Invasion Of The Champions

**Invasion Of The Champions** is the ninth season of *The Challenge*.

## Description

The Challenge: Invasion of the Champions brings together 20 Underdogs to battle across a series of contests for the chance to move out of squalor and into typical Challenge luxury, The Oasis! Just when the lucky ones get comfortable, they’ll find the game is far from over. The final crop of Underdogs will have to face down eight proven Champions for their share at the $350,000 prize. With devastating elimination rounds, truly baffling hookups and the first-ever three-day final on the way, Season 9 may just prove to be the most unpredictable and gripping yet!

## Format

The game started off with 20 Underdogs (players who have yet to win a challenge) who get dropped off a boat and onto a beach, where they were living in "The Shelter." They compete individually in challenges, followed by an elimination round.The male and female winners of the challenge would be safe from elimination, and earn their ticket to "The Oasis" — the season house. The last-place finishers of each gender automatically went straight into elimination for the first challenge.

In the second challenge, the challenge winners will choose a player of the opposite gender to go into the elimination. The remainder of the cast then voted in who goes against them for the first and second challenge. The males voted for the females, and vice versa.

In the third challenge, and the last chance to earn a ticket to the Oasis, the winners will be safe from elimination, and the two remaining players of each gender will automatically compete against each other. In the elimination, each gender will compete. The winners of the elimination round would return to the game, and earn a ticket to The Oasis. The losers of the elimination round go home. Players could not go into The Oasis until every ticket had been earned. Players who earned their ticket to the Oasis will be exempt from elimination and will not compete in challenges until the Champions enter the game.

In Episode 10, eight of the toughest champions will enter the game, which will become a team competition - Underdogs vs. Champions. Each challenge will be designated as either an Underdog or a Champion elimination known as "The Fortress". The winning team will earn $10,000, $15,000, or $30,000 in their team bank account. The best performing male and female of the team designated for the challenge will then choose one player of each gender to go into the elimination. The remainder of the cast will then vote in the players who will go against the nominated players in The Fortress. The winners return to the game, and the losers are eliminated.

In the final challenge, the teams are dispersed and the money banked from the challenges are split amongst the respective team members. The remaining money in the pot is determined by final placement.

Money for finalists is split as follows:

* **Winners:** $450,000 each
* **Runners-Up:** $50,000 each
* **Third Place:** $0 each

### Twists

* **The Shelter:** Low announced to the starting cast of the season that they would be staying in a run-down shelter at the start of the game rather than the traditional luxury house. In order to earn a spot in the luxury house, named The Oasis, players must win a challenge or elimination in the first three rounds of the competition. Low later surprised the players in the Final Challenge by revealing that they would have to stay at The Shelter for the remainder of the competition.
* **Champion Invasion:** Eight Champions, four male and four female, entered the game in Episode 5 to the surprise of the other players.
	+ **Champions vs. Underdogs:** Following the arrival of the Champions, Low announced that they would be playing on a team against the remaining Underdogs. This twist lasted until the Final Challenge where the teams were once again disbanded.
	+ **Underdog Bloodbath:** The Underdogs will face each other in two consecutive elimination rounds. The first one will be a 4-way challenge in which one player of each gender will be eliminated if they finish last. The second competition will be the first three-way elimination in Challenge history with another one eliminated player.

## Game summary

### Crater progress

Competition
     The contestant won the final challenge.
     The contestant lost the final challenge.
     The contestant won the challenge.
     The contestant was not selected for the Fortress.
     The contestant's teammate was nominated for the Fortress.
     The contestant won in the Fortress.
     The contestant lost in the Fortress.
     The contestant was purged from the competition.
     The contestant was removed from the competition for unknown reasons.
     The contestant withdrew from the competition for unknown reasons.
     The contestant was removed during the elimination due to injury.