Battle for a New Champion
Season 39
Presented by	T. J. Lavin
No. of contestants	24
Winner	Emanuel Neagu
Location	Pula, Croatia
No. of episodes	21 (including the two-part Reunion special)
Release
Original network	MTV
Original release	October 25, 2023 (2023-10-25) – March 6, 2024 (2024-03-06)
Season chronology
← Previous Ride or Dies

The Challenge: Battle for a New Champion is the thirty-ninth season of the MTV reality competition series The Challenge, featuring alumni from The Challenge, Are You the One? (U S.), Big Brother (UK and U.S.), Ex on the Beach (UK and U.S.), Survivor (Romania, Turkey and U.S.), Love Island (U.S.), So You Think You Can Dance, The Mole Germany, Exatlon (U.S.), Ibiza Weekender, The Bachelor & The Bachelorette (Australia), 12 Dates of Christmas, The Circle (U.S.), The Only Way Is Essex, Shipwrecked, and The Royal World competing for a share at up to a $500,000 prize. It is the first season without a full-time contestant from The Real World and the first flagship season without a first-time contestant; the season also features no prior winners.^[1]

The season premiered on October 25, 2023 with a simulcast on MTV2,^[2][3] preceded by a launch special titled "Countdown Begins" which aired on October 18, 2023.^[4]

Format

Battle for a New Champion features 24 contestants who have previously competed on The Challenge but have not won a season. The season's prize pot starts at $300,000, however, money can be earned or lost based on the outcomes of certain challenges and eliminations throughout the season.

The season has three formats (or "phases") called Control, Chaos, and Conquest.^[5]

• Control (episodes 1-4): Players all compete together as one group to complete a challenge, if they are successful, $50,000 is added to the prize pot. Afterward, the contestants vote for one player (of either gender for the first three weeks and male for the fourth week due to uneven numbers) to compete in the elimination round in the Arena. The player who receives the most votes, must then call out any player of the same gender as their opponent for the elimination round. The winner remains in the game while the loser is eliminated.
• Chaos (episodes 5-14): Players compete in challenges in pairs or in teams. The winners are immune and earn the power to nominate one player of the designated gender to potentially compete in the Arena. The house, besides the winners, then vote to nominate a second player of the same gender to potentially compete in the Arena. At the Arena, a former champion of The Challenge enters to compete against one of the nominated contestants, or a contestant of their choice, depending on the outcome of the Draw they partake in. If the selected contestant defeats the Champion, they remain in the competition, however, they are eliminated if they are defeated.
• Conquest (episodes 15-17): Players compete in challenges and eliminations individually. The winner of each daily challenge becomes immune while the last-place player (of either gender) is eliminated. The nominations are determined by a chain of safety where the challenge winner selects another contestant (regardless of gender) to save from elimination; the saved contestant then selects the next contestant to save, with this process continuing until three contestants are not saved. The three contestants who are not saved compete in a private elimination round. The winner(s) remain in the competition while the losers are eliminated.

After all three phases, the final seven contestants compete in the Final Challenge to determine the champion of the season.

Twists

• Champions: During the "Chaos" format, ten former champions of The Challenge appear to compete against contestants in a one-off elimination round. If the champions win their elimination, they are awarded $10,000 from the season's prize pot.
• The Draw: During the "Chaos" format, the entering Champion partakes in the Draw by randomly choosing between three covered poles to determine their opponent for the elimination round: one pole with the name of each nominated player and a third "Chaos" pole which allows them to choose any non-immune contestant as their opponent.
• Purge Challenges: During the "Conquest" format, players who finish last were immediately eliminated from the game.
• Double Elimination: Episode 16 and 17's Conquest Elimination were double eliminations where only one contestant remained in the game while the two losing contestants were eliminated.

Contestants

Champions

Although not in contention to win the season, ten former champions of The Challenge appeared during the season to compete in elimination rounds against contestants.^[6][7]

Champion of

Gameplay

The Challengers are first brought to the Arena where they must figure out that they must team up to complete a series of puzzles in order to unlock cots, food, and alcohol for an overnight stay in the Arena.

Challenge games

• Hole Control: The group must enter a deep mud pit, scale a wall to get out with 24 large poles and arrange them to depict a Challenge logo within 10 minutes. If they are successful, $50,000 is added to the prize pot.
  • Result: Failed
• Ball Control: The group has 23 minutes to collect 23 balls in the water, with the names of each remaining contestant on them, and drop them into a chute at the top of a tall platform. To reach the chute, they must climb and clip their life jackets to hanging ropes to form two human ladders. Additionally, each ball can only be placed in the chute by the player assigned to it. Each deposited ball is worth $2,000, and a bonus $4,000 awarded if all 23 balls are in the chute at the end of the challenge.
  • Result: Failed ($6,000 earned)
• Control Tower: Sixteen group members divide themselves among eight numbered buggies, each with one driver and one passenger. The remaining six group members must solve a math equation, then, from a control tower, direct the buggy drivers to their correct positions to replicate the equation. To fully replicate the equation, the passengers must also arrange large plus and minus signs into their correct position. The group then repeat this process, attempting to solve and replicate as many of the four equations as possible within 30 minutes. For each equation solved and replicated within 30 minutes, $10,000 is added to the pot, and a bonus $10,000 is awarded if all four equations are completed.
  • Result: Passed ($50,000 earned)
• Under Control: The group must swim to 25 buoys in the water, collect puzzle pieces submerged below, and use them to solve five puzzles located on floating pontoons. Each group member must collect at least one puzzle piece, or wait for help from someone who has collected their first piece, before they can help solve the puzzles. They must then swim each completed puzzle to a final platform. For each puzzle brought to the platform within 15 minutes, $5,000 is added to the pot, and a bonus $25,000 is awarded if all five puzzles are at the final platform.
  • Result: Passed ($50,000 earned)
• Upside Down Whirled: Played in male-female teams of two. Teams begin strapped to a propeller which is mounted to the side of a truck. As the truck speeds down a runway, thereby spinning the propeller, team members attempt to collect rings at the top of the truck and land them on targets and poles along the runway. Landing a ring on a target is worth 5 points while landing one on a pole is worth 10 points. The team with the most points wins.
  • Winners: Corey & Ravyn
• Bingo Bango: Played in two teams of six and one team of seven. Each team begins with a five-by-five bingo board. One at a time, host T.J. Lavin drops numbered balls into a mud pit and one member of the assigned gender from each team enters the mud pit attempting to collect the balls and slot them in their board. The first team to line up five balls either vertically, horizontally or diagonally wins.
  • Winners: Berna, Colleen, Emanuel, Horacio, Kyland and Zara
• Working the Angles: Played in five teams of three and one team of four, with one team competing at a time. Teams begin on a large pyramid suspended over water which has a puzzle key on one of the faces. They must work together to recreate the key using puzzle pieces at a second pyramid, swinging on a rope to get there. The team with the fastest time wins.
  • Winners: Big T, Horacio and Kyland
• Tower of Power: Played in two teams of nine. Each team has a tower surrounded by two gates, and have 30 minutes to use provided items to barricade the gates as much as they can. After the 30 minutes are up, teams switch positions and attempt to break into their opponent's tower. The first team to break into their opponent's tower and lower the flag at the top wins.
  • Winners: Berna, Corey, Emanuel, James, Jay, Moriah, Nurys, Ravyn and Zara
• Doom Sticks: Played in male-female pairs and one team of three, teams compete in up to three events. For the first two events, the last place team is eliminated from the challenge while the winners must then eliminate another two teams. Afterwards, the team that wins the third and final event wins the challenge.
  • Event 1 (Speed Sticks): Teams begin with five sticks which they must transfer to a rack at the other end of a field, one at a time. After depositing each stick, teams can bring another team's stick back to the start to slow them down.
  • Event 2 (Power Sticks): Teams must pull a sled between two ends of a field, loading one heavy stick onto the sled each time they reach an end, continuing until they collect five sticks and cross the finish line.
  • Event 3 (Pick Up Sticks): Teams must use a pole to hook and transfer seven three-dimensional puzzle pieces to the end of a field, one at a time, before using them to solve a puzzle.
  • Winners: Asaf, Ravyn and Zara
• Sky Ball: Played in two teams of eight. Four team members begin inside a suspended sphere filled with 130 balls, while the remaining four members remain on the ground. The team members on the ground solve a puzzle to reveal a code which the team members in the sphere use to unlock two small openings before dropping all the balls through the openings. The team members on the ground must then collect the dropped balls and place them in their team's pyramid structure. The first team to place all 130 balls in their pyramid wins.
  • Winners: Asaf, Colleen, Emanuel, Horacio, Jay, Moriah, Ravyn and Zara
• Banquet of Champions: Played in four teams of four. Teams must transfer three numbered boxes from a field to their team's table to form a code which unlocks four dishes: brain soup, skin and colon stew, boar snout and ear, and a "spicy surprise" drink. Before picking up each box, teams answer a trivia question; if they answer correctly, they can take the lighter version of the box, however, if they answer incorrectly, they must carry the heavier version. Afterwards, the first team to consume their four dishes wins.
  • Winners: Colleen, Corey, James and Moriah
• We All Fall Down: Played in four teams of four in a tournament format where the two teams that win their first matchup compete against each other in a final round. For each matchup, two teams begin on a platform above water with a hanging wall between them, and attempt to push the wall into their opponents to make them fall into the water. The team that pushes all members of the opposing team into the water wins the matchup. The team that wins the final round wins the challenge.
  • Winners: Berna, Ed, Horacio and Zara
• Getting Tanked: Played in four teams of four, with one team competing at a time. Three team members enter a water tank on the back of a tank truck, which is filled with dozens of floating letter tiles, while the fourth team member remains on top of the tank. As the truck swerves down a runway, the team members in the tank must search for letter tiles needed to spell the phrase "Challenge Champion" and hand them to the team member on top of the trailer, who slots the letters into a board to form the phrase. The team with the fastest time wins.
  • Winners: Berna, Corey, Ed and Olivia
• Off in the Distance: Played in four teams of four. Teams carry a pole and race down a trail to three checkpoints, and complete each checkpoint to obtain bags of puzzle pieces. After completing a checkpoint, teams must bring the puzzle pieces back to the starting point (using the pole) before continuing to the next checkpoint. The first team to complete all three checkpoints, collect all their puzzle pieces and solve the puzzle wins.
  • Checkpoint 1: Each team member must swing a rope against an overhead saw to cut the rope and release a bag of puzzle pieces.
  • Checkpoint 2: Each team member must maneuver one bag of puzzle pieces to the end of a rope to release it.
  • Checkpoint 3: Teams must count the number of squares in an image and multiply the total by 39 to form the combination required to unlock their bags of puzzle pieces.
  • Winners: James, Kyland, Michele and Moriah
• Dark Tide: Five players at a time begin strapped to a speeding boat and are dropped into the water once the boat reaches a certain point. Players must swim to a paddleboard and paddle to collect three floating rings and return them to shore. Once onshore, players must then throw one of their rings around a pole from behind a line. The player with the fastest time wins while the player with the slowest time is eliminated.
  • Winner: Ed
  • Eliminated: Ravyn
• End of the Line: Played in five heats, players begin on a platform above water and harnessed to a rope. They must descend down the rope and use the stopping device on their harness to stop as close to the bottom of the rope as possible. Players are disqualified from the challenge if they fall into the water after failing to stop. The player who stops closest to the end of the rope in the fastest time wins and also receives a $15,000 cash prize. If multiple players are disqualified, the player who falls into the water the slowest is eliminated.
  • Winner: Jay
  • Eliminated: Ed
• Drum Roll: Players begin on a rolling drum above water, holding onto a rope, and attempt to stay on the drum as long as possible. The last five players standing then compete in a winner's round while the first five players to fall into the water compete in a loser's round. The last player standing in the winner's round wins the challenge while the first player to fall into the water in the loser's round is eliminated.
  • Winner: Berna
  • Eliminated: Michele

Arena games

• Fall Out: Players begin in suspended in a glass-bottom cube. They must remove tiles from the cube before pulling a rope to retrieve a hammer and using it to smash through the glass floor. The first player to finish wins.
  • Played by: Big T vs. Jessica
• Might Light: Played in three rounds. Each round, players collect illuminated cylinders from the boundary of the Arena and place them into slots of a wall in the center, attempting to line up as many rows of three as possible. The player with the most rows of three at the end of the three rounds wins.
  • Played by: Chauncey vs. James
• Dirty Deeds: Played in three rounds. Each round, players search through a pile of dirt containing three items, and attempt to bring them into their basket at the boundary of a circle. Physical contact is allowed between players within the circle to steal items, however items cannot be stolen once deposited. The first player to deposit two of the three items into their basket wins the round. The first player to win two rounds wins.
  • Played by: Jujuy vs. Ravyn
• How I Roll: Each player has a rotatable track and nine balls. They must align the track with nine baskets, and roll the balls down the track to have them land in each basket. The first player to land all nine balls wins.
  • Played by: Hughie vs. Kyland
• King of the Hills: Played in three rounds. In the Arena are two ramps, each with three lights at the top. One at a time, a random light illuminates and the first player to press the button at that light wins a point. The player with the most points after one minute wins the round. The first player to win two rounds wins.
  • Played by: Ciarran vs. Jordan
• Loaded Barrel: Players begin inside a barrel and must roll themselves to collect five bags of puzzle pieces around the Arena before using them to solve a puzzle. The first player to solve the puzzle wins.
  • Played by: Big T vs. Kaz
• Totally Mental: Players must place ten crates of miscellaneous items in a line, then count the contents of each crate and arrange the crates in numerical order based on the counts. The first player to correctly order all ten crates wins.
  • Played by: Callum vs. Devin
• Pole in the Storm: Players begin in the center of the Arena with both hands on a pole. The first player to wrestle the pole out of their opponent's hands two out of three times wins.
  • Played by: Big T vs. Kaycee
• Going Under: Players must collect puzzle pieces submerged in a water tank and arrange them to match an answer key, which can only be accessed by pulling a rope to lower the board into the tank. The first player to finish wins.
  • Played by: Melissa vs. Tori
• Fire Walker: Players begin suspended on a hexagonal platform which has one fire bowl branching from each corner. They must rotate and maneuver the platform using their bodyweight to ignite each bowl at nearby flamethrower. The first player to light all six bowls wins.
  • Played by: Darrell vs. Kyland
• Chain Reaction: Players must pull a multicolored chain through a pyramid to retrieve a code at the end and use it to unlock a box of 100 colored pegs. They must then arrange the pegs on a board to recreate the ten color sequences on the chain they pulled. The first player to finish wins.
  • Played by: Laurel vs. Ravyn
• Block Head: Players must transfer nine large cubic puzzle pieces from the boundary of the Arena to their respective platform in the center and use the pieces to solve a puzzle. The first player to solve the puzzle wins.
  • Played by: Cara Maria vs. Michele
• What's Going Down: Each player begins at the top of a five-level tower with ten numbered balls at the bottom. They must slide the planks that make of the floor of each level out so they can descend to the bottom of the tower, collect all ten balls and place them in a chute at the top in numerical order. The first player to finish wins.
  • Played by: Brad vs. Kyland
• Mind Grind: Players must push a 250-pound wheel around a circle and into a hole at the end to raise a partially-completed math equation. They must search a box of number tiles for the missing numbers and place them in their correct positions to solve the equation. The first player to finish wins.
  • Played by: Asaf vs. CT
• Conquest Elimination (Episode 15): Players race to complete three stations, in any order, to obtain a flag for each station and return them to the start. Each station is composed of an obstacle and a puzzle. The first two players to complete all three stations win.
  • Station 1: Players must cross a balance beam then form six three-letter words on a word ring puzzle.
  • Station 2: Players must crawl under a net before solving a puzzle which requires them to rearrange stacks of colored discs so that each stack is the same color.
  • Station 3: Players must scale a wall before solving a Sudoku puzzle.
  • Played by: Horacio vs. Kyland vs. Zara
• Conquest Elimination (Episode 16): Players race to complete three stations, in any order, to obtain a flag for each station and return them to the start. Each station is composed of an obstacle and a puzzle. The first player to complete all three stations wins.
  • Station 1: Players must climb over a wall then use geometric puzzle pieces to recreate a given image.
  • Station 2: Players must cross a balance beam then pair together chains so that the links in each pair add up to 39.
  • Station 3: Players must crawl under a net, use blocks to build three equal stacks on one end of a seesaw-like apparatus, then pull a rope to balance out the apparatus without toppling their stacks.
  • Played by: Horacio vs. Kyland vs. Nurys
• Conquest Elimination (Episode 17): Players race to complete three stations, in any order, to obtain a flag for each station and return them to the start. Each station is composed of an obstacle and a puzzle. The first player to complete all three stations wins.
  • Station 1: Players must cross a balance beam then turn on or off a series of switches to replicate a display shown through a small hole.
  • Station 2: Players must scale a wall then solve a slide puzzle.
  • Station 3: Players must crawl under a net, enter a barrel of ice and search for 15 number tiles. After finding all 15 number tiles, they must place them under the names of the 15 eliminated contestants from the season to match the order they were eliminated.
  • Played by: James vs. Nurys vs. Olivia

Final Challenge

The final seven contestants compete in the Final Challenge which has three phases – Control, Chaos and Conquest – mirroring the phases of the season.

Day one

For the Control phase, players work as a group to complete a challenge. If they are successful, the prize pot remains at $356,000; otherwise, the pot is reduced by $16,000. Afterwards, contestants vote for one player (of either gender) to compete in an elimination. The player who receives the most votes then calls out any player as their opponent.

• Control Challenge: Each group member must consume a drink made of tuna, beetroot, and mayonnaise. Then, working collectively with a time-limit of 60 minutes, the group are tethered together and race to a fortress where they must search for 19 chests containing colored ropes. After finding three ropes of the same color, or the nine matching ropes in a special golden chest, one player disconnects from the group and returns those ropes to the start. Once all players return to the start with their ropes, the group must connect the ropes to poles to form a symbol.
  • Result: Failed (prize pot reduced to $340,000)
• Control Elimination: Players must collect three bags of blocks before stacking the blocks on an unsteady table which must be balanced using their leg. The first player to finish wins while the loser is eliminated from the Final Challenge.
  • Played by: Corey vs. Jay
  • Eliminated: Jay (7th place)

For the Chaos Phase, players compete in a challenge where winner earns the power to select one contestant to compete in an elimination. The selected contestant then participates in the Draw by selecting between six covered poles to determine their opponent in the elimination. Four of the poles contain the names of the non-immune finalists while two poles allow the selected player to choose any player as their opponent.

• Chaos Challenge: Players compete, in teams of two which alternate for each checkpoint, in five timed checkpoints along a trail. For the last four checkpoints, teams time out if they are unable to complete the checkpoint after an extended time. The player with the fastest overall time for all five checkpoints wins.
  • Checkpoint #1: Teams must untangle a rope wrapped in a spherical cage, bring the rope past the finish line then roll the cage past the finish line.
  • Checkpoint #2: Teams paddle a kayak around a buoy and return to shore before using geometric puzzle pieces to recreate a given image
  • Checkpoint #3: Teams must answer a trivia question, swing a hanging chest with the correct answer on it against an overhead saw to release it, and transport the chest to a designated point. Teams then repeat this process for a second chest. If teams answer incorrectly and saw an incorrect chest, they must take that chest, which is heavier, to the designated point instead.
  • Checkpoint #4: Each team member must consume three jalapeño shots, a lamb brain and eyeball soup, and a "stomach lining surprise" dish.
  • Checkpoint #5: Each team member must consume a drink made of tuna, beetroot, and mayonnaise. Teams must then unravel and release two hanging bags of balls from an overhead structure. Afterwards, each team member must hold up one side of a bumpy track, align the track, and roll a ball down the track to have it land in a box at the end.
  • Winner: Emanuel
• Chaos Elimination: Players solve a puzzle which requires them to fit six blocks inside a square box. In an aspect unaired in the episode, players could also run to collect a clue for the puzzle at the risk of losing time.^[8] The first player to solve the puzzle wins while the loser is eliminated from the Final Challenge.
  • Played by: Moriah vs. Nurys
  • Eliminated: Moriah (6th place)
• Overnight Stage: Players must remove all their tiles from a box behind a mesh screen with small holes. The first three players to finish can select, in the order they finish, an item to spend the night with - a blanket, a pillow or a chair. Additionally, the first two players to finish can also sabotage other players by adding more tiles to their boxes. Afterwards, players must spend the night awake on a beach.

Day two

For the Conquest Phase, players complete the Conquest Challenge which consists of three checkpoints. The first player to finish all three checkpoints and cross the finish line is declared the winner of Battle for a New Champion and receives $250,000 from the prize pot; second place receives $60,000; third place receives $30,000.

• Conquest Challenge: Players swim 2,000 metres (6,600 ft) to an island where they race to complete three checkpoints before crossing the finish line.
  • Checkpoint #1: Players race to the top of a 700-foot cliff before consuming a drink made of tuna, beetroot, and mayonnaise to have their time stopped. Afterwards, players must rappel down the side of the cliff (in the order they finished the drink) and solve a tangram puzzle at the bottom, or time out after 15 minutes, before proceeding to the next checkpoint.
  • Checkpoint #2: Players must consume a drink made of tuna, beetroot, and mayonnaise. Afterwards, they must dive under a cage to view an answer key with the names of former champions of The Challenge, and recreate the answer key onshore.
  • Checkpoint #3: Players race to complete five stations, in any order, to obtain a flag for each station and return them to the start. Each station is composed of an obstacle and a puzzle or task. After completing all five stations, players can proceed to the finish line.
    • Station 1: Players must climb over two barriers then solve a puzzle which requires them to rearrange colored discs so that each stack is the same color.
    • Station 2: Players must cross a balance beam and solve a Sudoku puzzle.
    • Station 3: Players must climb over three cubes then use a sledgehammer to flatten a barrel so that it fits in a shallow box.
    • Station 4: Players must maneuver through a cage covered with ropes. Afterwards, they must use blocks to build three equal stacks on one end of a seesaw-like apparatus, then pull a rope to balance out the apparatus for 10 seconds without toppling their stacks.
    • Station 5: Players must scale a wall, count the number of circles and dots in an image, then use the numbers to solve an equation.

Final results

• Winner: Emanuel ($250,000)
• Runner-up: Nurys ($60,000)
• Third place: Colleen ($30,000)
• Fourth place: Corey
• Fifth place: Berna

Game summary

Bold indicates the contestant was selected in the Draw to compete against a champion in the Arena.

Episode progress

Color key:

  The contestant completed the Final Challenge and won

  The contestant completed the Final Challenge and lost

  The contestant was eliminated during the Final Challenge

  The contestant won the daily challenge and was immune from elimination

  The contestant was nominated for the Arena and saved by not being chosen to compete

  The contestant was not selected for the Arena

  The contestant won the elimination in the Arena

  The contestant lost in the Arena and was eliminated

  The contestant placed last in the daily challenge and was eliminated

Team progress

Episodes 5-14: Chaos Phase
Each challenge is played in pairs or in teams. For paired challenges, teams are randomly selected. For team challenges, teams are randomly selected or determined based on where contestants are standing.
Episodes 18-19: Final Challenge
Throughout the Chaos portion of the Final Challenge, players were required to play with a teammate throughout the five checkpoints. Teams were selected randomly by TJ.

Voting progress

Selection progress

Episodes

Reunion special

The two-part reunion special aired on February 28 and March 6, 2024 and was hosted by entertainment personality Maria Menounos. Cast members attended in Amsterdam, Netherlands.