The Challenge 40 finale recap: The winners are announced as karma points come in to play

The finale episode of The Challenge 40 was released on January 8, 2025, at 8 pm ET/PT on MTV and Paramount+. The episode saw Jordan winning the competition on the men's side while Rachel and Jenny emerged as the joint winners for the women in the all-star season. It is worth noting that TJ's karma points played a decisive role in the outcome.

In previous episodes, the contestants traveled to the Philippines, where they participated in two additional challenges and competed in the final elimination round. Ultimately, Cara Maria was eliminated after facing off against Tori.

The men's winner received $400,000, while two women shared the exploits as they took home $237,500 each. This concluding installment was the second part of a two-part finale, featuring eight contestants Rachel, Derek, Johnny “Bananas”, Jordan, Tori, Jenny, Kyland, and Michele.

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What happened in The Challenge 40 finale?

The Challenge 40 contestants persisted in the two-day final. However, they were unaware that karma votes from previously eliminated contestants would impact the results, equivalent to two full checkpoints. At 11:26 pm, the competitors found themselves at the bottom of The Sinister, tasked with counting thousands of coins.

As the hours went by, sleep deprivation began to take its toll on their mental states. Every 30 minutes, they were interrupted and forced to sing a familiar tune, which only tested their endurance. Despite having built a substantial lead in previous checkpoints, Jenny appeared to be struggling. She eventually gave up counting and opted to rest, as she hoped that one bad performance wouldn't jeopardize her chances of winning.

At 2:25 am, Derek decided to stop counting, hoping his total of 6,088 coins was accurate. Interestingly, Jenny's rough estimate of 6,052 coins was remarkably close to Derek's count. Tori was the last to finish, completing the task at 4:30 am, but accuracy would ultimately determine the outcome. Following a brief rest, the challengers were greeted by TJ, who revealed the results of the checkpoint.

Derek won the challenge, followed by Jordan, Kyland, and Bananas among the men. Meanwhile, Rachel finished first among women, followed by Michele, Jenny, and Tori. During the sixth checkpoint, the challengers swam to a sandbar, where they engaged in a high-speed math competition. The first contestant to solve the math puzzle on The Challenge 40 finale could swim back to Sinister and advance in the challenge.

The loser, however, was forced to wait and compete against another opponent. Ultimately, Bananas found himself at a disadvantage, stuck on the island until all the other competitors reached Sinister. Michele, despite being the last to swim back from the island, utilized her swimming skills to overtake Tori and Rachel. The order of finishers for this checkpoint was Jordan, Derek, Kyland, and Bananas for men, Jenny, Michele, Rachel, and Tori for women.

The final challenge of The Challenge 40, "Champion's Cove," required contestants to swim to a buoy, navigate through a cathedral, and retrieve an underwater scooter. They then had to collect their last token by following a series of buoys. Jordan finished first again followed by Bananas, Derek, and Kyland while in the women's competition, Michele finished first followed by Rachel, Tori, and Jenny.

The scoring system awarded four points for first place, three points for second place, two points for third place, and one point for fourth place in each checkpoint. Karma points were equivalent to two full checkpoints, with the top karma earner receiving eight bonus points, followed by six, four, and two points for the subsequent places.

Jordan emerged victorious, securing his fifth title and a $400,000 prize in The Challenge 40. Among the women, Rachel and Jenny tied for first place, splitting the $475,000 prize. Rachel's karma points propelled her from third place to the tie, marking her third Challenge victory and Jenny's second. Rachel received this achievement after being the sole survivor of her Era 1 team, which was eliminated early on.

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The Challenge 40 finale part 2 aired from 8-9:30 pm ET/PT on MTV.