We Know Who Will Win ‘The Challenge: Free Agents’

Why can’t we, collectively as a society, quit The Challenge? Because just when we think we’re out, they pull us back in with a surprise second elimination starring C.T. and Johnny Bananas, back together again for the first time since CT wore Bananas like a First Day of School backpack. This time they’re going head-to-head with…an elaborate series of puzzles? But those are the whimsical ways of The Challenge: Free Agents — sometimes your twice-daily Crossfit regimen serves you in climbing over a 50-foot wall, and sometimes you simply have to do a tangram faster than your mortal enemy. And with Bananas taking out CT, and Laurel ousting Theresa in the final “Draw,” that leaves Zach, Devyn, Nani, Johnny Portland, Laurel, and Johnny Bananas to battle it out in the final challenge. So out of that group, who will actually win The Challenge ? I've got a few predictions.

The final challenge is sure to weed out some of the remaining contestants. Climbing Volcano Villarrica, one of Chile’s most active volcanoes, is surely cut out for stone cold veterans like Laurel and Johnny Bananas; but throw in a few puzzles, and maybe Devyn could stand a chance to not lose quite brutally. Or, if tearing phonebooks in half is involved, perhaps Zach could take home the glory. You can really never tell who is going to eat a Chilean Seabass head the fastest, or stand on a rock overnight the longest, but with the addition of partner-switching, and calculating each player’s overall time at the end, Free Agents might just give each player their best shot at "killin’ it." Here are our predictions for who’s taking home the final prize on Thursday night's finale, and who might not make it out of this alive.

Not a Chance

Devyn has said herself that she just wants to finish. And given that last we left her in Chile, rescue rafts were picking her up after a kayak flip, her already low expectations aren’t looking too achievable. In MTV's sneak peek (above), Devyn and Zach are shown to still be in the final after their near drowning (“I’m dying!”), but it’s unlikely that Devyn and her particular brand of athletic prowess will be able to over come that first-leg time in the final count.

Similarly, Johnny Portland getting Devyn as his partner on the last leg, when she’ll be most exhausted, is not promising for his final time. Johnny is athletic and charming enough to have made it this far, but it’s been mostly luck that’s gotten him through Free Agents without ever having seen an Elimination. And here, in the grandest Elimination of them all, luck won’t cut it. But, cheers to a rookie in the final, that’s always fun!

Wouldn’t It Be Nice?

Zach has done the unthinkable for a player in this game during the Free Agents season—he’s become likable. And when you consider his, ahem, close-minded run on The Real World, that’s even more impressive. But it seems this Thor of a man has finally opened is mind and grown into his personality, and plenty of people are rooting for him to succeed. He’ll have the first leg to get past (one more time…"I’m dying!”), but Zach is a physical specimen and will likely perform well with Nany and Laurel, forecasting at least a respectable second place finish for the mostly affable lug.

Nani has also had a fairly redeeming season, wooing the sweetest little guy in the house and competing well enough to get herself to the final. It’s probably not her time to take a win just yet, but she’s earning her stripes and we know she’s a fighter, so she definitely stands a chance.

Winner, Winner, $350,000 Dinner

Once the final six were set, with CT and Cara Maria out, it was always going to be Laurel and Johnny Bananas. With the collective calculation of the final time and the promise of a challenging puzzle course, there’s the possibility of a narrow finish in this challenge, but the number one spots still seem all but filled. Statistically, Laurel stands the best chance, as she’s likely to work well with each of her three partners. It appears Johnny is lucky enough to have Devyn, a pretty smart cookie, on his team for the puzzles portion, but he also seems to be giving her a piggyback ride into the round.

Every second will count in this challenge, not just the final few. Though it could technically be anybody's game, in the end, we probably won't be too surprised by the final results.

Images: MTV