‘The Challenge: War of the Worlds 2’ power rankings after ep. 14

We’re on to the final!

When we last left MTV’s reality competition show The Challenge, rookie Turbo ended up winning $1 million after a brutal final.

This season? It’s the sequel: War of the Worlds 2, which pits a British team against a squad from the United States, although there are some twists that involve some “free agents” joining both sides.

As always, we task our resident Challenge expert Charles Curtis to power rank each of the competitors after each week. Here’s his take after the 14th episode.

WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD!

This week: THE FINAL IS HERE! But before we get there, the UK team beat the Americans and CT swung a vote that ended up breaking his alliance with the Paulie/Cara Maria group.

Normally, we rank each of the players in The Challenge each week. But because next week is the final (!), we’ll preview the teams as a whole ahead of the showdown (and I’ll sprinkle in some observations from Wednesday’s ep).

The Americans

Members: Ashley, Cara Maria, Kam, Leroy, Ninja Natalie, Paulie, Zach

There is something to be said about having a smaller, more efficient squad. But I don’t necessarily see a lot of holes here. Even Ninja Natalie — who has spent the season being ripped by Zach — is strong. As Ashley proved in the elimination she faced again Nany, she’s in the kind of shape to run and has a brain for puzzles. Zach brings the height and strength, and I can’t think of a better combination of all-around skills (including experience) than Paulie, Cara Maria, Kam and Leroy.

The one weakness I see here is swimming. This season has placed particular emphasis on it, and this week’s challenge — Mine the Cart, in which competitors got into mining carts suspended in the air and collected medallions, all while their opponent swam to a saw to cut them down — proved once again that the better swimmers are on the other side. Jordan completely dominated that one as the designated swimmer, and that could end up being an x-factor in the final.

The UK

Members: CT, Dee, Jordan, Rogan, Tori

This is where I get to talk about how CT made absolutely the right call during the elimination vote. There’s no way he was going to send in Tori, one of his own team members, knowing that she could help him win some money in the final. That’s what made War of the Worlds 2 so good — players have to weigh whether they want to stick with their alliances or risk losing a competitor who could ultimately help them win a title.

And that’s why CT was smart. At this point, who cares if he breaks his alliance with Paulie and Cara Maria? He’s a seasoned vet who might not have too many more Challenge seasons in him. He might as well attempt to weaken the opposition while keeping the core of the UK team intact. And that’s what he did by picking Tori for the tribunal (and yes, Dee was right to be nervous in that spot knowing how the numbers broke down).

I agree that this group of five is strong as heck. You could question the experience here, but Jordan is a two-time winner, CT is obviously a veteran of many a final (and he’s won), and Rogan has proven he’s in shape for the finale.

I think it’s neck and neck, but if we’re doing power rankings, I’ll lean Team USA … but not by much.

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