Who won The Challenge: USA? (Season finale recap)

With the end in sight, the teams selected at the fourth checkpoint were:

• Danny and Justine
• Tyson and Cayla
• Domenick and Sarah

Finale Competition 4: Before the players concluded the first day of the final and got some much-needed sleep, they had to move heaps of dirt to a designated area. To avoid burnout, the teams could alternate between who sat out and got rest and who worked relentlessly.

Sad to say, Angela, this heat’s sole competitor, didn’t have the luxury of choice.

Initially, Angela did participate in the competition, but she ultimately decided to take the two-point penalty rather than shovel all night long and have little to no energy for the next day.

As was expected, Angela’s decision was no different from quitting, as all the women before her had to tough it out alone at one point. T. J. Lavin was not impressed with Angela’s performance, nor did he appreciate that everyone worked so hard all night while Angela took the easy way out. And so, he was left with no choice but to eliminate the final Big Brother alum from the final.

Disqualified: Angela Rummans

Everyone played for themselves in the last leg of the final. Had this been the way of the game earlier, it’s safe to assume that everyone would be ecstatic to work alone. But with the weather taking a turn for the worst, someone to motivate you and keep you warm from the rain and snow were the biggest desires of the remaining players.

Finale Competition 5: The remaining six players had to prove they still had the endurance and intellect to run a 10-mile-long run riddled with various puzzles.

At mile four, each competitor had to solve a giant jigsaw puzzle.

Tyson blazed through the puzzle with little to no issue, and the rest of the competitors, except Sarah, followed close behind. Sarah, unfortunately, couldn’t quite make out the final solution, mainly because she was extremely cold from the freezing rain, so she was left in the dust while everyone else moved forward to the next leg.

At mile seven, players were greeted by a very complicated sudoku puzzle.

Danny, who does sudoku puzzles in his spare time, finished the puzzle rather quickly, but the same definitely couldn’t be said for Tyson, Justine, Domenick, and Cayla. These players found it impossible to solve the puzzle while also suffering from shivers and frostbite, so one by one they all dropped out.

Domenick was the first to call it quits, but not too far behind him was Justine. Cayla initially thought she could crack the code, yet when the stress of the cold started to set in, she decided it was time to end her fight.

Finally, after realizing that he solved the puzzle incorrectly and would have to start again, Tyson, the man who dominated the entire season, bowed out of the final.

Disqualified: Tyson Apostol, Domenick Abbate, Cayla Platt, and Justine Ndiba

Who won The Challenge: USA?

With Danny being the only male competitor who finished the sudoku puzzle and climb to the top of Cerro López peak, he became the first winner of The Challenge: USA.

At first, it seemed Danny was the only person to rise to the top. However, Sarah’s indomitable spirit said otherwise. She solved her first puzzle, travailed up the mountain, finished the second puzzle that only one other person could complete, and finally made her way to the flag to ring in her victory.

Winners: Danny McCray and Sarah Lacina

And there you have it, the conclusion to one of the most hair-raising seasons in Challenge history. Perhaps this isn’t the last of The Challenge: USA. Perhaps it is. Either way, we are super proud of every competitor this season and hope to see them again!

The entirety of The Challenge: USA is now streaming exclusively on Paramount+.