The Challenge: Battle of the Bloodlines (occasionally promoted as The Challenge: Bloodlines) is the 27th season of MTV's reality game show, The Challenge. Filming occurred in Bodrum, Turkey and Berlin, Germany during June and July 2015, with former cast members from The Real World, Road Rules, The Challenge, and Are You the One? competing both with and against their relatives (in a concept similar to Survivor: Blood vs. Water).
A launch special episode, "Meet the New Blood," premiered on November 9, 2015 on the MTV app and website. It later aired on the network on November 18, 2015 to 538,000 first-run viewers. The season premiered with a special 90 minutes episode on December 2, 2015 on the network and app, and concluded its run on February 17, 2016, with the Reunion and "The S... They Should've Shown" specials.
Format Each team participates in numerous challenges (sometimes called "missions"), which are followed by an elimination round — "The Pit", which is alternated between male and female eliminations. The winning team of each challenge earns immunity from entering The Pit, while the last-place finisher is automatically sent to The Pit based on the designated gender. The winning team also earns the right of choosing the team has at least one player of the matching gender to compete in The Pit against the challenge losers. One player of the designated gender will represent their team in the Pit. The player who wins the elimination round returns, along with their partner to the game and has the opportunity to compete for a share of a $350,000 prize, while the losing player is eliminated from the game, along with their Bloodline.
Beginning in Episode 3, a twist to the game occurred when players were forced to compete against their bloodlines. The winning team would be safe from going into the Pit. The losing team has to send one player from the losing team into The Pit, while the winning team sends another player from the losing team into The Pit. If a player loses in The Pit, that player is not only eliminated, but so is their bloodline. Teams reverted to pairs in episode 10, and followed the original format.
In the final challenge, the final three teams competed for their share of $350,000. The winning team each earned $125,000, second place earned $75,000, and third place earned $25,000.
Contestants AlumniOriginal seasonBloodlineAgeRelationFinish Cara Maria SorbelloThe Challenge: Fresh Meat IIJamie Banks28CousinsWinnersCory WhartonReal World: Ex-PlosionMitch Reid24CousinsRunners-upJenna ComponoReal World: Ex-PlosionBrianna Julig22CousinsThird placeAneesa FerreiraThe Real World: ChicagoRianna Polin24CousinsEpisode 11Johnny "Bananas" DevenanzioThe Real World: Key WestVince Gliatta31CousinsEpisode 10Abram BoiseRoad Rules: South PacificMike Boise29BrothersEpisode 9KellyAnne JuddThe Real World: SydneyAnthony Cuomo24CousinsEpisode 8Thomas BuellReal World: Ex-PlosionStephen Buell23Twin brothersEpisode 7Nany González The Real World: Las Vegas (2011)Nicole Ramos 23CousinsEpisode 6Dario MedranoAre You the One? 2Raphy Medrano22Twin brothersEpisode 5Tony RainesReal World: SkeletonsShane Raines24BrothersEpisode 4Camila NakagawaSpring Break ChallengeLarissa Nakagawa21SistersEpisode 4Leroy GarrettThe Real World: Las Vegas (2011)Candice Fowler23CousinsEpisode 4Cohutta GrindstaffThe Real World: SydneyJill Tuttle26CousinsEpisode 2Christina LeBlancAre You the One? 2Emily Reese22StepsistersEpisode 1
Age at start of filming.
Note: Chris "CT" Tamburello (The Real World: Paris) and Faith Brown, the sister of the late Diem Brown, make special appearances in Episode 8, while Tamburello and Zach Nichols (The Real World: San Diego) make appearances at the end of Episode 9.
Draft The winners of the second challenge were made team captains that would divide the bloodlines into two separate teams. Cara Maria and Jamie were the captains. Challengers in gray cells indicate the bloodlines that team received after the other team chose a veteran. RoundCaptainCara MariaJamie1BananasVince2CandiceLeroy3TonyShane4BriannaJenna5CoryMitch6NicoleNany7CamilaLarissa8AnthonyKellyAnne9ThomasStephen10RiannaAneesa11DarioRaphy
Gameplay Challenge games Water Battle: Played in separate male and female heats, each player runs back and forth with a bucket up a steep pile of dirt, where a water hose is hanging above. Each player tries to accumulate as much water in their bucket as possible, then run back down toward their designated team barrel, and deposit the water in their barrel. Each heat runs for ten minutes, and for the co-ed teams, each player competes against players of their respective gender. The team with the most water in their barrel wins, while the team (with at least one female player) that has the least water is automatically sent to "The Pit." Winners: Cohutta & Jill Family Dinner: Within a glass case, players have to devour, then spit a variety of insects through a plastic tube into a measuring cup, while their bloodline has their head in a separate glass case, with a snake crawling down. One player from each team draws either a red or a blue rock out of a bag to determine which glass case they will be in. The team with the highest amount of dead insects within their measuring cup wins, while the team (with at least one male player) that has the lowest amount is automatically sent to "The Pit." Winners: Cara Maria & Jamie Meet Me Halfway: A platform, with a narrow, unstable swinging bridge in the middle, is suspended 30 feet above water. Similar in style to "Flying Leap" from The Duel, players from each team are positioned at each end of the platform, and have to transfer one flag at a time back and forth by jumping from one end of the platform, onto the swinging bridge and toward the opposite end of the platform. The challenge is played in two different heats, with host T. J. Lavin flipping a coin to determine which team competes first. A player is disqualified if they fall into the water, which reduces the amount of flags that a team will be able to transfer. The team that transfers up to 30 flags in the least time wins, and has to select one female from the losing team, along with their bloodline, to compete in The Pit against one female (along with their bloodline) voted by the losing team. Note: Prior to the challenge, players were split up into two teams, with Cara Maria & Jamie, the winners of the previous challenge ("Family Dinner"), selecting alumni players for their team. For example, if an alumni player was selected by one team leader, their bloodline was automatically sent to the opposing team. Winners: Red Team Heir To The Throne: Host T. J. Lavin asks each team a series of trivia questions. The challenge is played in multiple rounds, with each team splitting their team into pairs — one player is on the platform answering the questions, while the other is hanging from an inflatable tube. If a player gets two questions wrong, their partner is dropped into the water by popping the tube. The last team hanging wins. Winners: Red Team Family Connection: Teams have to transfer up to 20 balls from one side of the beach to another, into their team basket. Each player is wearing a helmet with a square panel that resembles a graduation tassel, and after a ball is dispensed, players from each have to transfer the balls by using their heads and not their hands. If a ball hits the ground, it is out of play. The team that transfers the most balls into their basket within a 10-minute limit wins. Winners: Red Team Hand Me Down: Players from each team traverse a series of five ropes that are hanging from a platform at the top of the Folkart Towers. A player is disqualified if he/she falls from the rope or refuses to compete. The team to advance the most players from one end of the platform to the other wins. Winners: Red Team Too Clingy: A large cargo net is placed above a pond. Players from each team have to race up a ladder and from one end of the net to another, then advance on the underside of the net to the other side. A player is disqualified if he/she falls into the water before reaching the finish line. The team that advances the most players to the finish line or in the least time wins. Note: This challenge was played in honor of the late Diem Brown - for the notable moment in which she (having just completed a cancer treatment) took off her wig before swimming through a muddy pit in "Ring Toss" challenge (The Duel) and winning the challenge. Winners: Red Team Air Pockets: Players from each team have to swim 150 feet downward from a yacht to a buoy that is holding a flag, where there are six cages with limited air supply for two players. If one player makes it to the enclosed cage, where they can catch their breath, they have to wait until another teammate joins them before advancing to the next "air pocket." A player is disqualified if he/she makes their way above water before reaching the final "air pocket." After submerging into the sixth "air pocket," where the flag is located, players have to swim back to the yacht. The team to complete the challenge in the fastest time, or have the most players complete the challenge wins. Winners: Red Team Weight For Me: Each team hikes up a mountain in an endurance race, with checkpoints reminiscent of the season's missions. The checkpoints include crawling under a cargo net, pulling chains into a designated circle, using a rope to advance on a balance beam and advancing from one end of a set of monkey bars to another. Players from each team have to alternate between carrying up a heavy bag to each checkpoint (75 lbs. for the guys and 40 lbs. for the girls) and having their teammate complete the checkpoints. The final checkpoint at the top of the mountain is a puzzle, in which each partner is required to participate in. The first team to complete each checkpoint and solve their puzzle in the fastest time wins, while the last-place team is automatically sent to The Pit. Winners: Cory & Mitch Truck Crossing: Each team has to advance from one tractor trailer to another, with five cars in between, while moving at a speed of 40 mph on a runway. Similar in style to the "Speed Dating" challenge from Battle of the Exes II, each player is attached to a safety harness that is hanging from a platform on one moving trailer. At the end of the first tractor trailer, players have to climb down a cargo net before reaching the first of five cars. The team that advances to the second tractor trailer in the fastest time wins and automatically punches their ticket to the final challenge, while the last-place team is automatically sent to The Pit. Winners: Cory & Mitch
Pit games End Of My Rope: Only one player from each team competes in this elimination, and from a distance, has to unravel their rope over a series of poles in order to create slack, enabling them to clip one end of their rope to a carabiner. The first player to clip their rope to their carabiner wins the elimination round for their team. Played by: Jenna vs. Christina Squaring Off: Similar to the "Hall Brawl" eliminations from Battle of the Seasons (2012) and Battle of the Exes II, players have to retrieve a soccer ball within a series of square hallways, and advance the ball past their opponent's goal line. The first player to advance the ball past their opponent's goal line twice wins the elimination round for their team. Played by: Thomas vs. Cohutta Door Slammer: Players must push a door and their opponent into a door frame. Played in a best-of-three rounds, the player who wins two rounds wins. Played by: Jenna vs. Larissa My Way or the Highway: Players engage in a tug-of-war with chains, and have to pull their opponent forward until a yellow mark on the chain matches with a white line in the middle of the course. The first player to pull their opponent forward wins. Played by: Mitch vs. Raphy