The Challenge: Double Agents final recently took place, with four teams competing for a million dollars in Iceland. Only one team could win the lion’s share of that prize money, as the two first-place winners split $900,000.
Competing in yet another final on MTV’s reality competition series was Chris “CT” Tamburello at age 40. It was CT’s ninth trip to the final in his 18th regular season, making for an impressive feat in itself.
Late in the season, he became teamed up with rookie Amber Borzotra, another of the Big Brother stars who transitioned to The Challenge. With her athletic background and endurance, Amber helped CT stay ahead of their opponents in the final. CT handled many of the other aspects he’s good at, helping him and Amber win the Double Agents season.
During a recent IG Live session, Challenge superstar Johnny “Bananas” Devenanzio gave his thoughts on CT’s win. Bananas also brought up the comparisons between himself and CT.
Johnny Bananas reacts to CT’s win on Double Agents
One of the cast members missing from The Challenge Season 36 was Johnny Bananas, the all-time Challenge champion with seven wins. He’s been doing other work since winning The Challenge: Total Madness season in 2020, which CT was also part of.
Bananas, who has been hosting Celebrity Sleepover on NBC after SNL, recently hosted an Instagram Live. It featured several of The Challenge: All Stars, as well as his good pal Wes Bergmann. During the IG Live, Bananas fielded some questions, with several fans asking his thoughts on CT’s win.
“Here’s my thoughts. The cream always rises to the top, ladies and gentlemen,” Bananas said, adding, “and I know CT is not watching because he’s traveling.”
“This is what I would say to CT is, ‘The real ones know. Haters will say it was rigged, but the real ones know my friend,’” Bananas said.
It was believed by some that production gave CT specific advantages throughout the season to help him survive and thrive in the game. That included some speculation that the first episode’s elimination was switched to be female competitors, rather than pitting CT against Wes.
A bit later in the season, CT and his then-teammate, Tula “Big T” Fazakerley, won a daily mission that castmate Lolo Jones would later claim was staged, helping them win. However, other cast members, including Devin Walker, denied that was the case and said Lolo was upset over losing.
Bananas discusses comparisons of himself to CT
CT now has four Challenge seasons he’s won, which trails Johnny Bananas by just three. That said, they’ve been first-place winners on the past three seasons of MTV’s show. That included CT being part of Team UK in the War of the Worlds 2 final, which was the season before Bananas’ Total Madness win.
Bananas was pretty humble in his discussion of who might be better between himself and CT. He mentioned they’ve each accomplished different things in their Challenge careers.
“It’s always been CT and myself. It’s always been like ‘Who’s the G.O.A.T.? Who’s the G.O.A.T.? Who’s the G.O.A.T.?’ It’s almost like it’s hard to compare. It’s like MJ and Lebron. The things that he’s accomplished on The Challenge over the years, there is no way I ever could, and the things I’ve accomplished, it would be difficult. You know, we’re just two completely different players that play different games. We have different strengths, different weaknesses,” Bananas shared.
Bananas has competed on a total of 20 seasons of The Challenge, which gave him a few more opportunities to win. However, CT also cost himself several seasons due to altercations during his time on the show.
The two are famously linked due to their elimination against each other on Cutthroat season. CT used his power and strength to basically walk with Bananas like a backpack attached to his back. By walking step by step, CT carried Bananas to the elimination’s finish spot, sending his opponent home for that season.
Based on Season 37 rumors, it appears that one of the two Challenge stars was set to be part of the cast. However, production was recently halted in Croatia due to a positive COVID-19 test.
Meanwhile, Paramount Plus has the spinoff show, The Challenge: All Stars, which seems like it’ll be a fitting spot for both Johnny Bananas and CT Tamburello in the future. The question is whether or not they will be cast on the same season of the spinoff, though.
The Challenge airs Wednesdays at 8/7c on MTV.
Episodes of The Challenge are now streaming on Paramount+. Try it FREE!
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