CT And Aneesa Are Gone - Wes Leads
Real World Road Rules Challenge - The Duel
January 12, 2007 Rankings by Logan Huffman
This week on 'The Duel', CT and Jodi decided to team up, thinking that they were the two strongest competitors left in the competition. And Svetlana and Aneesa wanted to continue their strong alliance together.
At the challenge, the contestants had to team up and paddle out on 9 foot long surfboards to an island, and then split up, paddling as quickly as possible back to the starting pier in order to win the challenge. As TJ revealed that tonight was a male and female Duel day, the winners of the challenge would automatically be moving on to the final four, while the second place finishers would be granted the power to choose which Duel they wanted to take on their opponent in.
Jodi and Wes emerged victorious, securing safety and guaranteed spots in the final four, and a Kicker car stereo system to top it all off. CT and Svetlana came in second place, allowing them to decide which Duel they wanted to challenge Brad and Aneesa to.
CT chose the guys' Duel to be 'Push Me', much to Brad's chagrin, while Svetlana offered Aneesa a partial decision in the Duel selection, and even though Aneesa wanted to play 'Ascender', in the end, Svetlana chose 'I Can' for the female duel.
In the male Duel, CT destroyed Brad, quickly overpowering him to reach the flag. But like Beth, CT accidentally ripped off the flag when trying to unclip the carabineer, eliminating him from the competition, and sending him into a rage against Brad, and then Wes. Wes and CT's words heated up, going from calling each other punks, to tearing each other's girlfriends (Johanna and Diem, respectively) apart. Due to CT's mistake, Brad secured his position in the final four, and a T-Mobile 3 Sidekick with one year's service to go along with his win.
In the female Duel, Svetlana and Aneesa engaged in a bidding war, trying to predict how many logs they could lift. Finally, after Aneesa said that she could lift seventy-three logs, Svetlana challenged her to do it. Unfortunately for Aneesa, she was unable to budge the logs, allowing Svetlana to advance to the finals, while Aneesa's chances slipped through her hands and she was eliminated. Svetlana also won a T-Mobile 3 Sidekick with one year's service, which she immediately gave to Aneesa. As TJ told Aneesa goodbye, he gave her his jacket as well, saying that she had earned it.
Next week, it's the season finale, and it's anyone's game. Which guy and girl will emerge victorious, each winning a $150,000 grand prize? Will it be Wes, who has powered through the challenges to reach the finals, Jodi, who consistently won safety and is the only competitor never to enter a Duel, Svetlana, who despite being an outsider and perceived as weak, has battled her way through three Duels into the finals, or Brad, who hasn't won too many challenges, but has been able to knock out two tough competitors in Duels? Two of these players will walk away with the grand prize, next time on 'The Duel'.
Wes
Current Ranking: 1 - Previous Ranking: 5
Wes jumps from the bottom of the scoreboard up to first place this week. He has won several challenges in a row, securing safety from the Duels. He is a tough competitor, and I think he wants it more than Brad. CT, who I feel was his toughest competitor, was eliminated in tonight's Duel, and I think Wes will have a much easier time defeating Brad. I think Wes will be our male 'The Duel' winner, and will be leaving Brazil with a $150,000 prize.
Svetlana
Current Ranking: 2 - Previous Ranking: 4
Svetlana jumps into the second position on the scoreboard, and the top position among the women. I've stopped underestimating Svetlana, as she has definitely proved her skill and worth in 'The Duel'. Despite being a Key West cast member and being targeted immediately by the veterans, Svetlana persevered, winning three Duels to reach the finals. She was extremely tough in both of her 'Push Me' Duels, which I consider to be the toughest Duel. It was also very sweet of Svetlana to give her T-Mobile 3 Sidekick to Aneesa. Although Jodi has performed much better in the challenges, I have a feeling that Svetlana will defeat her and claim the $150,000 grand prize.
Jodi
Current Ranking: 3 - Previous Ranking: 1
Jodi falls from the first position down to the third position, and below her only remaining female competitor, Svetlana. Although Jodi has kicked ass in the challenges, winning a record number of safeties, she has never participated in a Duel before, and if the final challenges have anything to do with the Duels, it could hurt Jodi. Plus, I'm not sure if Jodi can handle the pressure as well as Svetlana has with her constant Duel challenges. Nevertheless, Jodi is an extremely tough competitor, and still has a good chance of winning, but I think Svetlana is going to beat her in the end.
Brad
Current Ranking: 4 - Previous Ranking: 6
Brad advances out of last place into…well, the new last place position on the scoreboard. Although Brad did knock out CT, who was an extremely tough opponent, Wes is going to be extremely difficult to beat. Although we have seen Brad say that he wants it, I don't think he has the same fire in his belly that Wes has. Although Brad did strongly defeat Eric in 'Pole Wrestle', he nearly lost to CT in 'Push Me', and I think Brad will come up short to Wes in the end.
CT
Fifteenth Elimination
I'm also surprised to see CT go home, as he has been one of the strongest and fiercest male competitors of the season. He really kicked Brad's ass in the Duel, but rules are rules, and accidentally ripping the flag off of the carabineer cost him the game. I know CT was angry, but I really like him, and hated to see him go out in a tirade like that. But CT's true downfall was that he was too fast in challenges, which caused him to screw up more often, and his screw-up in the Duel finally cost him the game. Nevertheless, he hopefully found something better than the money in Diem, and he was an amazing competitor to watch throughout the season. In the end, CT did defeat himself, becoming the fifteenth contestant to be eliminated from 'The Duel' after accidentally tearing the flag from the carabineer in the 'Push Me' Duel, disqualifying himself from the game, and narrowly missing out at a spot in the finals.
Aneesa
Sixteenth Elimination
I'm sad, and a little surprised, to see Aneesa go. She was an extremely fierce competitor, going into four Duels, and winning three of them. It was a good strategy of her to try and convince Svetlana to choose 'Ascender' as their Duel, as she would have had an advantage in that Duel, but it didn't work in the end. I thought that Aneesa would be able to lift the logs, but in the end, seventy-three logs became her undoing, and Aneesa became the sixteenth player to be eliminated from 'The Duel', narrowly missing a spot in 'The Duel' finals, but at least she ended up with a T-Mobile 3 Sidekick (and TJ's jacket), not to mention the other prizes she won for successfully winning the other Duels.
Diem
Fourteenth Elimination
I was sad to see Diem go. She was a tough competitor, and a tough woman in general. She and CT make a great couple, and hopefully, they will stick together even after the competition. I'm glad he was able to boost her self-confidence and was able to get Diem to come out of her shell (and wig). I had a feeling this was coming. Diem was the weakest girl remaining, and made it this far based on her strong allies more than anything else. She was gutsy to try and lift 150 coffee bags, but in the end, Aneesa didn't fall for Diem's mind tricks, and Diem became the fourteenth player to be eliminated from 'The Duel' after she was unable to lift 150 coffee bags in the 'I Can' Duel.
Evan
Thirteenth Elimination
I'm actually a little surprised to be writing this. Like Jodi, Evan had been winning challenge after challenge, always gaining immunity from the Duels. But this week, he cracked under the pressure. He may have performed a little better in the sunken treasure challenge if he had remained calm. He obviously doubted his abilities for the Duel, trying to get away with drawing the cheat sheet on his hand for the puzzle. Although he was neck-and-neck with CT, he cracked again while assembling the puzzle. The pressure overwhelmed Evan, as he became the thirteenth player to be eliminated from the Duel after coming up short to CT in the 'Ascender' Duel.
Kina
Twelfth Elimination
I am absolutely thrilled that Kina was finally eliminated. As you all know, I was not a fan of Kina. However, she did perform decently in the challenges throughout the season, and she held her own against Svetlana for quite a while. She put a good effort into the Duel, but Kina became the twelfth player to be eliminated after falling to Svetlana in the 'Push Me' Duel.
Eric
Eleventh Elimination
Eric had been on the chopping block for a while, and it seemed inevitable that he would be challenged to another Duel. I'm not so sure Brad was the right choice to challenge, as he probably would have had better luck against Wes (although he may have feared Wes after watching Wes's Pole Wrestle Duel with Derrick). Pole Wrestle seemed like it would be a good Duel for Eric; but apparently, he didn't know how to use his size to his advantage, opting to just lie on the pole instead. I'm honestly surprised Eric made it this far. After battling Brad in the Pole Wrestle Duel and coming up short, Eric was the eleventh player to be eliminated from 'The Duel'.
Robin
Tenth Elimination
Robin dug her own grave. After her drunken assault on Aneesa, she was practically begging Aneesa to challenge her to a Duel. She picked the wrong girl to attack, as Aneesa is a fierce competitor. Oh, and Robin, you know that silver hook attached to the puzzle piece bag? Pull it to make the puzzle pieces fall to the ground, dumbass! I will credit Robin for hugging Aneesa and at least making a small effort to make amends for her words. Robin created her own demise, as she became the tenth player to be eliminated from 'The Duel' after being challenged by Aneesa and losing to her in the 'Ascender' Duel challenge. All I have to say is "Good Riddance!"
Derrick
Ninth Elimination
Derrick has been on many of these challenges, and despite his fierceness, he always comes up short. If another Duel besides 'Pole Wrestle' had been chosen, he may have beaten Wes, but his smaller size hindered him in 'Pole Wrestle'. Nevertheless, he did put up quite a fight. Despite being an amazing competitor time after time, Derrick came up short once again, becoming the ninth person to be eliminated from 'The Duel'.
Beth
Eigth Elimination
How could this happen to my Beth? How? I'm crushed. Oh wait, she'll surely be back next season, as she always provides extreme drama. Alright, I'm OK now. I hated to see Beth go out like that, as she totally overpowered Svetlana, but as the rules said, the flag had to be unclipped. It looked pretty easy to rip off, and I suspect her mistake could have happened to anyone. I wish they had gotten 'Pole Wrestle' as the Duel, and Beth would have won hands down. Despite all of her efforts and brilliant alliances and scheming, Beth became the eighth person to be eliminated from 'The Duel'.
Nehemiah
Seventh Elimination
Nehemiah got extremely unlucky. If nearly any other Duel challenge had been selected other than "I Can", Nehemiah probably would have won. Eric has probably 100 extra pounds on Nehemiah, and that was just too much for Nehemiah to overcome, especially in a challenge involving lifting. Beth's "Tenderoni" is no more, as Nehemiah became the seventh player to be eliminated from 'The Duel' after Eric successfully lifted all 165 of the logs for five seconds.
Casey
Sixth Elimination
While I really wanted to see Casey kick Robin's ass, we all knew what was going to happen, especially after Pole Wrestle was revealed to be 'The Duel' game. Although Casey did hold on, she looked like a little toy being dragged around by a dog. I know she was terrified of heights, but being that she didn't really have anyone to keep her safe, she should have at least attempted a jump in the platform challenge. Casey was probably the weakest girl, and despite all of her heart, she was the sixth contestant eliminated from 'The Duel'.
Kenny
Fifth Elimination
Kenny had a rough time. Although he is athletic, his strength paled in comparison to many of the other guys'. For whatever reason, Nehemiah decided that Kenny was the person he wanted to take to a duel, and even though I thought Kenny would surely win, Nehemiah proved me wrong, quickly stomping Kenny in the Ascender. Kenny was the fifth player to be eliminated from 'The Duel'.
Paula
Fourth Elimination
Even though Paula fell short in 'The Duel', she really impressed me with her toughness against Aneesa, one of the strongest and fiercest girls on the show. She held off Aneesa for an amazing eight minutes, which was something I didn't think Paula possessed the ability to do. If she hadn't been a Key West cast member, she may have made it much further into the competition. Despite her best efforts, Paula was the fourth player to be eliminated from 'The Duel'.
Tyler
Third Elimination
Even though Tyler tried his hardest, there is only so much you can do when everyone is against you. Tyler was the third person to be eliminated from 'The Duel' after challenging Derrick to a duel, and losing to Derrick in the ascension duel challenge.
Tina
Expelled
Tina was expelled from 'The Duel' after she lost her cool and punched Beth in the face. She was stupid for doing it, as she basically let Beth win the battle, and she just looked immature in the process. Tina's actions destroyed her chances at $150,000, making her the second person eliminated from 'The Duel'.
John
Eliminated: Episode 1
John was the first contestant to be eliminated from 'The Duel' after Tyler challenged him, and John unsuccessfully doubted Tyler's ability to lift thirty-one watermelons in 'The Duel' challenge.
Logan is a North Carolina native whose hobbies include a passion for reality shows, hiking, and Mocha Frappucinos. He can be contacted at Logan@RealityTVCalendar.com
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