JEK is the most famous alliance in Challenge history and it is one that has still affected the way the game is played for better or worse. We have seen certain alliance be successful, with others failing. Let’s look at some famous second tier alliances post JEK’s formation:

Wes-Evelyn alliance

This duo played the game together on Fresh Meat 2 with the intent of getting each other to the final. This rag-tag duo was famous for taking on the whole damn house to win Challenges. Wes won the Duel and made the final of Fresh Meat 1 by winning 6 eliminations and taking it to the end. Evelyn was the dominant female competitor of her time and took on JEK, winning the Island. FM2 was the example of people not realizing what to do once in a power. They were so used to fighting for their lives that they made poor decisions trying to maintain it. They finished 6th and 7th respectively, a failure for two strong players in their primes.

Jordan-Zach-Johnny alliance

Possibly a more douche-y and misogynistic trio than JEK, however, this trio did stack up pretty well for their era. In 9 seasons between the three (the first 3 of each) they totaled 2 Challenge wins, 5 finals, 10–4 elimination record, and 18 daily challenge wins is pretty damn good. Compare that to JEK’s first 9 seasons: 1 Challenge win, 4 finals, 3–4 elimination record, and the daily challenge records are not comparable as there used to be more dailies in the past.

During Free Agents this group made Banana’s life tough for once by throwing him into two eliminations and forcing him to compete everyday to win. On Free Agents, 2/3 of them made the final. Jordan followed up missing the final by winning the next season.

Lavender Ladies

This alliance happened last season and consisted of Ashley, Amanda, Shane L, and Sylvia. Their game-plan was built upon their strengths: talking shit, using their brains, and taking advantage of the numbers. Nicole, Jenna, and Kailah were the 3 strongest female underdogs from a physical standpoints. They finished 3rd, 6th, and 11th. Ashley, Amanda, and Sylvia finished 1st, 5th, and 9th. They made friends with the boys and made girls like Jenna and Kailah the public enemy.

Shane was an X factor in this group as him eliminating Tony was crucial to their success in the game.

Failed Alliances:

Rookie Guys Bloodlines: Cory/Mitch, Thomas/Stephen, Dario/Raphy

Wes’s losers Rivals 3: Wes/Nany, Devin/Cheyenne, Dario/Nicole

Anti Laurel alignment Free Agents: Theresa, Aneesa, Devyn

How good is this new alliance?

Let’s take it one by one.

Nelson

We are going to start with the person who has been closest to winning a Challenge. Nelson won 3 eliminations on Invasion to make it to the final. After mostly average performances during the daily missions, Nelson truly brought it during the final. He killed it besides the swimming portion (which may have cost him the win). Since then he has brought it during the Dirty 30, showing major improvements in dailies and seems to be more cool and confident.

The best part about this scene is Nelson talking to Hunter about how he knew they would be on different team. Cory walks in and says: “that’s because you’re trash bro.” You can’t visually see it, but you can tell by Hunter’s reaction that Nelson is not super happy about the comment. After finishing second, Nelson wants respect and he wants a win. Seconds later they are all laughing.

Nelson’s strengths are eliminations, endurance, core strength, and speed.

Hunter

So far, Hunter has possibly been the best male from a physical standpoint. He’s won 2/3 daily missions, and was seconds away from being 3/3. Last season on Invasion, Hunter set the physical pace for the Underdogs, and consistently beat some of the Champs during missions as well.

For those who are not the biggest fan of his arrogance, let’s get this straight — Hunter is a beast. Never have we seen a 5'6 guy who is 205 lbs of muscle and might be the fastest guy in the house. He’s a multi-sport athlete who has proven to be good at everything physical. His weaknesses come with the mental and social game. Hunter and Nelson’s biggest female allies (Amanda and Ashley) are gone. It means he will need to win most daily challenges to succeed.

Hunter’s strengths are speed, strength, upper body, muscle endurance.

Cory

He is the face of the alliance and the person who has made two finals. Cory has done terribly in the daily missions. He lost the first two parts of the purge and was one of the first to fall down the wall on the Wall mission. In the clutch he has brought it, which is a major improvement to seasons prior. Cory has crumbled under pressure in the past, but he’s sent 4 people home already, and won when it matters.

Cory may be the best of three when it comes to competing in short distance anaerobic activities. He needs to improve his swimming and cardio to become a more well-rounded competitor.

What is their potential?

The second that two of them are eligible for the same elimination, you know they will throw both in. The veterans are going to be taking as many shots at them as they can. Expect at least one of these three guys to be in every elimination until there is one or none of them left.

They need to absolutely dominate the dailies and come back from eliminations in order to go far. What would be success?

It’s hard to define what success is for these guys. All three of them desire to win, but under the current circumstances that is tough to foresee. In a game that’s been made for the veterans to dominate, if one of the young guys makes the final, it would be a major success.

They might not be the next JEK, but they’re trying.