The Challenge Invasion is Coming!

Happy New Year! Coming Tuesday, February 7th at 9pm, Season 29 of The Challenge will premiere in a modified Rookies vs. Veterans format of Underdogs vs. Champs.

MTV has finally given us information on the upcoming season of The Challenge and it’s under a month away!

18 underdogs (rookies and veterans who have never won) will compete down to 12, then realize they face a bigger challenge: taking on veteran champions for a $350,000 prize. In Thailand. T.J. Lavin will host.

It’s happening. There’s even a Wikipedia page for the season! The premiere episode will be two hours. How many collective points can this cast score in two hours? It could be a record if we kept better track of that kind of thing.

To ensure this season has the longest, most drawn-out finale ever, the final challenge will be three days. If Zach makes it, he may die.

From a fantasy perspective, this format is quite interesting. It seems like there will be a couple of episodes that will only feature the Underdogs, which is good for their fantasy point potential. But the Champs are better players and more likely to make it to the end, which is good for their fantasy potential.

Officially Unofficial rules will be posted in the next week, but will likely be very similar to last season’s rules. If you want to propose a new rule or rule change, please comment below. If you want to be in a league of misfits from all across the internet, note that in the comments, too, and we will assist in organizing a league of extraordinary fans.

Here’s the cast, with the important notes and fantasy implications from the past and the MTV cast page noted for your pre-draft pondering process:

Champs
Ashley K (Real World: San Diego) – MTV page says an Underdog crushes on her
Johnny “Bananas”(Real World: Key West) – Remember what he did to Sarah last season? I have to imagine/hope that people are gunning to get him out.
Camila (Spring Break Challenge) – She’s back after getting kicked off for fighting with Tony, who is also back. MTV page says a “hotheaded underdog tries to push her buttons” and that could be Tony again! Or someone else.
Cara Maria (Fresh Meat 2) – MTV page uses odd wording and says she “considers herself single” – umm… you are single or you’re not. Also, it notes that she “may attract the attention of a rookie player” which knowing Cara Maria and MTV could mean she moves to Alaska to live with this rookie after the show, or it means absolutely nothing.
CT (Real World: Paris) – MTV says there’s a “shocking” reason he “needs” to win the money. If it’s for Diem’s charity, I’m already crying.
Darrell (Road Rules: Campus Crawl) – Darrell has won a ton, has two kids and is a Banana hater. Happy he’s back! And his Road Rules cast-mate Shane is back. Possible alliance?
Laurel (Fresh Meat 2) – MTV says ROMANCE WITH A ROOKIE! Could it be Nicole? Does Laurel swing that way!?
Zach (Real World: San Diego) – MTV reminds us that he broke up with Jenna and she’s on the cast. Thanks. We knew that. 

Underdogs
Amanda (Are You The One? Season 3) – fought with Camila last season
Anika (Real World: Bad Blood) – MTV has very little to say, I have nothing to say. If you have something about this Anika character, please enlighten us in the comments.
Anthony (Are You The One? Season 2) – MTV page hints he hooks up
Ashley (Real World: Ex-Plosion) – MTV implies she catches feelings. To avoid confusing her with Ashley K, we may have to rename her Ashley Smashley. Or just Smashley.
Bruno (Real World: Skeletons) – MTV notes he was recently homeless. This doesn’t really have fantasy implications, but is a reminder that Viacom is cheap. Although, hey, maybe it does have fantasy implications. If he was homeless, he had no place to bring chicks back to, so this is his opportunity to… I’m a terrible person.
Cory (Real World: Ex-Plosion) – MTV notes he’s a flirt, I’d like to remind you that he’s competed in finals before.
Dario (Are You The One? Season 2) – MTV implies he has to strategize and play the political game, so he can’t be going home too early.
Hunter (Are You The One? Season 3) – MTV mentions he’s single. Good to know.
Jenna (Real World: Ex-Plosion) – Her and Zach are broken up and Zach is on the show with another one of his exes, Ashley K. Will there be drama? MTV page strangely doesn’t mention this, just reminds us she’s single.
Kailah (Real World: Go Big or Go Home) – MTV: “When her devil-may-care attitude secures her title as the most hated girl in the game, Kailah looks to one charismatic competitor for companionship.” This girl sounds intolerable.
LaToya (Real World: St. Thomas) – MTV’s got nothing. I got nothing.
Marie (Real World: St. Thomas) – MTV page says someone shows interest in her. It also weirdly describes her as a mogul. Maybe Bruno seeks a Sugar Mama?
Nelson (Are You The One? Season 3) – MTV says “his red-hot temper will flare” and that sounds promising.
Nicole (Real World: Skeletons) – MTV tells us she “slips under the sheets” with a champ. Does Nicole swing both ways? Knowing will make trying to predict easier…
Shane (Road Rules: Campus Crawl) – He’s divorced, but is he too old and mature to hook-up with a cast-mate?
Sylvia (Real World: Skeletons) – She’s got some Skeletons cast-mates on the show, so maybe she’ll fight with them?
Theo (Real World: Bad Blood) – MTV calls this college football player a hothead… does that mean he’s the one that picks a fight with Camila?
Tony (Real World: Skeletons) – Tony says, “alcohol is out the window,” which may just mean he drinks outside. MTV says, “a hothead foe tries to ruffle his feathers,” which sounds like Camila, but could be anyone since whoever wrote these blurbs seems to like the word “hothead.”