Real World Road Rules Challenge - The Duel
Here's The Initial Rankings
October 17, 2006 Rankings by Logan Huffman
The new season of the Real World/Road Rules challenge started off with a bang, as the competitors learned that this season was entitled "The Duel". TJ dropped the bomb that the players would be competing as singles this season, a change from the usual team dynamic the show has previously had.
The challenge involved the players being padlocked to a cord, and then pulling themselves to the other end of the arena to dig up a key to unlock their padlock. Eric won for the guys, ensuring himself immunity from the first Duel. Robin won on the girls' side, and received two airline tickets for her efforts.
Right after the challenge ended, the players were immediately forced to pick the person who would compete in The Duel. The Fresh Meat and Key West players were targeted, and after Kenny picked Svetlana, she was forced to choose between two of her closest friends, John and Tyler. She chose Tyler, reasoning that he would win the challenge and remain in the game. In a shocker, Tyler chose his cast mate John to compete against, saying that was what the other players wanted.
Tyler and John faced off in "I Can", a bidding war game in which each guy had to guess how many watermelons they could lift. Tyler was confident that he could lift 31 watermelons, causing John to prompt Tyler to do it. In the end, Tyler easily lifted the watermelons, causing John to be the first contestant eliminated from The Duel.
On part two of this episode, Beth pulled out her usual bag of tricks, quickly using her normal bitchiness to make extra enemies. Everyone headed to the challenge, which involved transporting rings that were color-coded to each player through a mud pit to poles at the opposite end of the course.
The guys went first, and targeted Wes and Tyler, due to their swimming abilities. However, the chaos of the challenge quickly confused the guys, and Tyler ended up almost winning the challenge. But Kenny got lucky, using his strategy of flying under the radar, and ended up winning the challenge on the guys' side.
For the women, Diem had to face her fear of showing herself without her wig on. She successfully took the wig off, led by the kind words of inspiration the other competitors gave to her. The veterans quickly took out the hated Beth, followed by the new girls. Diem ended up winning the challenge, gaining immunity from 'The Duel'.
Promptly after the challenge, Beth and Tina got into a verbal sparring match, screaming and cursing at each other. Beth pushed Tina to the limit, causing Tina to reach up and punch Beth in the face. At this point, the episode is To Be Continued. Will Tina's attack on Beth ruin her chances to continue on in the competition? We'll find out next time on 'The Duel'.
Eric
Current Ranking: 1 - Previous Ranking: None
I am ranking Eric in the first position this week. He may be more out of shape than most of the other guys, but he did win the first challenge, which I have to hand to him. I think he will stick around for a while.
Diem
Current Ranking: 2 - Previous Ranking: None
I really like Diem. I'm glad that she has successfully beaten her ovarian cancer. She showed amazing confidence in taking off her wig in front of the other players, and they all were extremely kind, raising her self-confidence about the situation. She showed a lot of heart during the challenges, winning the second challenge and ensuring her safety. She also seems to be liked by the others fairly well. She could stick around for a while.
Robin
Current Ranking: 3 - Previous Ranking: None
Like Eric, Robin won the first challenge on the female side, earning herself two airline tickets to anywhere Frontier Airlines flies, and the third position on the scoreboard this week. She appears to be a strong competitor, and will probably advance much further in the competition.
Kenny
Current Ranking: 4 - Previous Ranking: None
Kenny is in the fourth position this week, due to his win of the second challenge, also earning himself a DJ scratch system. Unfortunately for him, his win was mostly attributed to luck, and the other guys don't really seem to like him. He'll need to keep up his challenge wins if he wants to ensure his safety.
Kina
Current Ranking: 5 - Previous Ranking: None
Kina put forth a strong showing in the ring challenge, only coming up a little short to Diem. She seems to be a fairly strong competitor in the challenges, and may stick around a while if she can keep it up.
Derrick
Current Ranking: 6 - Previous Ranking: None
Derrick is always a strong competitor on the show, and I don't really expect this season to be any different. He made it to the final four on 'Fresh Meat', and as long as he isn't targeted for his strength, he could have another strong showing here as well.
Evan
Current Ranking: 7 - Previous Ranking: None
Like some of the others, we haven't really seen a lot of Evan yet, either. I really like him, and some of his comments (especially the ones on the Beth/Tina fight…"Wherever you find God, you also find the devil"…cracked me up). I am ranking him above some of the other guys strictly due to his decent performance with Coral in 'Fresh Meat'. It will be interesting to see how he fares alone.
Brad
Current Ranking: 8 - Previous Ranking: None
I really like Brad as well. He seems to be pretty strong, and he doesn't like the crap Beth and Tina dished out towards each other, either. He just wanted Diem to have her moment, which was a very sweet sentiment. I think he will do well, and hope he makes it much further into the competition.
CT
Current Ranking: 9 - Previous Ranking: None
I also really like CT. He appears to be a tough competitor as well, and treats the others well, being very playful with Diem after her great performance. It would be nice to see him make it further into the game, but I'm not sure of his chances.
Aneesa
Current Ranking: 10 - Previous Ranking: None
Aneesa lands right in the middle of the scoreboard this week. I think she will be a strong competitor, and she really seems to have a grip on what's going on behind the scenes. It will be interesting to see how she progresses.
Jodi
Current Ranking: 11 - Previous Ranking: None
I'm not quite sure what to think of Jodi. We didn't see much of her, and she hasn't yet proven to be either strong or weak in the challenges. I have no clue what her chances will be, so I'm ranking her right near the middle.
Nehemiah
Current Ranking: 12 - Previous Ranking: None
I have never been a huge fan of Nehemiah. He was quickly taken out in the swimming ring challenge, claiming that the guys must have "made a mistake". But as he himself admitted, he isn't good at swimming, and if there turns out to be many swimming challenges, he may not ever win immunity, causing the other guys to think he is an easy target.
Casey
Current Ranking: 13 - Previous Ranking: None
We didn't see much of Casey this week, as she doesn't provide the drama that Beth does. But she didn't show a very strong performance in either challenge, being one of the first women after the Key West girls out in the ring challenge. If she is challenged to a Duel, she would most likely lose.
Wes
Current Ranking: 14 - Previous Ranking: None
Wes is strong, and that could hurt his chances sooner, rather than later. He was quickly taken out in the swimming ring challenge, and the guys may try to eliminate him, as he is quite the threat.
Beth
Current Ranking: 15 - Previous Ranking: None
Beth is back, and she is up to her usual bitchy antics. I have to hand it to her, she is damn determined not to compromise with any of the girls (which I'm not so sure is a good thing). Her advantage, though, is being able to so easily get into other people's heads, like she did with Tina. She was able to get Tina to punch her, possibly causing Tina to be eliminated, and weeding out one of her strongest threats. But every girl is out for her, and unless she can win The Duels, she will be eliminated very quickly.
Tyler
Current Ranking: 16 - Previous Ranking: None
Although Tyler is from Key West, he is stronger than his fellow cast members. Although he was singled out to compete in the first Duel, he easily won, showing his strength in the challenges. He also came very close to winning the second challenge. He did make a critical mistake by challenging John. He did defeat him, but that is one less person from his season to protect him from The Duels. I'm not sure if his strength is enough to keep him from elimination.
Svetlana
Current Ranking: 17 - Previous Ranking: None
Like Paula, Svetlana is near the bottom of the scoreboard due to being a Real World: Key West member. She will most likely be quickly targeted by the veterans, and I'm not sure she is strong enough to win The Duels. She could be in trouble.
Paula
Current Ranking: 18 - Previous Ranking: None
Paula lands near the bottom of the scoreboard this week. She is from the Key West season, and will be quickly targeted by the veterans, as shown in the ring challenge when she was quickly taken out. She will have to compete well in The Duels to remain in the game.
Tina
Current Ranking: 19 - Previous Ranking: None
Tina made a huge mistake by letting Beth get into her mind. By getting physical, she let Beth win this battle. Now, Tina may have caused herself to be eliminated, ruining her chances at a nearly $200,000 prize. I don't like Beth either, but by using her mind tricks, Beth may have taken out one of her strongest enemies on the show.
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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