Christmas Special

== Summary ==
Gauntlet: Christmas Special is a special one-off season with a unique set-up. It took place after the series' supposed cancellation on November 6, 2023. This season was exclusive to New York contestants. It is heavily inspired by RuPaul's Drag Race.
== Format ==
This season used a PPE (Points Per Episode) score system. This score varies depending on where the contestants place in challenges. WIN receives 5 points, HIGH receives 4, SAFE receives 3, LOW receives 2, BTM2 receives 1 and ELIM receives 0. The total score is divided by the number of cycles the player went through. This is necessary as season relies on the contestants' performance, not just their survival.
An individual challenge will occur, where everyone will place on the spectrum except for two contestants, who will be in the bottom two. The safe contestants will then vote amongst them, and the player with the most votes will be sent home. This will occur for the first four cycles until there are three players left. At final three, the contestant with the lowest PPE will be eliminated, and the final two will face off to determine the winner!
== Cast ==
Photo	Name 	Debut Season 	PPE Score	Placement
 	Natalie Aponte 	Mystery Island	0 	7th Place
 	Ailish O'Hara 	Dynamic Duos 	1.5 	6th Place
 	Alison Lattimer 	Y2K 	1 	5th Place
 	Kathlyn Pearl 	Dynamic Duos 	2.5 	4th Place
 	Lady Madonna McCarthy	Dynamic Duos 	1.5 	3rd Place
 	Stella Evans 	Resolutions 	3.25 	Runner-up
 	Ayla Aponte 	Dynamic Duos 	4.5 	Winner
== The Season ==
The season premiered on December 1, 2023 at 4:22pm EST. Everyone began reminiscing about their old memories from past seasons, leaving new contestant Alison just standing there, alone and scared. The first challenge was Music Mania, much to Kathlyn's excitement. She wanted to recreate her epic win by using Google Slides over Canva. To no one's surprise, Ailish and Kathlyn started beefing. Stella, Lady, Ayla, and Alison teamed up to try to end the discourse as soon as possible. Ayla made it clear in her video diary that she does not trust Kathlyn, but is much more weary of Ailish. Kathlyn won the challenge! Ayla was a close second. Stella and Ailish were both safe. Alison was in danger, but safe. Natalie and Lady were in the bottom two, and Natalie went home by a vote of 5-0.
A brand-new challenge, Storytime, came next! Stella reminisced about Gaga's Bad Kids opposing the Perfect Illusionists. Ailish wrote about Wes McKinley being obsessed with Shrek. Alison wrote about being a mischievous elf. Kathlyn continued her Love Island trilogy while Lady wrote a SAW themed story where Stella fucking died. Ayla wrote a lesbian love story with transgender Santa. Overall, Stella won! Ayla placed high where Lady was safe. Kathlyn placed low and Alison and Ailish landed in the bottom two. By a vote of 4-0, Ailish was the next to go.
The Roast was next, another new challenge. Ayla was feeling really bad and Kathlyn was fearing her safety yet again. Lady was feeling pumped! She did not win though as Ayla dominated, with the best joke being about greasy hair and Troye Sivan. Kathlyn had low expectations but did well and placed high. Lady was very accurate with the Boston prostitution predictions. Alison did really well with what she was given, and Stella was funny, but repetitive. They landed in the bottom two and Alison was voted out 3-0.
Photo Roulette was next and played the exact same day. Ayla won, Stella was safe, and Kathlyn and Lady landed in the bottom. Sticking to their original alliance, Kathlyn was voted out 2-0. Afterwards, Lady was eliminated due to having the lowest PPE score, which was very unfortunate as she was killing the competition, but just fell short.
Ayla and Stella were the final two, and they faced off in That's Hot. Stella made Christmas cupcakes with the help of Kathlyn and Lady while Ayla made sesame chicken and rice. After being sent to the two judges, it was a unanimous decision regarding the winner. Based on presentation and description, Ayla won the season! Stella placed runner-up.
== Trivia ==
* This season is technically an extension of Mystery Island.
* The events of this season are separate from the main series, and placements/game events have no impact on existing history.