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The Challenge season 39 aired a brand new episode this week on Wednesday, February 21, 2024. During the segment, the MTV show saw the remaining contestants battle it out to become the new champion of the franchise.
Disclaimer: The following The Challenge article contains spoilers for the season finale. Reader's discretion is advised.
After a two-part finale and several daunting tasks later, Emanuel Naegu became the winner of season 39 and won $250,000. Nurys Mateo finished second and won $60,000. Although the female cast member didn't finish first, she expressed her happiness over becoming the first runner-up of the season and noted that she couldn't wait for her family to watch the show.
However, fans had a differing opinion and took to social media to express it. They commented on both the cast members' journey throughout the competition and noted that Mateo deserved to win. One person, @JDun89, wrote on X:
"Emanuel may have come in first place, but Nurys is my champion and queen."
The Challenge fans react to the season 39 winner
The Challenge: Battle for a New Champion aired its final episode on Wednesday. During the segment, fans saw the remaining contestants compete to become the new title holder of the long-running MTV show.
The episode saw another elimination ahead of the competition, and Emanuel, who was in the lead, chose Nurys Mateo to compete in the elimination. The cast member had to then draw a name from the sand randomly and pulled Moriah's name.
Mateo successfully eliminated the cast member and stayed in the game in a puzzle challenge. After the elimination challenge, the remaining contestants competed in another challenge and had to pull cards through a grid. Nurys placed first in that task as well, while Colleen finished last.
The next morning, in The Challenge season 39, the contestants had to compete in more physically inclined challenges, and fans saw Emanuel take the lead. He became the first contestant to successfully finish TJ's Go Go Juice and start swimming in the next leg of the race, while the others followed suit.
Corey Lay and Nurys strategized to team up to catch up with The Challenge season 39 contestant. During a puzzle challenge, Nurys decided to finish up the fourth part, while Corey did the fifth, and they then shared insights.
The next leg of the race was a "best case" scenario for Nurys, as it resembled the elimination challenges she had won in the past.
"I obviously have already done this obstacle course twice and won twice. I see Emanuel in the lead but when I did this before, the boys were always in the lead before me and I always made it up."
Eventually, Emanuel Naegu became the winner of the show, while the female cast member finished second. Fans of the MTV show took to social media to react to the finale and were disappointed that Nurys Mateo didn't win.
Episodes of The Challenge season 39 are available to stream on MTV.
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