The Challenge season 41 final starts with helicopters, kayaks, and a $425K prize reveal

The Challenge: Vets and New Threats, season 41 finale part 1, aired on November 26, 2025. 

The episode was packed with some nail-biting moments and prize announcement by host TJ Lavin. 

The challengers started the finals with a helicopter ride, which took them to their locations where they came face to face with their challenges. 

The finals will be broadcast in 2 parts, with the first part premiering on November 26, and the winner will be announced in the second part on December 3, 2025. 

The show features 16 contestants who have previously participated on the show along with 16 new faces. 

The part 1 of the final ended when the host, TJ Lavin, revealed that the participants could choose someone else's partner if they wished. 

The Challenge season 41, episode 18: The cast face Andes course during the finals, part 1

The participants reached their final locations via helicopter to the Andes Mountains, where they were greeted by host TJ Levin. 

The contestant had to go through several checkpoints. 

The contestant had to remember the symbols and things they saw while kayaking on a river. 

For the second checkpoint, they had to match the runes and for the third checkpoint, the contestants had to solve a Sudoku-style puzzle. 

Olivia and Yeremi took a lead while Kayaking and placing the written descriptions of the relics in the correct order. 

While Turbo struggled with the language during the task, Theo forgot about the relics while Kayaking. 

Michaela got injured during the competition, which made the team fall behind. 

Ultimately, Sydney and Turbo were second in the race, followed by Theo and Adrienne. 

Michaela and Cedric were the last on the leaderboard. 

Their positions on the leaderboard during the first challenge determined who would go first for the second checkpoint. 

For the second checkpoint, the contestants had to match the runes. 

During the challenge Sydney and Turbo got a lead and moved ahead for the next phase of the competition. 

Olivia and Yeremi finished second. 

They were closely followed by Micheala and Cedric and Theo and Adrianne were the last to finish the task. 

For the third checkpoint, the contestants struggled with Sudoko style puzzle. 

In this challenge Sydney and Turbo again gained a lead by placing the right colours in the cube. 

Olivia and Yeremi were second to finish the challenge. 

In this challenge, Theo and Adrianne again struggled with the puzzle, which made run out of time. 

They had to pay penalty for their no-show during the challenge. 

The duo carried blocks with them while continuing the challenge. 

It was time for the final and fourth checkpoint, where contestants had to walk on a stair climber without touching the machine until they fall. 

For the challenge, Sydney and Turbo competed against Olivia and Yeremi. 

Turbo and Olivia quickly fell from the climber, leaving Sydney and Yeremi. 

Ultimately, Sydney was able to outshine Yeremi and won the challenge. 

Sydney and Turbo became the first team to get to the next checkpoint.  

Yeremi and Olivia faced Michaela and Cedric where they again lost to the latter. 

The duo then faced Theo and Adrianne where they defeated them and made their way ahead. 

For the fifth checkpoint, one out of two had to swim to the light and find a key. 

Sydney opted to swim from their team. 

Cedric and Yeremi went to swim from their team. 

But viewers could see a rift between Adrianne and Theo when they both refused to swim for the next round. 

She ultimately decided to swim for the fifth checkpoint. 

TJ also announced the prizes for the season where the winner will receive $425,000. 

The winner will be announced in the next episode of The Challenge: Vets and New Threats.

Stay tuned for more such updates.