges but making up for it in elimination, winning one of them here. We've seen him get into it many times and it's that competitive, hard-working persona that drives him, and with these eliminations that physical side shows. Now all he needs is to keep his cool and give Team AYTO some more respect here in Challenge land.
● CORY: For Cory, this is his third Challenge, and he's again eyeing another finals berth. It was no surprise he made it to the final as a rookie on Bloodlines, and it's as if he was cast on Ex-Plosion with Challenge intentions though he almost became a dad in the Bay Area. Here, he's been on the wrong end of alliances since back in the Shelter, and hasn't done well competitively here in Thailand. But sometimes, it's how you close that can you close to the cash, which we saw with him & Mitch two seasons ago. Being younger and more fit than Shane, that may play into his favor going into their clash, but then there's the issues he has with his knees, and obviously, the fight we saw last week. If Andrew Kirk is right, there may be another final forthcoming for Cory.
● SHANE: Like Darrell, Shane had entered this season having not been on MTV since the very last Road Rules in 2007, on a Challenge since Darrell's last title on Fresh Meat, and from a time long ago when an RV and not a Truth Booth was the 3rd jewel of the Trifecta. His return was surprising, and to have him on back after a decade away has certainly paid off in him being arguably the star of this season. The emotional fire we've seen from him on the field and in the house has been a highlight of this season, and competitively he has certainly killed it. He has a reasonable shot of making it to the final, something he's not been to yet. And he's no doubt my favorite to take my "Breakout Performer" award when the DCBLOG Awards are handed out Memorial Day Weekend.
THE POSSIBILITIES
As we saw in the preview for tomorrow's episode, there's one more champions elimination before we arrive at the final. You would think that this might be a done deal as far as the champions go. But take into account this: CT last made it this far back in 2013 on Rivals II, Darrell on Fresh Meat ten years ago, Laurel on Free Agents and Camila the last time we were in Thailand. For the first three, they won...Camila knew when she & Jemmye entered the final that they Paula & Emily would win and Team Subtitles finished 3rd behind them and Cara Maria & Cooke.
Here's a look at the possibilities and what this will mean for them:
● If CT beats Darrell and then wins the final, then it's probably a sure bet he lays claim to a spot in the all time top 5 best competitors. He has just one finals win but being able to grab a second win in the last three appearances he would further stamp himself as an all-time great. CT's always been dominant in being this great beast he is in competition and having this towering presence he has, but has just one title to show for it. Getting a second can make his claim to be a legend even more valid.
But should it be the opposite result, then this would make it one of the best runs to a Challenge win ever. For Darrell to win a fifth Challenge, he would have had to gone through taking out, in order, the stronger Zach, all-time champ Bananas, and all-time beast CT, plus whomever his underdog opposition is in the final, to get to the winners' circle. Even if he loses tomorrow to CT, just making it this far would be a win for him and won't at all tarnish his already great legacy.
● For Laurel, there is really nothing else to prove. Already having an unblemished elimination record in being 9-0, if she wins the battle tonight then closes the deal then this would no doubt cement her as the best-ever female competitor. Imagine possibly going 10-0, then taking down the final against Nicole & Ashley, then the book should be closed on whether it's her, Evelyn, Emily or Rachel of who's the best woman to play this game. Even if she wins this last elimination and get upset by either Ashley or Nicole, losing a final wouldn't dampen the dominance Laurel has on here.
But if somehow, Camila can do what Cohutta did to Wes on The Duel II and pull off an all-time upset, then this would validate her status as more than just a good competitor and even greater entertainer. It would be a true feather in the cap to be the first one to send Laurel home which would then elevate her to a new level as not only someone who gives us memorable house moments, but also on the field with a 3rd finals trip and being a slight favorite. She must win here then take the final to take her from just being good to being great, otherwise she doesn't claim that elite status.
● For the underdogs, there's incentive awaiting them even if the task at hand of possibly taking down the champs in the final could be daunting but still doable. Now that Nelson is in, if he gets 2nd or 3rd then Team AYTO will win more respect here. Cory has a big task ahead of him to try and take down Shane in what might be a most-heated Fortress showdown and if he wins, he might as well have a shot in the final. If Shane wins, then things get more interesting in possibly making it a 2 on 1 affair with him and Darrell vs. who joins them in the final if the Road Ruler wins tomorrow. With experience vs. strength, it's either of those guys' affair in the Fortress to join Nelly T.
And for the girls, the field is set with Ashley and Nicole making it to this final week before the final. In all retrospects, with her strength Nicole should have the edge and have a better shot among her and Ashley in battling for the final. If Laurel does win tomorrow, the game should be all set for her to win, and the underdogs will be battling for second and third. But anything can possibly happen and if Camila upset her, than you can likely expect this to be a more even final with the underdogs having more of a shot there. If that happens, Nicole could emerge as a threat to Camila in the final.
So with all of that taken care of, here is this season's first edition of the power rankings.
POWER RANKINGS
CHAMPION MEN
1. DARRELL
2. CT
CHAMPION WOMEN
1. LAUREL
2. CAMILA
UNDERDOG GUYS
1. NELSON
T-2. CORY
T-2. SHANE
UNDERDOG GIRLS
1. NICOLE
2. ASHLEY M.
GUYS OVERALL
1. DARRELL
2. CT
3. NELSON
T-4. CORY
T-4. SHANE
GIRLS OVERALL
1. LAUREL
2. CAMILA
3. NICOLE
4. ASHLEY M.
▪ ▪ ▪
ENDGAME
AMANDA
Now, a little side note on one who came up short: You saw how elated, then disappointed, Amanda was in gaining 1st place in phase 1, only to come up last in phase 2 in the Bloodbath and being eliminated. It would've been a miracle if she made it to the final, but as we saw in the confessionals she's had in the past two Challenges her stated mission has been of wanting to cash in the final and then use the money to not only pay off college debt but also help the most important fan in her life: her dad.
And to sort of give you an added perspective of how devoted she is to him, not long ago her father celebrated his birthday. And through the stories she posted on her social hubs that day, she and the Garcia family threw a surprise birthday party for him, which no doubt delighted him. That shows you how devoted she is to him and to compete on these Challenges with the hope she can make it to the final, or perhaps if there's a second season of the AYTO spinoff, to cash in and get the necessary help to help him out whatever way she can. There is a heart, after all, to the girl they call the "pop off queen."
FANTASY TRAX
#DCCHALLENGE
■ WEEKLY POINT SCORERS
1. NELSON: 135 Points
2. CORY: 105 Points
T-3. NICOLE and SHANE: 45 Points each
5. ASHLEY M: 35 Points
T-6. CAMILA and HUNTER: 25 Points each
8. AMANDA: 20 Points
9. LAUREL: 15 Points
10. JENNA: 5 Points
■ TOP 10 TOTAL SCORERS
1. CORY: 370 Points ▲3
2. NELSON: 355 Points ▲4
3. SHANE: 315 Points
4. ASHLEY: 395 Points
5. AMANDA: 285 Points
6. HUNTER: 265 Points
7. NICOLE: 240 Points
T-8. CAMILA, JENNA & SYLVIA: 215 Points each
■ THE WEEK'S NOTABLES
● NELSON: As the top scorer in Week 10, Nelson receives 135 overall points, the most earned in a single week since Sylvia scored 95 in week 1, a double episode. He scores 70 competition points: 10 for going first, 20 for receiving TJ's wrath, 10 for winning the elimination, 30 points for joining two separate alliances with Cory and Shane, and 30 for double crossing both of them breaking both of those alliances. In drama points, he scores 65 points, including 25 points for physically fighting Cory in the Fortress, and 10 for verbal fighting with him. He moves up four places to 2nd in the overall points standings at 355 overall points.
● CORY: Similarly, Cory receives 105 points this week: 45 in competition, 45 in drama and 15 romance points. Competitively, he gets 20 points from TJ, 10 for going first and 15 for joining Nelson's alliance. Drama wise, he gets the same related 25 and 10 points, respectively, for the fight he had with Nelson in the Fortress, 10 for giving a toast to Camila at the going away party, and 15 romance points for an open mouth kiss with her there. As a result, he moves up 3 places to first in the points table at 370 overall points.
● Notables: Amanda, Ashley, Nicole and Shane each receive the aforementioned 20 points for being given TJ's displeasure, while Shane also receives those same 15 alliance points above with Nelson. Laurel and Nicole each get 15 points for kissing at the going away party, while Ashley, Jenna and Hunter get crying points.
▪ ▪ ▪ ▪ ▪
That will bring to a close our first installment of the DC Challenge Strategy Room and this week's coverage of the MTV Trifecta. With some 25 hours left until this week's episodes begin airing, there is a lot to be discussed from not just this past week, but the previous week as well. And there's plenty of time to check out the following webcasts:
● Just after Episode 10 aired, Andrew Kirk (@CSUGradAKirk) had the pleasure of once again talking to Cory as they discussed what happened right up to that point (not including this past week's Fortress) and all else from his third Challenge. Check out that interview here, plus his chat with Ashley from a while ago and all of his other shows on YouTube, Blog Talk Radio, Reality Radio and Periscope, with other shows planned in this next month or so before he and I wrap up this cycle on here with the mid-year Reality Debrief coming up, as mentioned, on Memorial Day weekend.
● Big fans of The Challenge, Barstool Sports, and their related podcasts had on two notable guests when they were in town to tape the reunion this past week. First, Cara Maria joined the show's hosts as she discussed the season, her time in Thailand and everything else, which you can listen to here. And on the No Quitters Podcast, she and Camila joined the podcast as they not only discussed this Invasion season but also their unconventional ways of joining the show, life with Abram and all else, which you can listen to here, along with all of their weekly recaps and their interview with Shane.
● Check out the AfterBuzz TV recaps of The Challenge and AYTO Second Chances, where this past week on the ladder, Devin and Gio joined hosts Nicolette Gaona, Lem Gonsalves, Desiree Murphy and Nino Llanera to discuss what happened with Gio on the previous week, the first four episodes and all else. Visit AfterbuzzTV.com for all of their MTV coverage.
● For hardcore Challenge fans, check out the Brain Candy Podcast with Susie & Sarah and their premium offering hosted by Patreon, where subscribers can listen to interviews the duo has done with castmates past and present from the Trifecta, plus live commentary. Visit patreon.com/braincandy for more info, and thebraincandypodcast.com where they discussed the original of reality TV and where Sarah got her start, Real World, and interviewed San Francisco cast member Judd Winick.
● Check out Rob Has A Podcast with Brian Cohen (@CohenBrian_) & Ali Lasher (@LashTweets) as they discuss The Challenge. And as Ali is taking the rest of the season off for law school, last week Dain Massey (@dainerson25) rejoined his friend to discuss episode 11 and all of their related events. Check out that podcast here, and all other Trifecta podcasts at RobHasAWebsite.com, which of course has the latest season of Survivor all covered there including last week's dramatic episode.
● And check out Ace Nichols (@AceNichols33) and her unique Challenge recaps, where you can check out recap videos to both episode 9 and episode 10 on her YouTube channel, and the episode 11 one which has just been posted. As those of her followers know, her and her ex-wife Gina announced their amicable separation recently and wish them all the best, especially Ace as she adjusts to this new life.
Be sure to follow DCNOW @DC408Dxtr for all live episode tweets (which you can join at #DCChallenge), plus this week's NFL Draft and all of the other big events and shows planned in the coming weeks, including next month's premiere of Fear Factor, which we covered here yesterday. And bookmark this site for everything MTV Trifecta, taking you beyond the screen for the stories behind the story, social reaction and so much more.
That includes our much promoted post on Yellowcard that should be up soon, and some other things planned as well. We'll be back over the weekend for this week in Challenge land, the penultimate week of Stranded with A Million Dollars and Week 5 of Are You The One? - Second Chances, among other things...we'll be announcing this week's subject matter after The Choice is made in Melbourne on Wednesday,
That's is how we look at it in the MTV Trifecta...thank you for joining us. And until we talk on DCNOW tomorrow and then back here this weekend, see you then and enjoy your week ahead.
- I AM DC
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