"We over-communicated": The Challenge All Stars: Rivals star Adam Larson admits he and Steve struggled over who should take the prize

After winning The Challenge All Stars: Rivals, Adam Larson explained that he and his partner, Steve, had difficulty deciding who would take the prize money during the "split or steal" twist of the finale. In an interview with Rolling Stone on April 16, 2025, Larson was asked if they had planned for the final decision. He responded:

"We never communicated well on how it would be done. In fact, we over-communicated in a multiplicity of ways that we could do it."

Larson said Steve suggested he take the $250,000 prize for financial reasons, but the reasoning was unclear, and they never reached a firm agreement before the decision point.

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Adam Larson opens up about the split or steal twist and decision-making struggle on The Challenge All Stars: Rivals

Physical setup and performance in the final

The Challenge All Stars: Rivals winner said the final could favor their team if it focused on endurance or movement between stations.

"I thought if they made it physical, where there was running between checkpoints or if there was an endurance element, we were going to crush everybody," he stated.

He described how the score shifted throughout the challenge, mentioning that it went up and down "three times." Larson emphasized that it was a continuous sequence, saying it was "thing after thing after thing after thing."

During the teeter-totter segment near the end, Adam offered a direct solution. He looked at Steve and pointed out that they shared the same thoughts as everyone else, which involved the bags and the back-and-forth movement. Larson then told Steve to give him 15 seconds, saying he would "win the whole thing" for them. They were not informed of who was leading during the final.

"They never communicated any of the numbers to us the entire time. TJ never said who was in the lead. We just felt we had a shot, and we knew it was going to be close," Larson added.

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Time gaps and final placement

The edit showed a narrow win, but Larson clarified the timing. He explained that while it felt like they completed the task in 10 seconds, it actually took longer, with "approximately 10 seconds for loading and another 15 seconds to achieve the first balance."

He said they completed the task before the next closest team, Da'Vonne and Shane, reached it. He clarified that they had "gotten off" and moved on before the other team arrived. He also gave a specific time margin over another team, saying:

"We destroyed Mel [Reeves] and Nicole [Zanatta] by five minutes, maybe eight minutes."

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Unclear agreement and final decision

The Challenge All Stars: Rivals winner shared that he and Steve had no finalized plan before the prize decision. Adam said:

"Steve was like, 'You're way better with money. You know how to invest and do this. Maybe it makes more sense for tax reasons and all of this other stuff'...I couldn't even make sense out of why he would want me to take the money."

He described the restrictions in place leading up to the final announcement. Larson explained that Steve had returned and was just sitting there, "shaking his head." Adam mentioned that they weren't allowed to communicate or see each other.

Larson also recalled Steve's demeanor just before the decision, noting that Steve's eyes looked like "ice," a term used when they don't want contestants to communicate. The Challenge All Stars: Rivals winner concluded:

"I was like, 'Alright, decision's been made, everything's been done.'"

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Watch The Challenge All Stars: Rivals on demand through MTV and Paramount+.