A total of 34 contestants will travel to Croatia to compete for the grand prize of $1 million on The Challenge: Spies, Lies and Allies. MTV is ready to bring back its long-running The Challenge series for yet another season. Season 37 has a stacked roster of veterans, but this group of rookies is impressive as well. In fact, this cast of rookies comes from many different places - eight of them have roots in dating shows, while the other 11 cast members have experienced in more formal competitions.
Over the years, rookie challengers from Big Brother and Survivor have had a lot of good luck on their side. Generally, The Challenge always brings about quirks and spirals that make underdogs serious threats. The rookies are playing with a bigger chip on their shoulders, but three of them do stand out as having a clearer path to taking home the prize money in the end.
Michele Fitzgerald
On Survivor, Michele Fitzgerald masqueraded herself throughout a couple of seasons without really accumulating any votes against her. The New England-area bartender used her profession to elevate her social standing in the game. While she may have made her way through Kaoh Rong and Winners at War, The Challenge is a whole different animal. To stay within the ranks, she has to take her A-game from Survivor and multiply it by 10. Who Michele aligns with is going to mean more for her game than her physical performance. It's hard to see the Love Island crew being her cup of tea, so fellow castaways and The Challenge veteran Nany Gonzalez could benefit her in the long run.
Berna Canbeldek
Berna Canbeldek could end up being a feisty competitor on The Challenge: Lies, Spies and Allies. Like Darrell Taylor - who won four straight challenges of his own - the German-born ballet dancer is also a boxer. While she doesn't have as many number 1 finishes as Darrell claimed, this three-time Survivor contestant is physically gifted, which can help tremendously if her standing on The Challenge is on the line. After all, The Challenge knows all too well about stretching the human body beyond its limit and putting players through the most grueling and death-defying stunts in all of reality TV. It could be assumed that if one competitor offers very little from a physique point-of-view, then there's no hope for them in the finals. For Berna, who overcame a serious leg injury on Survivor: Turkey, harnessing her explosiveness is the most important thing if she wishes to avoid a premature exit. Still, she has got to be the top two strongest of all this season's women, and a competitor to keep an eye on.
Emanuel Neagu
A lack of competition history outside of his one season of Survivor: Romania could come back to haunt Emanuel Neagu. That does make him a coin toss, but there are components within him that also make his Spies, Lies and Allies campaign a worthy one. Compared to all the other male competitors in season 37, the 25-year-old has a much more compact frame, which could plant a larger target on his back. Again, Emanuel's inexperience is truly his biggest enemy, but he doesn't shy away from the blood, sweat, and tears. Alas, he could perfectly complement another competitor when matchmaking is all said and done on The Challenge: Spies, Lies and Allies.